Overview | Academics | Cost | Location | Life Abroad | Student Voices
Offered by the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES), the Contemporary Issues in China program is a specially designed program open to students with a sincere interest in learning more about China. UW-Madison students join students from other 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. The program is based at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU).
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.
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.
Getting to Your Program
Students are responsible for arranging their own transportation to Beijing but are given guidelines for arrival dates.
Visa
A student visa is required. U.S. citizens must have a U.S. passport valid for at least six months beyond the end of the program. IES will provide you with visa information.
Orientation
IAP expects you to be an active participant in preparing yourself for your study abroad experience. As a participant on an IAP program, you will receive a pre-departure orientation, either in-person or online. The type and format of this orientation will vary by program and will be provided to you upon acceptance to the program.
Students will participate in a mandatory week-long orientation session upon arrival in China. During this orientation students will gain insight into the current social and political conditions in China, attend practical Chinese lessons, learn about the expectations of you as a student at a Chinese institution, discover your new environment through several ventures into the city, and participate in activities like the "Mystery Drop-off" (part scavenger hunt, part group guidebook to explore neighborhood restaurants and shops, as well as interesting sites around the city).
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.
Insurance
You will be enrolled in the UW System required health insurance through Cultural Insurance Services International (CISI) and the cost of the insurance coverage is included in program fees.
On-Site Support
IES resident director and staff
Returned Student Network
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here to see testimonials from students abroad or to contact a returned student.
Established in 1941 to train Chinese diplomats and Foreign Service personnel, Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) 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 in-depth area studies modules taught in English.
Students also enroll in a core course: Understanding China, designed to provide an introduction to the history and culture of China, as well as the option to complete and present an independent research project in a program-wide symposium at the end of the semester.
Program Web Page(s)
www.iesabroad.org/IES/Programs/China/Beijing/Contemporary_Issues/beijingContemporary.html
Foreign Courses
Available Courses
Course Equivalents
Use the links below to see a list of courses that students have taken on this program before and the UW equivalents. Note: this list only includes pre-approved courses for your program and may not be an exhaustive list of courses or departments. You will get instructions on the course equivalent process after acceptance.
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