CIEE College Study Abroad in Shanghai, China

I've studied abroad in China through multiple different programs and CIEE is hands down the best. The team in Shanghai does an amazing job of making sure that the students have the time of their lives in China. The academics were incredibly rewarding for me; I advanced my Chinese and learned about the perspectives of Chinese academics in international relations and economics. The social scene is amazing. After all, it is Shanghai. Yet, the program has a great balance between its own fun events that it plans for its students (totally optional) and time that students can and should take advantage of to get lost in this incredible city. The staff cares very very deeply about its students and I have never felt closer to my teachers anywhere else. I also enjoyed the trips that CIEE planned for us. In short, this program can be whatever you make of it; you can buckle down and dramatically improve your Chinese while having the time of your life in one of the coolest cities on earth, you can only study refuse to speak anything but Mandarin with the Chinese roommates (also optional my year), or you could spend the entire time exploring the city and the rest of China. It is a program that truly is for the students. I'd recommend it above any other that exists in China. I made some of the best friends I've ever had while studying at CIEE's center in Shanghai.

CIEE Shanghai has a wide variety of courses that explore different Chinese topics, but no science courses are offered in English. As a pre-med major, I made a point to seek out internships that would keep me in contact with the sciences while abroad. I had the opportunity to shadow the emergency and traditional Chinese medicine departments at nearby United Family Hospital. I thoroughly enjoyed observing medical care in an international setting while learning more about eastern medicine. It was also a great way for me to practice my Mandarin!

Generally speaking, I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to study abroad in China, a place that has been the object of my fascination for quite a while. Studying abroad through CIEE was a great way of doing so. Being that this is a country with a different primary language from my own, it was quite the challenge getting around on the first day despite having taken an Elementary Chinese class before. Fortunately, the CIEE office is right in the university, and we did not have the "always speak Chinese" rule in effect yet :). The CIEE staff are more than willing to assist with getting settled in and any other matters that may be of concern during your stay in China. Once the "always speak Chinese" rule was effected, the fun began. While it might have initially seemed overwhelming, it really did help me improve my Chinese and my confidence in speaking it. The teachers are awesome, as are the teaching assistants from the university who helped the teachers with the lesson. There is a variety of classes to choose from besides Chinese and a number actually improve your understanding of China and the people around you (I took a sociology class and Chinese film class). I really love how CIEE organized trips and tours around China and Shanghai; in case, like me, you hadn't much time to tour places on your own, these opportunities had you pretty well covered. I do suggest taking advantage of breaks to travel around as much as you can. There are a couple of Chinese speaking, writing etc. competitions CIEE plans, and they are great ways to practice as well (and get some tasty treats out of it). I could go on and on about my experience, but that should suffice for now. Long story short: CIEE is a wonderful organization and they plan out the program in a way that enables you to make the most of your time abroad, especially if you take advantage of the resources they have for you.