IFSA Study in Shanghai

Our Study in Shanghai offerings are design for students from zero to advanced Chinese language experience. Build your own curriculum with any combination of language and IFSA elective classes, or choose one of the curated Study in Shanghai academic tracks with focuses on international business, social sciences, or Chinese language.

Whether you build your own curriculum or enroll in an academic track, choose four to five IFSA classes for a total of 15-16 U.S. semester credit hours. Semester credits hours for language classes vary, but IFSA elective classes are all worth 3 U.S. semester credit hours each.

ACADEMIC TRACK OPTIONS

IFSA Study in Shanghai academic tracks are developed with a focus around a central academic discipline. Each track includes a specific collection of classes, including a core class or required class, and may include different language prerequisites.

The IFSA Study in Shanghai: Intensive Chinese Language academic track offers 20 hours per week of Chinese language instruction for students who wish to focus on improving their Chinese language skills. To enroll, students must have completed two semesters of prior Chinese language study.

The IFSA Study in Shanghai: International Business academic track offers unparalleled opportunities to examine China’s rapidly changing business environment and the global networks in which it plays an increasingly strategic role.

The IFSA Study in Shanghai: Social Sciences academic track examines the history of Shanghai, its process of rapid urbanization, and China’s interface with the West in this dynamic Asian center.

NON-TRACK OPTION

Design your own curriculum based on your own interests and degree requirement with the non-track Study in Shanghai option. Choose four to five classes from the following language and electives options for a total of 15-16 U.S. semester credit hours.

ELECTIVE CLASSES

Customize your semester based on your personal interests and degree requirements, choosing from these electives. All elective classes are taught in English. Not all electives may be offered in a given semester depending on enrollment and faculty availability.

China: Economic Giant

The class provides an interpretative survey of China’s emergence as a global economic power. The phenomenal changes in the Chinese economy over recent decades are highlighted, and aspects of quantitative development are related to the radical reforms adopted since 1978. Students discuss major policy issues encountered by the Chinese government in sustaining high-speed economic growth without instability. Students also explore China’s pursuit of full integration into the global free trade system. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

China as a Global Market

China is not only a major export market but also a global sourcing base, given that Chinese exports are dominated by foreign-funded enterprises. Discussions include China’s rising purchasing power and consumption market potentials, trends in China’s demand for capital goods and western technology, marketing new products, cultural attributes in Chinese consumer behavior, outsourcing and sourcing in China, the service industries, international distribution systems, market regulations and deregulations, export tax rebate and import duties, and pricing and terms of payments. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

City and Environment

With a rapidly growing population, rising lifestyle expectations, and continuing industrial production, urban China's usage of water and energy resources is a key question for those concerned with a sustainable future. This class will localize these issues by investigating Shanghai as a case study of urban environmental issues in China. How does Shanghai face the challenges of resource use and waste that its sprawling urban footprint creates? How sustainable can Shanghai become? (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Contemporary Chinese Politics: State, Party, People

This class examines the current political leadership of China, urban and rural relations, nationalism and foreign policy, mass participation, and the emergence of the rule of law. How has the communist political system evolved? What are the challenges when the society is under massive change as a result of economic reform and globalization? How is political stability maintained? And most importantly, the million-dollar question: when will China democratize? (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Environmental Health

Environmental health concerns in China, particularly surrounding air and water pollution, are well documented and widely acknowledged on the international stage. Rapid growth in China’s industry and economy have led to increasing health hazards for Chinese people in their communities, homes, schools, and even workplaces. In this class, students explore the various issues policy makers consider when undertaking risk assessment and developing regulatory policies to reduce these negative impacts while maintaining a trajectory of economic growth. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

International Internship Seminar

Students are placed in individual internships but collectively take part in the seminar to prepare for the experience, understand expectations, set personal objectives, identify, and strengthen specific skills, critically reflect on their progress, share experiences, and learn from each other throughout their term. Students develop a deeper understanding of themselves, their professional areas, and Chinese work culture. In this seminar, which is focused on application of theory to practice, students gain real world work experience while developing intercultural agility — skills and experiences that are critically important to personal, academic, and professional success. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

International Money and Finance

Students must have completed an Introduction to Finance class as a prerequisite for this class. This class familiarizes students with the basic theories for global financial liberalization and the major policy problems involved for the Chinese government to fully integrate the country with the global financial system. Discussions address Chinese interest rate determination, the exchange rate regime, and associated risks; new investment and financing techniques; B-share versus A-share in Chinese stock markets; the role of qualified institutional investors; and the possible implications of renminbi becoming fully convertible in the future. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

International Trade: A Chinese Perspective

This class helps students develop the conceptual basis and the necessary tools for understanding modern international trade at the intermediate level. Topics include classical and modern theories of international trade, factor price equalization, empirical tests and extensions of the pure theory model, economic growth and international trade, the nature and effects of protection, and motives and welfare effects of factor movements. Each topic includes case studies under the context of China’s international trade with the U.S. and the rest of the world. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Managing Enterprises in China

This class focuses on the modus operandi of major types of enterprises in China, such as large-scale state-owned enterprises, share-holding corporations, collective enterprises of global significance, and foreign-funded conglomerates. Discussions address functional aspects of enterprise management, including production and investment decision-making, financing, marketing and supply sourcing, human resource management, technology transfer, and research and development, as well as the Chinese government’s changing regulatory framework. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Nutrition, Food Safety and Security

With the recent development of the China Food and Drug Administration, as well as public demand for improvement in the management of food safety risks, issues of nutrition and food security permeate many Chinese policy agendas. China’s cultural and political landscapes provide an ideal context for exploring these complex and interconnected topics. This class allows students to examine how China’s regional diversity, uneven economic development, and varied dietary consumption patterns impact policy decisions and regulatory standards. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Operations and Supply Chain Management

This class introduces business operation and supply chain management. Both operations and supply chain management are the primary functions of every company and organization. In this age of rapid globalization and fast-moving information, operations and supply chain management are the keys to improving company profitability and sustainability. It is crucial for the success of a company and its customers; therefore, no one should underestimate its importance. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Public Health Policy and Practice in China

Public health policy in China has been shaped by rapid and profound economic, social, and political currents. This course examines those developments and their implications for public health practice. Contemporary issues in health policy at national and local levels will be explored within the context of the health system. Topics include the former One Child Policy and family planning, caring for an aging population, child and maternal health, health literacy, and regional and urban/rural variations in health. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Sino-U.S. Relations: Superpower and Realignment

The U.S.-China relationship is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. This class examines their intricate relationship, focusing on the period after 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was proclaimed. What roles have trade and human rights played in the relationship? How have recent incidents, such as the American bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999 and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, influenced the strategic Beijing-Washington relationship? What lies in the future, as China rises? (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Survey of Art in China

This class is a systematic seminar that explores the important developments in Chinese art from early history to modern times. Most sessions will take place in selected museums throughout Shanghai. Rather than studying the objects as art, students will examine them as “artifacts.” Students also will explore questions such as: When and how did these artifacts come to be placed within the precincts of art museums? What statement does the object narrate regarding its historical and present context? (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Traditional Chinese Medicine

For more than 3,000 years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has formed a unique system for diagnosing and treating disease as well as cultivating life-long health. A combination of classroom sessions and hands-on TCM practica provides a lens through which students can better understand the Chinese cultural context in which today’s public health policy is implemented. This class introduces basic TCM theories, useful daily diagnostics, and treatment methods including acupressure, Chinese herbs, dietary adjustments, cupping, reflexology, acupuncture, and exercises such as tai chi. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

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. By introducing key words and phrases and venturing out into the city to practice them, you’ll gain essential skills to communicate effectively and navigate in a new culture. (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

You must have completed three semesters of Chinese language prior to taking this class. You will develop specialized skills in business-related Chinese communication in both oral and written form. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)