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Dornsife -- Study Abroad Program In Shanghai (East China Normal University)

USC Dornsife offers a fall, spring, or year long program in Shanghai hosted by East China Normal University.
April 6, 2015
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Program Site: East China Normal University (ECNU), located in central Shanghai's Putuo District. The study abroad program in which USC students participate is run by CIEE, which has its Study Center on the ECNU campus.
 
Eligibility: Minimum 3.0 GPA; two semesters of college-level Mandarin Chinese (or the equivalent); college-level coursework related to China highly recommended.
 
Note: Students who are citizens of the People's Republic China (PRC), Taiwan (ROC), Hong Kong SAR, or Macau, including U.S. permanent residents, must consult with a study abroad advisor about special entry requirements.
 
Description: East China Normal University (ECNU) is nationally known for its Chinese language and literature program as well as training programs for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language. The university enrolls more than 26,000 full time students, including 3,700 international students.
 
Shanghai, home to more than 23 million people, has seen massive development over the last two decades. The facades of the international trading and banking firms that dominated the skyline along the Bund in their heyday of the 1920's are now dwarfed by the 21st-century skyscrapers. As a business hub for China and East Asia, Shanghai draws migrants from all parts of China and is a regional base for many multinational firms. The rich culture of Shanghai includes a wealth of museums, performing arts venues, and delicious cuisine. This region of China boasts attractions such as the famous Buddhist temples on Pu Tuo Shan Island, the Yellow Mountains, the tea gardens of Suzhou, and Hangzhou's West Lake.  
 
Academics: The CIEE Shanghai China in a Global Context (CGC) program is the only one of the three CIEE Shanghai semester programs that is approved for credit for USC undergraduates. All USC students are required to take 6 units of Chinese and three Chinese studies courses. The Chinese studies courses are taught in English. Examples of courses are China's Economic Reforms, Modern Chinese History, China's International Relations, Political Development in Modern China, Issues in Chinese Society, and Chinese Film and Society. Students with four of more semesters of Chinese may take Business Chinese or Classical Chinese in place of a Chinese Studies course.
 
Course Load and Credit: Students can earn maximum of 15 USC units per semester. USC students must take 6 units of Chinese and three 3-unit Chinese studies courses. USC students may not earn any USC credit for the CIEE organizational internship and may not have it count as part of their CIEE courseload.
 
Activities and Other Program Features: The program offers a weekend field trip to another major Chinese city, such as Beijing or Nanjing, and a week-long educational excursion to Taiwan, Hong Kong, a section of the Silk Road in and around Xi'an, or a section of the Tea and Horse Road in Yunnan Province. Students interested in service learning may instead choose an alternative week-long experience in a rural region of interior China that may include extended stays in a village, manual labor, and short rural hikes, all designed to facilitate meaningful people-to-people exchange.
 
CIEE provides students with peer language tutors, a Chinese language clinic, and target language activities in which only Chinese is spoken. CIEE maintains relationships with a number of schools and not-for-profit organizations, and is able to offer a limited number of teaching and volunteer opportunities to interested students. These part-time opportunities are unpaid and not for credit.
 
Accommodation: Students may live either with a Chinese host family in an apartment in the vicinity of the ECNU campus or with a Chinese roommate in an on-campus dormitory for foreign students. The homestay option includes some meals while the dorm option does not. The homestay option is highly recommended for students who want to live in an entirely Chinese language environment and are motivated to make rapid progress in Chinese language outside of class. Chinese family members speak Chinese only. Students have their own bedroom.
 
Dates: Fall, Spring, or Year. The fall term runs from early September to mid-December. The spring term begins in February and typically ends in early June.
 
Estimated Semester Cost:
Tuition................................$14,374
Additional Expenses*.............$9,636
Total..................................$24,010
 
Cost Updated: 1/7/15
Text Updated: 12/16/14
 
*Additional expenses include estimated costs for airfare, room and board, books and supplies, health insurance, and personal expenses (which can vary greatly from student to student). USC financial aid, scholarships, and tuition remission may be applied to program costs. Please visit the Office of Overseas Studies for more detailed cost information.
 
For more information please visit the website
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