Students enroll in a language course, taught at BU Shanghai, two elective courses, taught in English at Fudan University, and the internship for a total of 16 Boston University units.
Required Language Course
All students choose one of the following courses, depending on their language level. Native Chinese speakers are required to take CAS LC 421. Each course carries four units.
Note: Syllabi are for course approval and reference only. Students will receive up-to-date syllabi when their courses begin.
CAS LC 111 First Semester Chinese
Essentials of structure, oral practice, introduction to the writing system.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Individual in Community
CAS LC 112 Second Semester Chinese
Prerequisite: CAS LC 111 First-Term Chinese, or the equivalent.
Essentials of structure, oral practice, introduction to the writing system.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Individual in Community
CAS LC 211 Third Semester Chinese
Prerequisite: CAS LC 112 Second-Term Chinese, or the equivalent.
Review of structure and grammar, practice in conversation and writing, introduction to reading.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Individual in Community
CAS LC 212 Fourth Semester Chinese
Prerequisite: CAS LC 211 Third-Term Chinese, or the equivalent.
Review of structure and grammar, practice in conversation and writing, introduction to reading. Satisfactory completion of CAS LC 212 fulfills the CAS language requirement.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Individual in Community
Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
CAS LC 311 Third Year Modern Chinese I
Prerequisite: CAS LC 212 Fourth-Term Chinese, or the equivalent.
Readings and discussion in modern Chinese of a range of authentic materials, including essays, newspaper articles and multi-media recourses. Explore social issues in contemporary Chinese society (e.g. love and marriage, education, employment, population, housing problem, etc.) and compare them with the other countries.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
CAS LC 312 Third Year Modern Chinese II
Prerequisite: CAS LC 311 Third Year Modern Chinese I, or the equivalent.
Units: 4
CAS LC 411 4th Year Modern Chinese I
Prerequisite: CAS LC 312 Third Year Modern Chinese II, or the equivalent.
Units: 4
CAS LC 412 4th Year Modern Chinese II
Prerequisite: CAS LC 411 4th Year Modern Chinese I, or the equivalent.
Units: 4
CAS LC 421 Topics in Chinese Language and Culture
Near-native fluency required.
Units: 4
Core Phase Elective
Students choose two of the following elective courses, all of which are taught in English by Fudan University faculty. The schedule and course offerings vary each term. Courses on the list below are from past terms and subject to change. Students will receive further details on elective courses as soon as they are finalized by Fudan.
Elective Courses
QST MK 467 International Marketing
This course aims to provide students with an in-depth and critical understanding of the opportunities and challenges in global consumer and business markets, with a focus on the perspectives of Asian and Chinese consumers. The curriculum centers on essential knowledge and skills required for a marketing manager to effectively develop and execute strategic, tactical, and administrative marketing strategies and operations. Additionally, the course emphasizes the growing importance of e-marketing in today’s interconnected world.
Units: 4
China’s Population and Development
Spring only.
China has been undergoing two exceedingly rapid transformations in the past half a century: a demographic transition with dramatic decrease in fertility and mortality, and an economic transition from a planned economy to a market economy. The compressed demographic transition has made China a country with a very low population growth rate and accelerating population aging, and unprecedented economic reform has lifted China to the ranks of middle-income countries. This course aims to introduce basic concepts and theories in demography, discuss the interconnection between demographic change and socioeconomic transformation, and also explore the socioeconomic consequences of population policies in China.
Units: 4
Culture and Health
Spring only.
This course examines health and illness from a cultural perspective. Specifically, we will analyze the social meanings associated with health and illness, medical knowledge production, medical decision-making, and global health in cross-cultural contexts. The students will have a chance to delve into issues related with the social processes of framing illness, the medicalization of life, the complexity and uncertainty surrounding medical decisions, and the cultural aspects of health practices across the globe.
Units: 4
Doing Fieldwork in China
Spring only.
This course aims to situate students’ fieldwork experiences within a framework of the local social contexts to provide students with conceptual and methodological tools for approaching their field placements; to evaluate their own experiences and observations through critical reflection; Anthropology provides a new language, a set of technical concepts, and a new methodological toolkit that will hopefully help you better observe, describe and understand the local social world around you. In learning the anthropological perspective, I hope that you develop a critical, even “skeptical” view toward superficial explanations of human behavior by replacing your common-sense understandings of social interaction with an uncommon sense about the structure and process of social life. As we learn about cultural anthropology as a social science we will learn to discriminate between reasonable and unreasonable generalizations made on the basis of limited evidence.
Units: 4
Development Studies
Fall only.
This course will guide students in developing social research skills in real-life topics. By taking this course, students will learn different procedures of social research methods. Also, by applying one or several research methods in studying a substantive question, students are expected to accumulate first-hand experience in social science studies. In this process, they also garner a better understanding of Chinese society.
Units: 4
Introduction to Chinese Society
This course aims to familiarize students with a number of themes about Chinese society. As the rapid development and comprehensive social transition in China has increasingly been a global focus, it is necessary to better understand the social, cultural and political forces that underpin China’s unique development trajectory and the current situation. In turn, such an understanding further calls for a process of learning an array of key notions and conceptual tools that will be methodically introduced and explicated throughout the semester.
Units: 4
Psychology and Life
Fall only.
This course is offered to any undergraduate students interested in the science of psychology. The course embraces the vision of American Psychological Association (APA), “to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives” (www.apa.org). Therefore, students are encouraged to apply what they have learned from the course to enhance the quality of their lives as well as the lives of others if possible. Moreover, as the name of the course suggests, it is hoped that by the emphasis of a cross-cultural perspective in teaching, students may develop the sensitivity as well as the appreciation for diversity in human lives, and therefore embrace a more open and tolerant attitude towards themselves and others.
Units: 4
Religion in Chinese Society
This course is designed to introduce students to the sociological study of religion in traditional Chinese society and the late modern world. The purpose of this course is to explain differing perspectives in understanding the significant role of Chinese religion in both the traditional and contemporary world. Discussion will focus on the similarities and contrasts in the dynamics of modernization as experienced in China and in the West, especially those spiritual convictions that lie at the heart of the Chinese heritage of popular belief and practice.
Units: 4
Social Capital Research
Fall only.
This course provides an overview of social capital research and its implication for individual mobility and social support. Topics covered in this class include the different schools of social capital, its individual and collective roots, how it relates to social support and individual health, as well as its application for contemporary economic and social life.
Units: 4
Theory and Reality: Population Migration in China
As one of the most populous countries in the world, China has experienced a rapid increase in its rural migrant population since the early 1980s, when the reform of the household registration (hukou) system was on the agenda. Due to the large number of rural laborers leaving the countryside to work in urban areas, China has undergone the largest and fastest urbanization in the world. This course starts from introducing the evolution of spatial patterns of internal migration and reasons for migration; and tries to illustrate the characteristics and wellbeing of the migrants; finally evaluates the impacts of the migration on urbanization and regional development.
Units: 4
Internship Phase
Internship Course
Study Abroad will enroll students in a non-unit Hub co-curricular and a four-unit internship course, which includes a classroom component. Placements are contingent upon the students’ past experiences, professional interests, and relevant academic history, as well as the availability of opportunities in any given term; flexibility is essential. Upon successful completion of the internship experience, students will receive a Hub requirement in the area Individual in Community from the co- curricular HUB SA 330.
HUB SA 330Study Abroad Internship
This course is a Non-unit Hub Co-curricular.
Units: 0
BU Hub areas:
Individual in Community
COM CM 471 Internship in Advertising/Marketing/Public Relations
Units: 4
CAS AH 505 Internship in the Arts/Architecture/Art Administration
Please note: The final internship course grade is determined solely by the coursework submitted for the internship seminar.
Internship Components
The student’s performance at the internship (evaluated by the supervisor)
An internship seminar and related assignments (graded by BU London faculty)
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Social Inquiry I
Oral and/or Signed Communication
CAS HU 425 Internship in the Visual/Performing Arts
Units: 4
CAS EC 497 Internship in Business/Economics
Units: 4
COM FT 493 Internship in Film/Radio/Television
Units: 4
SHA HF 390 Field Placement in Hospitality Administration
Units: 4
COM JO 412 Internship in Journalism
Units: 4
CAS PO 403 Internship in Comparative Law
Units: 4
CAS PO 405/IR 455 Internship in International Organizations
Units: 4
CAS PS 495 Internship in Health and Human Services
Units: 4
Internship Areas
Please note these are examples of past internship placements only. While BU Study Abroad guarantees an internship to program participants, specific placements vary from term to term and may not always be available. Likewise, internship placements may be available in academic areas not listed.
Advertising/Marketing/Public Relations
Work in companies or departments in public relations, marketing, or advertising on product development and promotion, branding, company and product launches, event planning, e-commerce and social media marketing, and specific advertising or public relations campaigns. Study marketing techniques and media and consumer behavior. Past internship placements have included Touchmedia, MSLGroup Asia, Adsmith China, Wieden + Kennedy, Ringier China Advertising, Collective Concepts, Ameson Foundation, Riviera Events, and Ogilvy PR.
Arts/Arts Administration
Gain an overview and learn about funding bodies that support the arts or work in one of the city’s art galleries, museums, or local arts centers. Past internship placements have included World of Art Brut Culture, V Art Center, ArtHub Asia, Pearl Lam Galleries and Art Networking.
Business/Economics/Finance
Work in various departments in Chinese or international firms and corporations. You may be placed with a small start-up, a larger state-owned enterprise, a private trading firm, a medium-sized consultancy, or a foreign or Chinese multinational corporation. You could work in computer programming and software engineering, e-commerce, accounting, digital consulting, trade, logistics, operations, finance and investment, marketing, HR, sales, and international business departments in a wide range of industries. Past internship placements have included Bluestar AMG, Gaotime, Aexele, Ming Jian, Praxair China, Xindanwei, Mahota, E-heng Import and Export, Josie Chen Range, Allianz China, Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk, Diageo, Talika Cosmetics, Arpin International Group, Xinyu Garments, Epermarket, Connect China, Caterer Goodman Partners, Pacific Asset Management, FrontCoding, CCP Games, and ACM Worldwide.
Film/Radio/Television
Study communications and work in writing, research, and broadcasting for television stations or film and production companies. Past internship placements have included Shanghai Media Company; Sabre Works Film; Shanghai International Channel’s news, cultural, and documentary programming; P.I.G China.
Hospitality and Tourism
Intern in the hospitality and tourism industries in fields such as hotel or restaurant management. Past internship placements have included luxury and five-star properties like the Portman Ritz-Carlton, the Puli Hotel and Spa, Park Hyatt Shanghai, and Naked Retreats.
Journalism
Work in writing, copy editing, research, design, and production for print magazines and online publications. Past internship placements have included That’s Shanghai, City Weekend, and Shanghai Expat.
International Organizations/NGOs
Work in international organizations, social or environmental organizations, and various types of not-for-profit groups. Past internships have included the American and the Canadian Chambers of Commerce, British Council, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, the US Commercial Service of the Consulate General in Shanghai, Control Risks, Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation, Mifan Mama, Jane Goodall Institute, Roots and Shoots, World of Art Brut Culture, Sunflower Education Program for Migrant Children, and the Shanghai Yangzi Social Work Development Centre.
Politics/Comparative Law
Participate in the daily life of a Shanghai law firm or commercial legal department or work in an organization where you’ll be exposed to state regulations or political operations. Past placements have included the US Commercial Service of the Consulate General in Shanghai, Control Risks, and the American and the Canadian Chambers of Commerce; and law firms such as SG & CO Law, Dacheng Law, Ferrante Intellectual Property, RSA Consulting, and Luther Law Firm.
Health/Human Services
Work for education programs, social service departments, or community care centers. Past internships have included Mifan Mama, Sunflower Education Program, Re’ai Family and Youth Center, Changhai Hospital, World of Art Brut Culture, Ameson Foundation, Essential Learning Group/Brain Train, and Optimum Health Care.
