Location
  • China
    • Shanghai
Term
Fall, Spring, Summer
Subject Areas
Anthropology Business Communications Economics Film Geography Global Studies History Humanities International Business International Relations Literature Philosophy Political Science Sociology Theater Tourism +7

Program Details

Program Type
Provider
Degree Level
Bachelors
Language
English

Pricing

Price Details
The program fee includes tuition, housing at East China Normal University, optional internship placement, a transportation pass for the metro and buses, excursions to Beijing and Hangzhou (Fall & Spring only), and Suzhou, insurance, and CAPA services and support.
Jun 28, 2023
Jan 31, 2020
4 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Shanghai literally means “upon-the-sea” and water features heavily in life here, from the delicious fresh seafood served up in hundreds of restaurants, to the activities it allows, like floating down the Huangpu on a river cruise. It’s an exhilarating, culturally rich global city with more than 24 million people. There are historical sites like the Old Jewish Ghettos and French Concession to visit, traditional and contemporary arts to explore, and a skyline that feels (and stretches) out of this world.

The CAPA Shanghai program is located at East China Normal University where you’ll live with other international students. Our distinctive blend of academic and experiential education takes your learning style, interests, preferences and independence into consideration. You’ll learn both inside the classroom and beyond, with field studies, excursions, My Global City events, and an (optional) internship placement.

This program is no longer offered. View more programs from CAPA: The Global Education Network.

Program Reviews

4.33 Rating
based on 6 reviews
  • 5 rating 66.67%
  • 4 rating 16.67%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 16.67%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Academics 4
  • Support 4
  • Fun 4.2
  • Housing 4.35
  • Safety 4.7
Showing 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Default avatar
Khadijah
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

9/10 but still would do it again!

I never knew that my dream would become a reality. There were so many memorable moments like going to the Bund for the first time. Seeing it in the day time was completely different than seeing it at night. CAPA had many global events, but not too much so that I wasn’t able to go out during my own time. I was able to go to Disneyland. The wheather was extremely cold at first but it heated up when spring actually came. The classes were fun to go to, especially the chinese language class. However they were a little too long for my taste and it was hard to pay attention.

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
I would definitely go out more often. I feel like I didn’t get to see everything.
72 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Elise
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Studying abroad in China is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

I loved my study abroad experience in Shanghai, China. It was an amazing feat that I took on, I believe it made a lifelong impact on my life. I have a much better understanding of what it means to be globally aware. Most things that you will experience in China are very unique, not many others will comprehend what you are talking about when you return home. I was able to obtain an internship that was with an American financial company. I am very thankful for the opportunity and for the people I met along my journey. I will never forget about the interesting foods I was able to try while abroad. The sites I saw were amazing, I was able to experience what most only dream about. CAPA paid for most of our transportation while we were in Shanghai. When you take the metro 4 out of the 7 days a week to get to your internship it can start to add up. Especially the additional travel to get to Beijing and around Shanghai. I was surprised, as I had already accounted for the amount of money I expected to pay for travel. It allowed me to put that money towards other fun things we were able to do in the city.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
If I leave you with one piece of advice it would be to start working out on a step climber. The Great Wall of China that CAPA brings you could be called the great stairs of china!
65 people found this review helpful.
Nicole
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

I loved every aspect of studying and interning in Shanghai, China!

I had the opportunity to study abroad in China while taking an internship in the marketing field. The food, the culture, the people, and all the friends made my experience unforgivable. I traveled to Huangshan, Xi'an, Beijing, Suzhou, Guilin and many other beautiful areas.
I became more open minded with different cultures and it's traditions. I feel more confident with my Mandarin proficiency, and traveling alone.

What would you improve about this program?
Encourage local students to mentor or guide international students through the city or country overall. I a total of 4 local friends, I wish I met more.
59 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Jennifer
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

The life I wish I could live

The opportunities Shanghai provided me to go out and adventure were invigorating, not to mention CAPA provides its members metro cards, so I never had the worry of transportation money stop me from traveling all over the city. I was able to go to several museums, Shanghai fashion weekend, sporting events, and even got to ascend the Shanghai Tower, which is the second tallest building in the world, but has the highest observation deck and fastest elevator in the world, just to name a few of the remarkable things I was able to experience in Shanghai. And the adventures did not end there! An amazing aspect of studying abroad with CAPA is the hosted excursions they provided. I was able to see the Great Wall of China and Tiananmen Square, among other sights while on a trip to Beijing that CAPA organized for us. Our many excursions included different cities in China and interesting tours of locations in Shanghai. The trips took me to alluring destinations that I wanted to see, and, even better, all the logistical nightmares were taken care of for me! CAPA is an attractive program to study abroad with as it provides planned excursions, but also gives you an incredible amount of independence otherwise. If members are not comfortable being independent just yet, CAPA can provide suggestions of what to do on weekends, and can set them up with students from the host university to accompany them on excursions or errands! CAPA allows its members to be as independent as they want to be, and this adaptability really allowed me to make the most of my study abroad. It was comforting for me to know I had a resource that could help me, but also had the freedom to choose for myself what I wanted to do. Study abroad is all about stepping out of your comfort zone, but it is important to not stretch too far, to be scared rather than compelled. You absorb the most when you are uninhibited by your own reservations. Of course, a study abroad program is not just about the monuments you visit, but also the people you meet. I formed a strong bond with the other CAPA members I traveled with, making all my travels more memorable since I was having fun with my companions while experiencing these amazing new things. I also made friends with several people who lived in China. This made the semester ending and returning to the United States that much harder, but I am spectacularly thankful for the time we did have together. I personally chose to study abroad in Shanghai to improve my Mandarin language skills, so I was able to practice speaking Mandarin with my Chinese companions, and they took me to some of their favorite places in Shanghai that I might not have seen otherwise! I never felt alone in Shanghai, even though I was thousands of miles away from my familiar friends, and because of that I never felt homesick. Rather, I was constantly in the moment, excited to spend time with new people and see new things with them, which made my experience abroad that much more fulfilling. When I was not exploring or going to my classes, I was able to participate in an incredible internship thanks to the CAPA program. I was interning at an English school with students aged two to six years old. Talk about adorable! There, I was able to gain relevant skills, as well as experience what working in Chinese business was like. I have dreams to one day work abroad, so this was immeasurably helpful for me to ensure it was a good fit for me. I was grateful for the chance to actually help others through an internship, rather than just talk about how I plan to help others while sitting in a lecture. Furthermore, I was able to experience a different dimension of Chinese culture, which allowed me to learn more about the society around me and immerse myself as totally as I could. I did not study abroad just to see, I studied abroad to learn, to change. Shanghai was easily the best experience of my life.

What would you improve about this program?
This program could be more organized when it comes to internship placement. Some people in our program began their internship due to scheduling issues.
62 people found this review helpful.
Read my full story
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Sara
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Sara Urner CAPA Shanghai Review

I was ecstatic to have the chance to study abroad in China the fall of 2015. It was a part of the world that virtually none of my peers at my home institution had been to, and I was looking forward to the challenge of the language barrier as well as the major cultural differences I would face. While I did face several hardships when it came to the dietary change and the often limited resources on the ECNU campus, Shanghai was an incredibly exciting, safe, "foreigner-friendly" city with so much to offer to a young traveler much like myself up for an adventure.

What would you improve about this program?
I would say overall improve the living accommodations for the international students, but I don't think that would be very fair or even feasible considering the conditions that the Chinese students had to live with.
70 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Drake
2/5
No, I don't recommend this program

Don't set your expectations high

Where to begin? Well, I was a part of the first group that CAPA brought to Shanghai, and it was clear from the beginning that they were unprepared for our arrival. Perhaps it will get better, but perhaps not. The internships offered were uninspiring and did not fit most of our group's desired career paths, even after extensive communication before the program that they would. Don't believe them when they go on and on about their "organic" placement process, because group-of-8 interviews on the second day in China with two companies (with our majors ranging from Finance to Marketing to Chemical Engineering) was anything but organic. Communication was scarce throughout the program, even to the point that we were informed of a typhoon's imminent arrival only 24 hours prior, even though it was at Category 3 hurricane strength. Problems went unsolved and everyone in our group genuinely did not like or trust our group leader. The weather, it must be noted, is awful in Shanghai during the Summer but that is not under CAPA's control. The one bright spot was our university, East China Normal; the university staff and our instructor were great, and I would recommend them, but even that could have been arranged through different means. Take note.

58 people found this review helpful.
Response from CAPA: The Global Education Network

Dear Drake,

Thank you for your valued feedback. We are very disappointed to hear that your time in Shanghai wasn’t the remarkable experience most CAPA students anecdotally report about our study abroad programs. At CAPA, we are committed to providing meaningful study abroad experiences for our students and do our best to match up students with internships that fit not only their interests but also their experiences and career goals. We are taking this review very seriously because we greatly value our students. To this end, we will be looking into the concerns you’ve expressed immediately and will continue to stay in contact with you directly as we work to address these issues.

Best Regards,
The CAPA team

Questions & Answers