STUDY ABROAD
Center for Global Initiatives
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Return to ListIES: Shanghai
China - Shanghai
Study Abroad Website
Opening Fall 2008, the IES program is designed for students interested in gaining a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and development and organized in partnership with the School of Social Development and Public Policy at Fudan University, one of the top universities in China. The program offers a unique core course covering topics such as economic development and social change, in addition to elective IES-Fudan courses taught in English and a 6-credit Chinese Language course. The joint IES-Fudan courses provide students the unique opportunity to learn in English with Chinese peers. Courses are complemented by two unique field study trips to Hong Kong and Taiwan, in addition to IES-organized cultural events. Students live on campus in the modern Fudan International Student Residence hall, where they can befriend and interact with students from around the world. Program dates are generally as follows: Fall - Late August to TBA Spring - Early February to TBA *Students are required to study Chinese throughout their stay. However, the remaining courses will be taught in English. THE ACADEMICS All students take: --Contemporary Shanghai (3 credits): The cornerstone of this program is the core course, Contemporary Shanghai in Comparative Perspective. This course will focus on current major themes that can be studied and understood in both a local and global context. This course will also feature integrated field trips, possibly to Hong Kong or Taipei, which will offer students the opportunity to experience another major Chinese city firsthand which will provide an informative and compelling comparison to Shanghai. Designed in conjunction with Fudan university and taught by Fudan university faculty, this core course provides IES students with a strong comparative component to allow for deeper integration with and understanding of Chinese people and institutions. Guest lecturers will also complement in-classroom learning. --Chinese Language: Offered at 6 different levels (6 credits) --Two elective Fudan-IES courses. Choices include: Marketing to the Chinese, The Chinese Family in Transition, Internship Seminar (which would include a business, NGO, or educational internship), Religion in Chinese Society. THE LIFE From the modern towering skyscrapers in Pudong to the colonial architecture of the Bund, this multi-faceted, vibrant city is an ideal study abroad location. Shanghai represents the modern Chinese drive toward industrialization and economic development. Situated at the mouth of the Yangtze River on the banks of the Huangpu, Shanghai was an early hub of trade with the West. It has since become a leading Asian metropolis. Shanghai also represents China's drive toward globalization and the impact of modernization on Chinese culture. IES Shanghai offers students the opportunity to experience this modernization first-hand through unique program components designed to integrate students into local culture as much as possible. IES students live in the large international student residence hall on campus. Students can live in single or double rooms with an IES or international student. Rooms have one or two beds, two desks, a telephone, a private bathroom, as well as Internet access. Meals are not provided, but students have access to a kitchen and washing machine on their floor. Students can cook for themselves, eat in a campus cafeteria, or patronize small, inexpensive privately-owned restaurants on or nearby campus. IES Shanghai will organize one long trip to another city, such as Hong Kong or Taipei. IES also routinely hosts cultural events and guest lectures for the general student body and for individual courses. Throughout the year, there are short trips to the wealth of historic, financial, educational, and political sites in and around Shanghai.