Beijing, China
Beijing, the capital of the world’s most populous nation, is the center and international focal point of much that happens in contemporary China. It is a city of 20 million people struggling to adapt as China emerges as a global player in the 21st century. Changes in Beijing have moved at an incredible rate, yet it still reflects China’s long and evolving history.
About the Program
The China/Taiwan program, offered through Hobart and William Smith Colleges’ affiliation with the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), provides students the opportunity to study in one of three sites on mainland China or Taiwan: Beijing, Nanjing or Taipei. Each site has a distinct academic focus and will give students a different perspective on Chinese society. Students participating in this program will study at some of the region’s most prestigious universities, improve their Mandarin Chinese language skills, and gain an understanding of contemporary China.
For all program sites, detailed course lists are available here . In Beijing (Peking University) students will develop their fluency in spoken and written Mandarin Chinese through intensive language training. In addition to two required language courses (Spoken Chinese and Readings in Chinese), participants will take additional electives in Chinese depending on their linguistic proficiency.
ACADEMIC FOCUS
All three sites in this program will be of particular interest to students majoring in Asian Languages and Cultures. In addition, the Taipei site can accommodate students interested in the social sciences and humanities.
This program is open to juniors and seniors in good social and academic standing who have a minimum GPA of 2.75. In addition, for any of the three locations students must have completed a minimum of two years of college-level Mandarin Chinese or the equivalent and one Chinese area studies course prior to participating in the program. Due to the challenging nature of study abroad, student academic and disciplinary records will be carefully screened.
Students live in foreign student dormitories at Peking University. Meals may be taken at local restaurants.
Excursion destinations include sites of historical and cultural importance such as the Great Wall and Ming Tombs, Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven, Liulichang cultural street, and various other Buddhist and Daoist temples. Cultural activities include the Beijing Opera, classical and popular music concerts, and classes in calligraphy, painting, taijiquan, qigong, stamp cutting and traditional Chinese musical instruments.
Students will be charged standard HWS tuition and fees, room fees, and a $600 administrative fee. This will cover tuition for a four-course semester, health insurance, housing, and all program-related activities and excursions. Note that no board charge is included. Students should plan to bring their board fee to cover meal expenses throughout the program. While food expenses will vary according to individual tastes, we estimate about $1200—$1500 will be sufficient.
Additional expenses not covered include airfare, books, local transport and personal expenses (laundry, entertainment, independent travel, etc.). We estimate airfare for this program at $1400-$1600 from the East Coast, local transport from $150—$300 and books from $50—$150. It is difficult to give an accurate estimate of personal expenses because student spending habits differ considerably. We would suggest a minimum of $1300 for Beijing, above and beyond meal expenses. However, students on a tight budget should be able to manage with less. If you are concerned about finances, we strongly encourage you to talk to the CGE staff who can offer information and advice based on your specific situation.
NOTE: CIEE has supplemental scholarships available to students who have been accepted to the China/Taiwan program. Please see Amy Teel at the CGE for information on how to apply for these scholarships.
HWS students must complete all components of the Global Education application in order to be considered for admission to this program.
- This program is offered every semester.
- All components of the application must be submitted online by the published deadline. Specific deadline dates are set each semester and typically will be in October (for Fall programs) and late February/early March (for Spring programs).
Program Handbook
IMPORTANT: The handbook(s) below is/are the most recent handbook(s) published for this program. A new version, with updated information, will be made available each semester. Program participants will receive their updated handbook approximately 2-3 months prior to their program’s start date.
FALL HANDBOOK / SPRING HANDBOOK
Please DO NOT MAKE TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS until you have received final confirmation of the program start/finish dates for the specific semester you are attending. Dates included in versions of the program handbook intended for previous semesters do not necessarily apply to future programs.
NOTE: The information above is subject to change. Please see the CGE for more information.
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