Chinese Universities Exchange Program (CUEP)

The Chinese Universities Exchange Program (CUEP) offers academic-year study at Fudan University (Shanghai), Nankai University (Tianjin), or Peking University (Beijing). Participants enroll in the Chinese language program for foreign students. Sample courses include listening comprehension, oral narration, modern Chinese phonetics, Chinese characters and vocabulary, translation, and reading of newspapers and magazines. Students who pass the advanced exam of the HSK, a Chinese language proficiency test, may attend regular university classes. Independent research projects can also be arranged and in the past have included the architecture of Tianjin and Buddhist rituals. CUEP participants will receive a transcript from the Chinese university. This transcript is used to apply for University of Minnesota credit for courses taken in China. The ten-month program begins in early September and ends in June. Courses are based on the semester system.

The program cost is based on resident tuition, dormitory housing, and student services fees. Program fees for 2008-09 are estimated at $12,800.00. The comprehensive fee will be finalized prior to the date of acceptance. Students may apply financial aid toward the program fee.

During the program, CUEP students live in the foreign students’ dormitory and share a double room with another international student. Students receive a monthly stipend to cover meal costs, books, and incidentals. The Chinese universities may arrange some free and/or subsidized local and regional excursions for foreign students. Students also receive discounts for plays, operas, museums, and other events. CUEP fosters academic and personal independence by immersing the students directly in a Chinese environment with no reliance on site directors or classes taught by American professors. CUEP is also a reciprocal exchange program—the China Center supports a Chinese graduate student or scholar with the program fee received from the CUEP student.

Fudan University, Nankai University, and Peking University are all comprehensive universities designated as the “National Key Institutions.” Among the three schools, Fudan University has the largest student population (about 44,000). Nankai University and Peking University each has less than 30,000 students. Fudan University also has the largest number of foreign students (2,200), followed by Peking University (about 1800) and Nankai University (about 850).

Each city has its own cultural identity and characteristics. Shanghai is the second largest city in China followed by Beijing and Tianjin. To find out more information about each city, you may wish to consult guidebooks such as the Lonely Planet’s China: A Travel Survival Kit and The China Guidebook.

Additional information on the three universities is available at the China Center.

INTERESTED? HERE’S WHAT TO DO

Come to the China Center, Room 290 in the Humphrey Center, for an application packet. Completed applications must be returned to the China Center by March 1, 2008. It is also required that you meet with a study abroad adviser in the Learning Abroad Center, 230 Heller Hall, to discuss transfer of credit, financial aid options, and specific procedures for study abroad students.

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For more information or to pick up application forms, contact:

China Center
University of Minnesota
290 Humphrey Center
301-19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Tel: (612) 624-1002 Fax: (612) 625-0045
Email: chinactr@umn.edu