New Study Abroad Programs Offered By The Beijing Center

By John Sember, The Beijing Center

   

 

As students seek out relevant and stimulating study abroad programs and internships throughout their undergraduate careers, they will surely want to learn about their semester and summer opportunities at The Beijing Center (TBC) in China. Since its founding in 1998, TBC’s mission has been to promote a mutual understanding between Chinese and other cultures. For nearly twenty years, it has provided a unique and welcoming environment for students and scholars from all over the world to engage with China.

TBC offers traditional semester and summer programs, a renowned library and research center with over 25,000 volumes, and a customized program team whose staff build programs tailored to partner needs. What makes TBC unique is its placement in a long and storied tradition of Jesuit education, one that teaches that true cultural engagement starts first with friendship. Students, researchers, faculty and administrators are encouraged and warmly welcomed to discover and experience China with TBC, a partner of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU). To learn more, please visit TBC’s website at thebeijingcenter.org.

Semester Abroad
For nearly twenty years, TBC has served as a collaborative AJCU study abroad and research center in China. TBC’s collaborative origins continue today, with many AJCU partners still using TBC as their Chinese study abroad program to provide traditional semester and year abroad options for their students. Under the “China is the Classroom” philosophy, TBC combines intense language and course work, academic excursions, immersion opportunities, Chinese roommates and language tutors to fully immerse students into Chinese culture. No previous Chinese language is necessary and TBC’s 20 English-taught courses, accredited through Loyola University Chicago, are typically transferable toward major or core requirements. Studying in Beijing is affordable, with many scholarship programs available and, in many cases, students can apply the financial aid packages from their home institutions. Students are encouraged to discover and experience the country with TBC, the only Jesuit higher education apostolate in Mainland China. The deadline to apply for the Fall 2017 semester is April 1, 2017; the deadline to apply for the Spring 2018 semester is October 15, 2017. To learn more, please click here.

Global Leaders Summer Internship
The Global Leaders Summer Internship program is TBC’s 10-week program intended for students to obtain in-depth knowledge of professional life in China, with both Chinese and international colleagues, and within the Chinese context. Aligned with overarching goals of building intercultural competencies, these internships encourage students to think about China in a deeper way outside of the classroom, and to gain a unique global, professional experience. Students at TBC have the added advantage of applying what they learn in the classroom (through accredited Chinese language courses) immediately to their Beijing workplace. TBC also offers Chinese language courses at multiple levels. With over five years’ experience placing students in internships, TBC works hard to match their interests and career goals with one of several partner organizations: embassies, technology companies, multinational corporations, television networks, non-profit organizations, research institutions, trade associations, museums, media companies and more. If students do not find what they are looking for, they can contact TBC staff to explore other options or propose their own internship experience. The application deadline for Summer 2017 is March 15, 2017. Check out program details online (thebeijingcenter.org/global-leaders) and refer any programmatic questions to advisor@thebeijingcenter.org.

ChinaGreen Summer Program
Considering big questions about balancing environmental management and economic development? Then take your studies on the road with ChinaGreen, The Beijing Center’s 3-credit, 4-week environmental studies summer travel course. The course begins in Beijing with orientation, classroom lectures and field experiments, followed by a 10-12 day academic excursion to various destinations including Shanghai, the Wolong Panda Reserve in Chengdu, Zhangjiajie (where Avatar was filmed), and ecological parks. Dr. John Dorsey, Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science at Loyola Marymount University, will lead this one-month program. Through participation in behind-the-scenes site visits, tours, field research and experiments, and hearing lectures from global experts, students will achieve a greater understanding of the science behind environmental policy and practice. Throughout the program, students will analyze how economic development and environmental sustainability are intertwined, and reflect on personal roles in this global challenge, all while earning course credit. The application deadline for ChinaGreen Summer 2017 is April 1, 2017. Check out program details online (thebeijingcenter.org/ChinaGreen) and refer any programmatic questions to advisor@thebeijingcenter.org.