University offers opportunity to study Chinese, travel to China

 

The program begins on May 22 and continues for four weeks of Chinese courses on campus, after which students will travel to Hangzhou, China for another four weeks. There they will be staying at Zhejiang University where they will be continuing classes until the program's completion on July 17.

 

"We have a partnership with this university," student worker for the Chinese Flagship Program and junior global business major, Elena Dempsey, said. "They send students over here for a semester. We have a really good relationship with them and we send our students over there for the study abroad."

 

Dempsey said that this year will be the third time the program will be split between URI and China for four weeks each.

 

Previously it was just six weeks in China.

 

URI is offering three programs, which correspond to students' levels of language skills: the beginner program, which requires no prior experience, intermediate, which has a prerequisite of one year of Chinese, and advanced, which has a prerequisite of two years of Chinese.

 

Dempsey said that students who entered as beginners would be able to "hold a basic conversation, buy something from a store or order something," by the end of the course.

 

She said there would be grammar, speaking, and Chinese character classes, along with cultural activities during the program. In China, there will be a group trip and free time to explore the city. Chinese student guides will also be available to show participants around the city. She said the program at URI is a lot more structured, with classes during the day, while Zhejiang gives the students more freedom.

 

Any student from any major may apply for the program as long as they are not on academic probation. While first priority goes to students enrolled in URI, students from other universities, as well as professors from URI, Rhode Island College and Community College of Rhode Island may apply.

 

Last year there were 35 applications and all were accepted into the program.

 

Dempsey said that the program was started because the Chinese Flagship Program wanted URI students to take intensive Chinese classes. Eventually, it opened up to all majors.

 

According to the Flagship page on the URI website, the URI Chinese Language Flagship Partner Program is an intensive undergraduate program preparing students for global careers. Students will earn a bachelor's degree in their chosen field along with proficiency in Mandarin Chinese.

 

"Personally I had the time of my life," Dempsey said.

 

Dempsey said there is a nonrefundable deposit of $150 and the full eight-week program is $5,500.

 

This price includes housing and a meal plan at URI, housing in China, registration, tuition, and cultural activities. The price does not include textbooks and meals in China. Students only participating in the four-week URI portion of the program will only be charged $2,500.

 

Final applications are due on April 1, but in order to be eligible for scholarships a student must apply by March 1. Applications can be found on the Flagship Program's website or from the Texas Instruments House.