Program Description

Offered by the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES), the Contemporary Issues in China program is a specially designed Honors option open to UW-Madison students enrolled in the Letters and Science Honors program. UW-Madison students join honors students from other Big Ten universities to participate in an innovative academic program that features a series of advanced-level courses on the history, economics, and culture of China, Chinese language courses, and extensive field trips and travel incorporated directly into the curriculum.

As the political and cultural capital of China, Beijing attracts people from all over the country, and IES Beijing students are directly exposed to the numerous challenges being addressed in both the personal and political realms of modern China. Beijing is a city of contrasts—a modern Asian boom-town that strives to preserve the cultural landscape of its glorious past while all around the glass and steel emblems of its dynamic present flourish. While its new high-rises and financial institutions testify to its booming economy, remnants of Old Beijing remain. Streets lined with dumpling and noodle stands, beautiful parks bedecked with pagodas, and 19th century homes with graceful four-walled courtyards still charm visitors from around the world.

Academics

Established in 1941 to train Chinese diplomats and Foreign Service personnel, Beijing Foreign Studies University (Beijing Waiguoyu Daxue, popularly known as Bei Wai) is a prestigious teaching and research university with a multilingual, multidisciplinary curriculum, and is considered one of Beijing's most highly regarded academic institutions. The institution hosts a faculty of 600, and a student body of 4,000, including approximately 700 foreign students, the majority from non-English speaking countries.

The program is structured with modular courses taught one-at-a-time, so that seminars can take full advantage of the program’s location in China for experiential learning through field trips and an extended travel study component. The curriculum includes Mandarin Chinese language instruction beginning upon arrival, as well as three in-depth area studies modules:

• Contemporary China Through Literature and Film
• Ethnicity in Contemporary China: Visions and Practices
• A Changing China in International Affairs.

Students also enroll in a core course: Introduction to Chinese History and Civilization, designed to provide an introduction to the history and culture of China, as well as an opportunity to complete and present an independent research project in a program-wide symposium at the end of the semester.

Housing

Students live in an international student residence hall on the Beijing Foreign Studies University campus. Accommodations feature single, air-conditioned rooms with shared bathrooms and kitchens. Homestays with local Chinese families are also available. Meals are not included in the program fee. Students may take meals at one of several university cafeterias or prepare meals in shared kitchens in residence halls. Additionally, many small, inexpensive, privately-operated restaurants near the campus and throughout Beijing are available. Students will have access to computer labs wired for high-speed internet access.

Excursions and Activities

While on the program, students participate in excursions within the Beijing metropolitan area on a weekly basis, as well as short trips to the wealth of historic sites in and around Beijing throughout the year. An extended period of travel to areas of China directly related to an academic course is also incorporated into the program. IES Beijing also routinely hosts cultural events and guest lectures for the general student body and for individual courses.

IES Beijing staff can provide contact information for students interested in volunteer opportunities while in Beijing. In past years, IES students have volunteered as English teachers in elementary and secondary schools, a women's call center, and at NGOs assisting children with various disabilities.