The most current information and application procedures are no longer available on this website. All current information and application for all study abroad programs are now found through https://www.studyabroad.virginia.edu/
The UVA China Gateway Program is specially designed by UVA faculty to complement the university curriculum. This program will allow students to earn UVA credit and grades, not simply transfer credit. Participants will take an interdisciplinary study of Chinese language, history/ society, and culture that will utilize local guest speakers and field trips. A member of the UVa faculty will accompany the group and will integrate resources from the community and country into the course syllabi. With three elements - language, history/society, and culture, followed by twelve days of travel to Beijing, Xi’an and Chengdu, the program is ideal for students who have never before traveled to China.
Included in this program is a trip to Shanghai, one of the most cosmopolitan and exciting cities in Asia, for six weeks of classroom study at East China Normal University and field trips in and around Shanghai. This is followed with twelve days of travel. First to the capital Beijing , to visit, among other sites, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. Then travelling to the ancient city of Xi'an, home of Emperor Huang Di's Terracota Army and the tomb of Empress Wu.
Courses & Credits
All students will enroll in EAST 131-132, a single six-credit UVA course. You'll be in class five days a week from 9 to noon, as a group, with no other students. The coursework covers three areas, with roughly equal class hours devoted to each area.
First, every day you'll study conversational Chinese, working with experienced ECNU language teachers. Class size will be 8-10. Within a week you'll feel comfortable using Chinese to move around the city, traveling, and making simple purchases.
Second, on Mondays and Fridays, a "culture class" will focus on such topics as art, literature, music, martial arts, and folklore, each of which will be linked to some off-campus activity planned for that week or weekend: a museum trip, a rock concert, Beijing Opera, etc. This module will be conducted by an ECNU faculty member, with some guest lecturers.
Third, on the three middle days of the week the Program Director will conduct a lecture/guided reading course, discussing five books which will introduce us to China's social system and recent history. The Program Director will assign a letter grade for EAST 131-132, with input from the ECNU faculty, and that grade will appear on your UVA transcript.
Location & Housing
Shanghai is China's
largest and most densely populated city as well as the financial and
commercial center of the country. It offers all the opportunities of any
world-class city: museums, art galleries, theater, ballet, music and night
life, as well as some spectacular architecture and major historical sites.
East China Normal University
is one of China's key universities. Program participants will live in an
air-conditioned highrise dorm for international students, with the
possibility of sharing with a Chinese roommate majoring in English. Rooms
include desks, chairs, closets, television and phone. Students will have
access to washing machines in the building at nominal cost. ECNU has
several very inexpensive dining facilities on campus. Off-campus dining
choices vary widely in prices and cuisine.
Field Trips
& Travel
Participants will take several
field trips in Shanghai as a group including the Yu Gardens (Shanghai's
"Old Town"), the Jade Buddha Temple, one of Shanghai’s oldest active
Buddhist temples and the Shanghai Mu-seum. We'll also take two day-trips
to nearby cities: Suzhou and
Hangzhou, two extraordinarily beautiful and historic sites laced through
with canals. The Program Director will also generate a list of other
interesting optional excursions and may conduct some of these himself.
Following the Shanghai portion of the program, par-ticipants will
take a train to Beijing for four
days of sightseeing, including visits to Tian An Men Square, the Forbidden
City, the Great
Wall, and a Tibetan Temple. After this, the group flies to the ancient
capital city of Xi’an,
where we'll spend three days visiting the provincial museum, the tomb of
the Em-press Wu from the Tang dynasty, the oldest city wall in China, and
the tomb of China's first Emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi, who was buried with an
army of terra cotta warriors, chariots and horses. From Xi’an, the group
will fly to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan prov-ince, where we will explore
the city and take a day-trip to Leshan, the largest sitting Buddhist
sculpture in the world. From Chengdu, we return to Shanghai before
returning to the U.S.
.
Calendar (Tentative)
May
27: Leave for Shanghai
May -June: Study at
ECNU
June 26-July4: In Country Travel
July
21: Return Flight to US
Costs & Financial
Aid
The 2005 China Gateway Program cost,
for both in-state and out- of-state students, is approximately $4,100
(pending final approval), perhaps somewhat less. Cost includes tuition for
six U.Va. credit hours, accommodations, in-country transportation,
welcoming and departure banquets, and field trips.
Additional costs to participants: International airfare (estimate $950), textbooks, passports, optional non-credit classes, meals (estimate $300 but may vary widely), personal travel and entertainment, laundry, airport taxes, and personal expenses.
There are a number of sources of financial aid to help you cover these costs.
Aid in amounts up to roughly $1000 is available through the
East Asia Center Weedon Grants and
the ISO
Study Abroad Scholarships. Both offices are in Minor Hall, second
floor.
There are non-U.Va. sources.
The
biggest source is the Freeman-Asia program, which
awards up to $3000.
Freeman-ASIA gives priority to students who have never been to the
country that the program is stationed in, so programs such as this are
tailor made for it.
National
Security Education Program (NSEP) grants fund first- and second-years
for intensive summer study abroad, administered by the Institute of International Education
(NSEP).
The Keller Scholarship funds
international education for U.Va. African-American students.
UVA
aid or loans are available. Kemper Steele (U.Va. Financial Services,
Carruthers Hall, 1001 N. Emmett St.) writes as follows: "The Shanghai
program is one of 4 or 5 approved ISO summer programs for which financial
aid is offered. We provided aid for students in this program this past
summer. ISO provides us with the cost information and what is included in
the program (such as food or books). The student applies for summer
session financial aid and tells us they are in the Shanghai program. The
student tells us the cost of their airfare. Grant funds may be very
limited this upcoming summer, but families may apply for loans to help
cover the cost of the program. Please feel free to refer students with
questions to our office. We will be happy to work with them."
Beyond these sources, an ISO
webpage gives further ways in which you can pay for study abroad.
Application
Procedure
Application packets available on ISO Forms
website only.
Application deadline: March 18,
2005.
$300 non-refundable deposit and program registration:
April 1
Program fee balance: April 8, 2005.
After April 8. a $200
late fee will be assessed (last possible date for balance payment April
15, 2005.)
Program Director
The
Program Director, Brad Reed, is an associate professor in
U.Va’s department of history, where he teaches lecture courses and
seminars covering the entire span of Chinese history. He received his
Ph.D. in Late Imperial and Modern Chinese history from UCLA in 1994 and
has lived in Mainland China and Taiwan for over six years as a teacher and
researcher. Over the years, he has also led approximately twenty-five
American tour groups throughout the country.
Mail: International Studies Office, University of
Virginia
PO Box 400165, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4165
Phone:
434-982-3010 Fax: 434-982-3011
Last Modified: December
2003
Copyright (c) 2002 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of
Virginia