IFSA - STUDY IN SHANGHAI: SOCIAL SCIENCES
  Shanghai, China

WHY STUDY IN SHANGHAI?
Shanghai has grown exponentially in the past hundred years—from an early trading port to a massive international metropolis with a population of 24 million. Known for its fast-paced businesses and cosmopolitan vibe, the city is intricately connected with the global flows of commodities and people. It also represents the enormous environmental, economic, and social challenges that are mirrored across China and around the world. Find your home in a vibrant, student-friendly neighborhood, with our program center just around the corner from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM
What’s it like to watch a city develop at an unprecedented pace? Shanghai is the place to find out. Explore this cosmopolitan metropolis as you dig into sustainable urbanization, economic reform, Chinese politics, foreign policy, and more. Boost your language skills by teaming up with a Chinese university student for a couple of hours of casual practice each week—communication is the key to getting even more from your time in Shanghai. 

The IFSA Study in Shanghai: Social Services academic track examines the history of Shanghai, its process of rapid urbanization, and China’s interface with the West in this dynamic Asian center. Maximize your learning by tailoring classes to your academic focus, enrolling in the required core class and three to four elective classes, including an internship opportunity.

CORE CLASS
Chinese Society in the 21st Century
This class examines the transformation in Chinese society since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, with emphasis on the changes brought about in the wake of the economic reforms of the 1980s and 1990s. Topics include urban and rural social transformation, the changing relationship between individual and society, and population control and the one child policy. Students explore the social consequences of China’s rapid integration into the global economy. (3 U.S. semester credit hours) 

ELECTIVE CLASSES
Customize your semester based on your personal interests and degree requirements, choosing from the electives on the IFSA Study in Shanghai: Social Sciences academic track as well as our IFSA Study in Shanghai: International Business and IFSA Study in Shanghai: Public Health academic tracks. All elective classes are taught in English and worth 3 U.S. semester credit hours.

• City and Environment
• Contemporary Chinese Politics: State, Party, People
• Exploring Community & Culture in a Global Context 
• International Internship Seminar
• Sino-U.S. Relations: Superpower and Realignment
• Survey of Art in China

LANGUAGE CLASSES
Developing skills in a foreign language can profoundly impact your life personally and professionally. Though language study (other than Essential Chinese) is not required, students frequently report their Chinese language class as one of their favorites and the one they applied most outside of the classroom.

Essential Chinese
If you’ve never studied Chinese before, and you decide not to take an elective language class, you’ll take this introductory seminar to contemporary Chinese language and culture taught intensively during the first weeks of the program. (1 U.S. semester credit hour)

Chinese Language
No prior language study is required. A placement exam during on-site orientation determines each student’s appropriate language level. (6 U.S. semester credit hours)

• Beginning Chinese I
• Beginning Chinese II
• Intermediate Chinese I
• Intermediate Chinese II
• Advanced Chinese I
• Advanced Chinese II
• Advanced Chinese III
• Advanced Chinese IV
• Advanced Readings in Chinese
• Business Chinese

CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES & EXCURSIONS
Program activities are designed to enhance your intercultural competence by developing your understanding of the local culture and people. Activities are optional, but they are included in your total program fee. Activities vary each term based on availability, but may include:

• City-as-Text
• Art Tour of West Bund Cultural Corridor
• Visit to Manufacturing Plant
• Food and Local Culture
• Tai Chi and Calligraphy

IFSA excursions are included in your total program fee and though these are optional, most students choose to participate. They vary each term based on availability, but excursions may include:

• Water Town Trip
• Local Community Visit

    WHAT’S INCLUDED IN MY IFSA PROGRAM?

• Academic Support
• Administrative Fees and Applications Fees
• Airport Pickup
• Activities and Excursions (including transportation and meals)
• Guaranteed Housing
• International Medical Insurance
• Internet Access in Housing
• Internship, Directed Research, and Volunteer Opportunities (on many programs)
• Meals (on some programs)
• Official Transcript with U.S. Credit Translation
• On-site Orientation
• On-site Staff Support (including in-person meetings and emergencies)
• Pre-arrival Advising
• Tuition

  WE’RE HERE FOR YOU