Information for term Business, Language + Culture
Application deadline, and cost information.
Overview
Click to OpenThis program has been suspended for fall 2021.
Explore our other active study abroad programs for fall 2021, or check out our travel assurances and updated health and safety guidelines.
Improve your Chinese language skills and boost your cultural knowledge while studying international business in Shanghai — a global hub of culture, commerce, and finance. Students take classes in English at CIEE Global Institute - Shanghai across a range of subject areas, including business, communications, and political science. Students can also opt for a for-credit internship and gain practical work experience and firsthand insight into Chinese business culture. All courses are complemented with CIEE co-curricular activities and excursions beyond the city to enhance classroom learning and provide intercultural understanding.
Follow our Travels:
Unique experiences
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Take classes
taught by Shanghai’s pros, like Charles Mo, CFO at Nike China.
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Help a Shanghai
start up with project management, or add experience to your resume with a similarly valuable internship.
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Get inside companies
like Shanghai Volkswagen, IKEA, Honeywell, and Coca-Cola and learn about management from the city’s most successful leaders.
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years of CIEE study abroad programs in China
36 -
years since Shanghai was incorporated
751 -
26,000 students at East China Normal University (including almost 5,000 international students)
26,000
Location & Culture
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Your Destination
Perched on the banks of the Huangpu River and the East China Sea, Shanghai is China’s largest city by population, and a global hub of culture, commerce, and finance. Massively redeveloped over the past 20 years, the city boasts many of the world’s latest and greatest. The list includes: uber-tall buildings stretching up in the new financial district; and the world’s fastest-growing rapid-transit system featuring the world’s first commercial high-speed Maglev train.
The Culture
EXCURSIONS & ACTIVITIES
- Learn about Chinese business with company visits in Shanghai.
- Join classmates for a thrilling acrobat performance, river cruise, group meals, and more.
- Explore Chinese history and arts with visits to museums, art exhibitions, and plays.
- Travel to beautiful cities such as:
- Suzhou, often called the “Venice of the East” for its many canals, classical gardens, and silk industry
- Hangzhou, known for its natural beauty as well as its textile and tech industries
- Nanjing, one of China’s four ancient capitals and major commercial centers
- Zhujiajiao, a traditional water town lined with stone bridges, cobblestone lanes, and canals
- Gain hands-on cultural experience by learning Chinese cooking, calligraphy, martial arts, or mahjong.
- Connect with the community by volunteering with local organizations or schools.
Excursions
Students participate in a one-week excursion for an in-depth look at Chinese culture and history. Past excursions have included:
- Silk Road Trade Route – This famous premodern route enabled the exchange of merchandise, as well as religious, cultural, and artistic ideas. Students travel from the head of the northern route in Xi’an to Dunhuang, the City of Sands, a desert oasis at the junction of the northern and southern trade routes. Offered during fall term only.
- Tea and Horse Road – This ancient network of mountain paths connected the tea-growing regions of southwestern China to Burma and India by mule caravan through the mountains and valleys of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces and Tibet. Students may travel to Lijiang and Shangri-La, seat of a Tibetan autonomous prefecture near the border of Tibet. Offered during spring term only.
- Global Business in China – Explore the Pearl River Delta Region in Southern China and sites such as the Canton World Trading Fair, one of the oldest world's trading fairs. Students visit companies and attend lectures on business development and industry, take a city tour, and visit a local temple.
- Convergence of Cultures – You’ll find some of the most traditional forms of Chinese culture preserved on the island of Taiwan, which maintains a thriving civil society with a democratic political system and capitalist economy. See why this culture is described as a blend of Chinese and Japanese cultures, with traditional Confucian beliefs and contemporary Western values. Visit the National Palace Museum, Taipei 101, aboriginal communities, the port city of Kaoshiung, the night markets of Tainan, and more.
Internship
Study abroad students participating in the Organizational Internship course will be assigned to an internship project with a company in Shanghai. The internship sponsors, which vary each term depending on participating organizations and available positions, may include local Chinese companies and multinational companies, as well as international small and medium-sized enterprises and nonprofit organizations. Course curriculum includes class introduction, coached work, and final presentation to earn three academic credits. See the “Curriculum” section for more detail.
Program Blogs
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Daily Life
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HOUSING
Homestays: Ideal for students who want to make rapid progress with their language skills – Chinese families speak only Chinese. Students have their own bedrooms in the host family apartment, and share the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. Host apartments are a 15- to 45-minute walk or commute by public transportation from campus.
Residence Halls: Students choose to live with a Chinese ECNU student – and speak only Chinese – or with another CIEE student in a five-story hall on the ECNU campus. There are shared kitchens and bathrooms on each floor, plus study areas and laundry facilities. The hall is a 10-minute walk to CIEE and close to public transportation.
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MEALS
Homestays: Students are invited to most meals, but should budget for lunches and some weekend meals.
Residence Halls: Students are responsible for meals. There are moderately priced cafeterias on campus.
Shanghai, China Where You'll Study
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CIEE Global Institute - Shanghai
On the downtown Putuo campus at East China Normal University
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EAST CHINA NORMAL UNIVERSITY
Downtown Putuo campus
Academics
Click to OpenAcademics
CIEE’s Business, Language, and Culture program is designed for students who have taken three semesters of college-level microeconomics or macroeconomics, accounting, finance, management, or marketing. Courses are focused on contemporary business issues affecting China and the role of the world’s second largest economy on international business today. Company site visits and other networking opportunities allow students to apply theories learned in class and contextualize the country’s economic rise within China’s largest business hub. Students investigate pressing business issues and trends with some of China’s most respected professors, such as Oliver Yang, the corporate social responsibility and government relations manager for the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.
The CIEE Global Institute – Shanghai is located on East China Normal University (ECNU)’s downtown Putuo campus, and is known as the “Garden University” for its beautiful grounds by the Liwa River. Chinese language and elective courses are taught by full-time CIEE faculty members, including the CIEE language director, adjunct faculty from ECNU and other prestigious institutions, and professionals from the private business sector. A committee of specialists in teaching Chinese as a second language holds these courses to the highest educational standards.
GPA
2.5
Language Prerequisites
There are no specific language requirements for this program.
Additional Requirements
Three semesters of college-level microeconomics or macroeconomics, accounting, finance, management, or marketing.
Students who are citizens of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan ROC, Hong Kong SAR, or Macao, please contact a CIEE Study Abroad Advisor for details.
Individual courses may have additional prerequisites; for CIEE courses, these are listed in the syllabi below. Students are responsible for having their own course approval conversations with their advisors.
Program Requirements
Students must take 4-5 courses, for a total of 15 U.S. semester credits, including:
- 2 business courses
- 2-3 additional courses – students choose from the following:
- Additional business courses
- A Chinese language course
- Elective courses in English or Chinese
- An Organizational Internship
- Directed Independent Research
PROGRAM CREDIT
Total semester credit: 15 semester/22.5 quarter hours. Students with special approval can take up to 18 semester/27 quarter hours
Total academic year credit: 30 semester/45 quarter hours
Chinese language courses: Contact hours – 90; credit – 6 semester/9 quarter hours per course Elective courses: Contact hours – 45; credit – 3 semester/4.5 quarter hours per course Organizational Internship: Contact hours – 45 (including 100 – 120 work placement hours); credit – 3 semester/4.5 quarter hours
Directed independent research: Contact hours – 45 (including 100 – 120 hours of research); credit – 3 semester/4.5 quarter hours
Course Credit
- CIEE courses: 3 semester/4.5 quarter credits; 45 contact hours
- CIEE language courses: 6 semester/9 quarter credits; 90 contact hours
- CIEE Organizational Internship: 3 semester/4.5 quarter credits; 15 seminar hours, 100-120 internship placement hours
- CIEE Directed Independent Research: 3 semester/4.5 quarter credits; 15 contact hours, 100-120 research hours
Individual courses may have additional prerequisites; for CIEE courses, these are listed in the syllabi below. Students are responsible for having their own course approval conversations with their advisors.
Academic Culture
CIEE courses are designed to follow U.S. academic culture and standards. Courses are academically rigorous, and there is a heavy emphasis on participation. Attendance is required, and students should avoid scheduling travel during the week. In language classes, instructors introduce new content and focus on improving students’ language accuracy and consistency through drills. Outside of class, students meet with peer tutors to reinforce the content and language skills learned in class. Additional hours of language tutoring can be arranged if necessary.
Class Format
The semester is 15 weeks long and includes a one-week orientation, 12 weeks of instruction, a one-week group cultural excursion, a one-week program break for independent travel, and typically, one national holiday. Courses take place Monday through Thursday for two to four hours with occasional course-related field trips on Fridays and weekends. Class sizes range from 4 to 20 students and are typically co-taught by head language instructors and assistant language instructors. Students also meet with peer tutors for structured tutorials for at least two hours per week. All Chinese language courses, business electives, and area studies electives are managed by CIEE and specially designed for CIEE study abroad students. Some area study courses may include a limited number of ECNU students to increase cross-cultural and academic exchange.
Grading
The U.S. grading scale of A-F is used. For elective courses, students are graded on exams, homework, participation, and attendance. Professors may assign exams, quizzes, research papers, and individual and group oral presentations or projects. For language courses, students are graded on daily homework, quizzes, and written and oral exams.
Individual courses may have additional prerequisites; for CIEE courses, these are listed in the syllabi below. Students are responsible for having their own course approval conversations with their advisors.
Language of Instruction
English and/or Chinese
Individual courses may have additional prerequisites; for CIEE courses, these are listed in the syllabi below. Students are responsible for having their own course approval conversations with their advisors.
Courses
Click to OpenCourse Information
Course Notes
- Students who have not completed one semester of college-level Chinese or are unable to demonstrate equivalent proficiency must take Conversational Chinese or another Chinese language course to complete the Organizational Internship.
- Students taking a Chinese language course will take an on-site placement exam and be registered in the appropriate language level based on their results.
- Students enrolling in the Organizational Internship are required to change their student visa to an S2 Visa. Students pursuing the internship are responsible for the $150 S2 Visa application fee. The application process includes approval from the internship sponsor, approval from ECNU, and a special application to the Chinese government. Please note that recipients of the S2 Visa are not allowed to leave and re-enter the mainland of China without obtaining a new visa.
Note: This course listing is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a contract between CIEE and any applicant, student, institution, or other party. The courses, as described, may be subject to change as a result of ongoing curricular revisions, assignment of lecturers and teaching staff, and program development. Courses may be canceled due to insufficient enrollment.
"(GI)" denotes courses that originated at CIEE's Global Institutes and that are offered at multiple Global Institutes and CIEE Centers.
Scholarships
Click to OpenScholarships & Grants
CIEE offers scholarships and grants annually to help students like you make your study abroad dream a reality.
Students who apply to this program are eligible for the following scholarships and grants:
- Wollitzer Merit Scholarships in Area or Comparative Studies
- Ping Scholarships for Academic Excellence
- Global Access Initiative (GAIN) Grants
- Stohl International Undergraduate Research Scholarships
- CIEE Gilman Go Global Grant
To be considered, submit the CIEE Scholarships & Grants application within your CIEE program application. Learn more at the Scholarships & Grants section of our website.
See more scholarship infoDates & Fees
Click to OpenDates & Fees
You get more for every dollar when you study abroad with CIEE, because our high-quality programs include everything from excursions to insurance. There are no hidden charges, and no disappointing surprises when you arrive.
Program |
Application Due |
Start Date |
End Date |
Fees & Housing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2022 15 weeks | Nov 1, 2021 | Feb 20, 2022 | Jun 4, 2022 |
To help you budget, keep in mind that students are responsible for the cost of international airfare, local transportation, books and supplies, visas, and personal expenses. In addition, your college or university may charge additional fees for study abroad, or may require you to receive a transcript via CIEE's School of Record, which carries an additional fee of $500.
Looking for funding?
What's Included
Click to OpenWhat's Included
Our Staff
Click to OpenOur Staff
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Juan Zhang
Program Manager, Shanghai
Juan Zhang is responsible for all aspects of student service, student activity administration, internship programs.
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Dr. Steve Chao
Director, Shanghai
Steve Chao is the Director at CIEE Shanghai Global Institute, responsible for all aspects of operations, including Academic, student service, finance, local partnership and government relations.
Get Started
Here's what you need to do to take the next steps:-
1
START AN APPLICATION
Apply Now
You're one step closer to an amazing study abroad experience! -
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CONNECT WITH YOUR CAMPUS STUDY ABROAD OFFICE
Share your plans and confirm you're on track to meet all required steps to go abroad. -
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Contact Us
Send us an email if you still have questions or need information about applying to this program.
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