Program Description

Offered through the Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE), this study abroad program to Ho Chi Minh City offers UW-Madison students the opportunity to gain meaningful insight into Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos through studies in language, history, culture, literature, economics, and society. Based at Ho Chi Minh City International University, this program is designed for students interested in developing a solid foundation in the economics, political science, and history of Vietnam while immersing themselves in the local communities of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi during the fall semester and Ho Chi Minh City and Siem Reap, Cambodia in the spring semester.

A riverine society that formed a natural meeting point between the great world civilizations of China and India, Ho Chi Minh City has for centuries been a melting pot of ethnic Chinese, Khmers, Viets, Indians, and Chams. Over the past hundred and fifty years, colonialism and the Cold War brought heavy French and American influences to the city. The result today is a bustling, multilingual metropolis where, amid modern skyscrapers and exquisite French colonial architecture, you can enjoy espresso and croissants alongside Vietnam’s famous pho noodle soup.

Academics

Ho Chi Minh International University, a division of the Vietnam National University, is the first public international university of Vietnam, with a faculty comprised of 60% Vietnamese and 40% invited foreign instructors. Students study at the Hanoi College of Social Sciences and Humanities for the last five weeks of the fall program. The Center for Khmer Studies, where students spend the last four weeks of the spring program, promotes research, teaching, and public service in the social sciences, arts, and humanities, as they relate to Cambodia.

Newly established in 2007, the CIEE Study Center at Ho Chi Minh International University offers courses that provide a deeper understanding of the region while encouraging interaction with local scholars, students, and citizens. Students are required to take a course in Vietnamese language, one required core course, and three area studies courses taught in English while in Ho Chi Minh City. Fall semester students take Gender and Society in the Countries of Indochina Today during their 5-week stay in Hanoi, while spring semester students take Nation-Building in Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge Genocide during their 4-week stay in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Academic year students may also participate in a directed independent study course while in Vietnam.

Housing

Students live either on campus in a dormitory with a Vietnamese roommate or in a homestay. Students living with a homestay family in the city are provided with a daily shuttle that picks up students in the morning and bring them back in the evening after classes and recreation time. Students living on campus may take the bus into central Ho Chi Minh City at no extra cost. Students living in homestays have meals included in their housing fee.

Excursions and Activities

A three-day orientation is conducted at the beginning of the program to introduce students to Vietnamese culture and academics, and provide practical information about living in Vietnam. The academic program includes local day trips as well as longer excursions to places of historic and cultural interest throughout Vietnam. CIEE may be able to arrange for students with basic knowledge of the Vietnamese language to volunteer for a nongovernmental organization or corporate interest.