Why CET Kunming: Summer?
Students at CET Kunming are dedicated language learners looking to make significant progress in their Chinese abilities over the summer. In the 9 weeks you spend in the “City of Eternal Spring,” you will cover a year’s worth of Chinese content, live with a local roommate, and maintain a full-time language pledge. By the time your fall semester rolls around, you’ll see incredible gains in your language skills, and you’ll have the skill set to keep your language abilities going, even after you leave China.
Summer Academics
Summer
Snapshot
- Recommended Credits: 8
- 1 year's worth of Chinese in 9 weeks
- Daily one-on-one sessions with an instructor
- Full-time language pledge
- Out-of-class learning & assignments
- Host University: Yunnan University
Curriculum & Syllabi
You take one comprehensive Chinese language course for 8 credits.
You are placed into one of these 8-credit courses:
- KM/LANG 201: Intermediate Chinese
- KM/LANG 301: Pre-Advanced Chinese
- KM/LANG 401: Advanced Chinese
- KM/LANG 501 High-Advanced Chinese
Intensive Chinese Language Learning
Your full load of Chinese language classes features both small-group studies and daily one-on-one sessions. Spend the mornings in class, learning new vocabulary then putting it into practice in drill and discussion courses. In the afternoon, meet one on one with an instructor to review any trouble spots from the day’s lesson and prepare for tomorrow. Outside of class, you’ll navigate Kunming with a full-time language pledge and live with a Chinese roommate…this is immersion at its finest.
Learning in the City
At least once a week, you and your classmates take on task-based learning that has you practicing in the real world, where it counts. You might participate in a roundtable discussion with TV news anchors and other media professionals, visit an environmental school to learn about local sustainability efforts, or learn about the Flying Tigers, a group of American pilots who helped defend Kunming during WWII, at a local museum. By the end of summer, your confidence in using Chinese will reach incredible new levels.
"My two months of language study in Kunming shattered my preconceived notions about Chinese life and culture, and gave me a chance to truly assimilate into local life (as much as a foreigner can!). By the end of the program, I was reluctant to return home!"
Pennsylvania State University | Summer 2018
Housing & Meals
COVID Modifications
Because of precautions CET is taking related to COVID-19, your housing experience will look different from standard programming. Please see the COVID playbook page for more information.
- Dormitory
- Nearby off-campus housing
- Live with a Chinese student
- 2 people/room
- En suite bathroom, shared activity room with basic cooking facilities, on-site washing machine
- Wifi access, TV, A/C, linens, basic furnishing
You and a local roommate live in one of two buildings at the YNU Hotel. You share a furnished room and en suite bathroom. The same building also houses the activity room, with TV, wifi, and some cooking equipment you can use to make simple meals. Two study spaces are available to help you keep up with your homework. Your classrooms and the CET offices are either in your building or just next door.
Local Roommates
Your roommate is a CET-selected student from YNU. Want to learn where to get the best pineapple rice? Curious what mobile apps make life in Kunming easier? Wondering where local students hang out on the weekends? Sharing a room with a local roommate gives you instant insider’s access to the city. They can even help you understand your homework if you’re feeling a little lost.
Eating in Kunming
For meals, take your pick of breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes at the budget-friendly campus cafeteria. Invite your roommate to eat out at your favorite neighborhood restaurant or find out where to get guoqiao mixian (hot rice noodles, called “cross the bridge” noodles). Don’t forget to try pan-fried goat cheese and spicy and sour roasted fish while you’re out and about.
And if you feel like a quiet night in? Use the cooking facilities in your dorm’s activity room to make a simple meal.
Life in Kunming
- Known locally as: 昆明 Kūnmíng
- Population: 6.3 million
- Local Currency: Chinese Yuan, aka renminbi
- Famous for: Year-round spring weather, clean air, the Stone Forest, Dianchi Lake, major transport hub in Yunnan Province
Himalayas to the west. Tropical rainforests to the south. This is China like you’ve never imagined it before. Kunming is perfect for nature-lovers and travelers seeking cultural (and culinary!) diversity. Stroll to Green Lake for people-watching or paddle-boating – but try not to get soaked! Visit the nunnery and temple at Lotus Pool Park and enjoy a vegetarian meal at the restaurant overlooking the lake. Learn jianzi (like hacky sack) in the local park.
Activities & Excursions
Around Kunming
With constantly beautiful weather, you must get outside and see the world around Kunming. Travel to the Stone Forest to see the clusters of limestone rocks jutting into the sky. Climb to the top of Xi Shan to see the Dragon Gate, where you stand at the top of a steep cliff and gaze down into Dianchi Lake. Visit the Kunming Botanical Garden to look for local birds and flowers.
Unwind for the Weekend
Explore Dali with your fellow CET students and roommates on a CET-hosted excursion. This long weekend away is a chance to see rural China and practice your Chinese in new settings. Bike around one of the largest fresh water lakes in China, then learn traditional tie-tye techniques from the Bai community of Xizhou. Hike picturesque Cangshan Mountain then learn to cook local specialities for dinner.
"The highlight of the summer is the language pledge, which is both exhausting and rewarding by the completion of the program. For anyone who is determined to become fluent (or at least proficient) in Mandarin Chinese, this intensive program is the perfect way to do so."
University of Washington | Summer 2017
On-site Staff
Rosalyn Shih
Resident Director
Li Li
Office Coordinator
Liu Fang
Academic Director
Li Qunhu
Academic Director
Program Fees
Summer 2023
|
TBA
Summer 2023: TBA
All of your classes and program-related learning are included with your tuition.
We arrange for you to live in a dormitory with a local roommate. Your program fees go toward rent, furnishing, and other management costs.
From pre-departure to orientation, from on site to re-entry, CET provides you with the support you need every step of the way.
You’re provided with a comprehensive insurance plan that includes medical evacuation coverage.
The activities and excursions that we arrange are included in your program fee. All you need to do is remember to bring your camera!
We guide you step-by-step through the visa process. You’ll need to do the legwork, but we pay the consular fees if you obtain your visa through the service we recommend.
Your textbooks and course supplies are covered and waiting for you on site.
You’ll also receive an official transcript jointly issued by CET and YNU at the end of the term. You also have the option to request a School of Record transcript from the University of Minnesota for an additional fee if necessary.
Estimated
Out-of-Pocket
Costs
- Round-trip Airfare: $1,130 - $1,740
- Meals: $650
- Personal Expenses: $750
- Local Cell Phone Plan/SIM Card: $100
- Must be 18 or older at the time of program participation.
- Open to students from any US college or university
- GPA: 3.0 or higher preferred, but admissions decisions are made on a case-by-case basis; lower GPAs still encouraged to apply
- Open to students with at least 2 semesters of college-level Chinese experience
Complete the application through your online CET account. This is a brief form that asks for basic information and has a few short answer questions about why you want to study abroad.
Use the link in your online account to send a recommendation request to one of your previous language instructors.
This is an online form that your study abroad office fills out to let us know you meet the requirements to study abroad. To send the electronic form request, simply enter the name and email address of your study abroad advisor in the designated fields of of your online account.
Your online CET account has specific instructions for submitting an official transcript.
Though you take an in-depth placement exam on site, the language evaluation form in your online CET account helps staff get a better idea of your abilities before your arrival.
Price Subject to Change:
CET reserves the right to increase quoted charges at any time without prior notification, based on increased instruction costs, exchange rate fluctuation or other cost increases beyond CET’s control.