IU Northwest and IU South Bend are organizing a joint Study Abroad in China Program, May 20-31, 2024. It provides an immersive experience of learning the history and culture of four Chinese cities, Beijing, Luoyang, Suzhou and Shanghai, through combining academic work with touring the imperial, Buddhist and modern architecture in those cities. We will also tour the famous Shaolin Monastery in Luoyang. China is the second-largest economy in the world and has undergone tremendous changes in the past 45 years. Seeing China firsthand, interacting with ordinary Chinese people, and visiting places of both historical and contemporary significance enable students to build a tangible framework of China, its people, history, and the present. The program is open to ALL IU undergraduates. Scroll down to the end for a step-by-step guide on application and trip preparation.
Itinerary
Monday, May 20, 2024, departing from Chicago O’Hare airport to Beijing, China.
Tuesday, May 21,
Arriving in Beijing, settling in hotel. Rickshaw tour in Beijing’s narrow Street, home visit, free time around Shichahai lake（什刹海）, Nanluoguxiang （南锣鼓巷）and Yandaixiejie (烟袋斜街). Dinner and check in hotel.
Wednesday, May 22, Beijing
Morning: Visit the Temple of Heaven(天坛) & Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum （北京古代建筑博物馆，http://www.bjgjg.com Afternoon：Tian’anmen Square and Forbidden City.
Thursday, May 23 Beijing
Visit the Tsinghua University Art Museum, Summer Palace in the morning. After lunch, visit the Badaling Great Wall. After dinner: 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Park (the Birde’s Nest and the Water Cube).
Friday, May 24,
Beijing – Luoyang: Take Bullet train to Luoyang G307 (0910/1325); Afternoon: Longmen Grottos; after dinner, free time around Luoyi ancient （洛邑古城）
Saturday, May 25,
Luoyang – Shaolin Monastery. Visit the Shaolin Monastery, Marcial Art Show, “Eight-Section brocade”八段锦 learning at local Marcial Art School.
Sunday, May 26,
Shaolin Monastery – Suzhou
Visit the Henan Museum（河南博物院）, Chinese Ancient music orchestra show （华夏古乐表演，河南博物院内）. Take the bullet train to Suzhou.
Monday, May 27
Suzhou: The Lion Grove Garden （狮子林） , Cold Mountain Temple（寒山寺）, Suzhou Embroidery Museum （苏州刺绣博物馆）, Shantang Street (山塘街).
Tuesday, May 28
Suzhou – Zhouzhuang – Shanghai: Drive to Shanghai, and visit the Zhouzhuang Ancient Town on the way.
Wednesday May 29,
Shanghai:
Morning: Shanghai History Museum, Oriental Pearl TV Tower. Afternoon: Nanjing Road and the Bund. After dinner, Huangpu River Cruise tour.
Thursday, May 30,
Shanghai:
Morning: Shanghai Museum. Afternoon: The Citi’s God Temple Shopping area, Tianzifang, Shikumen Free time.
Friday, May 31, depart Shanghai for Chicago O’Hare Airport; arriving in Chicago on May 31.
Participation, deadlines, and eligibility
To participate in this trip, you need to sign up for HIST T190 China: Past and Present through Chinese History and Architecture for Summer I, 2024. This is a General Education course that counts toward Cultural Diversity. But you need to sign up for the program before the class, by Nov. 29, 2023 (please see the online application link under “Applying for the study abroad in China program below). We need your information by then to decide on the logistics of airline tickets and travel accommodations in China. You also need to start applying for a passport (if you do not have one already) by Jan. 1, 2024, to make sure you have a passport to travel with in May (the typical application timeline for passports is 13-14 weeks by mail).
This program will be open to students from all IU schools and campuses. Please see more detailed information about the program below.
Program fees
The total cost for the program will be $3,500, plus tuition for 3 credits during the 2023 seven-week Summer Session I (May 6-June 23). The $3.500 fee includes round-trip airfare, program fee, and insurance, and all expenses in China (except things you want to purchase on your own). It does not include transportation to and from the Chicago O’Hare airport, and the costs of applying for a passport and China visa.
All loans, grants, and scholarships for which participants are eligible at Indiana University can be used for the China Program.
International insurance, included in the price for the course, will be billed separately.
Applying for the study-abroad in China program
The program application is administered by the IUSB Academic Affairs Office of International Programs. Please fill out an online application, submit an application essay, and complete the agreement and release form by clicking here (https://academics.iusb.edu/international-programs/study-abroad-application.html). The deadline for application is Nov. 29, 2023.
Scholarships and financial aid
Scholarships and financial aid may be available to all applicants. Please contact your campus student affairs for information on how to proceed with applying for financial aid and scholarships from your campus.
Students should apply for scholarships immediately after they complete their online application for the China trip. For IUN students, the website for scholarship application is https://one.iu.edu/task/iu/scholarships. Your application will be directed to the scholarship committee which will find study-abroad scholarships that match your criteria.
For IUSB students, the online site for scholarship application is https://students.iusb.edu/scholarships/iu-south-bend-scholarships/study-abroad.html,
Students from all IU campuses can also directly contact the trip’s co-leaders and the director of international programs at IUSB below.
Please contact us
For questions about the Study abroad in China program,
For IUN students and students from IU campuses other than IUN or IUSB, contact Diana Chen Lin, professor of history and IUN East Asian Studies Gateway Coordinator, at dchenlin@iun.edu.
For IUSB students and students from IU campuses other than IUN or IUSB, contact Haiyan Yin, professor of international business and finance, at IUSB, at haiyin@iusb.edu.
For questions about the application, please contact Lisa Zwicker, professor of history and director of the international programs, at IUSB, at zwicker@iusb.edu.
For students from other IU campuses, please contact Lisa Zwicker.
Step-by-step introduction of the application process and the China trip
- Complete the online application form: The program application is administered by the IUSB Academic Affairs Office of International Programs. Please fill out an online application, submit an application essay, and complete the agreement and release form at: https://academics.iusb.edu/international-programs/study-abroad-application.html. The deadline for application is Nov. 29, 2023. Applications filed after the deadline are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
- For IUN students, after you complete 1, please go to https://one.iu.edu/task/iu/scholarships. There you can submit a general scholarship application. In the application, you will be asked if you are interested in studying abroad. Answer affirmatively. Completing the general scholarship application will allow you to apply for all scholarships you may qualify for -not just the study abroad ones. All will receive scholarships to partially offset the trip cost, although the amount may vary. For IUSB students, please apply for scholarships through https://students.iusb.edu/scholarships/iu-south-bend-scholarships/study-abroad.html.
- The trip fee will be included in the tuition as “lab fee” and eligible for financial aid for financial aid recipients. Even if you are on financial aid, please still apply for scholarships as discussed in 2 above.
- The total cost of the trip is $3,500. About half of that amount is toward the roundtrip airfare. The fee includes all expenses in the trip (round trip airfare from the US to Beijing and return from Shanghai to the US, accommodations (two people per hotel room), transportation in China, meals, museum and park tickets, and trip insurance). The fee does not include the cost of passport application, application for a visa for China, and transportation to and from the airport within the US. We are still determining the final cost of the trip. The fee prices will vary depending on which airports in the US you depart from since the airfare will differ for different routes.
- The study abroad in China trip is part of a 3-credit course HIST T190, which will be posted on the IUN class schedule for summer 24 in the next week or two. Once you have applied for the trip and submitted your scholarship application, you can sign up for the course.
- After the Dec. 1 deadline, we will have a Zoom trip orientation meeting about passports and visas. Meanwhile, you will get emails from the IUSB office of international programs to follow up with your trip application, informing you what documents are still needed to process your application.
- We will have several online orientation sessions from Jan. 2024 on, and, if you do not have a valid passport you should be applying for a passport in December since passport application usually takes 13-14 weeks nowadays. You can apply for a passport online at: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply.html.
- Once you receive your passport, you will need to apply for a visa to China. For those who reside in the Midwest, you apply for the visa from the Chinese consulate in Chicago: http://chicago.china-consulate.gov.cn/eng/ywzn/qzhz/qz/202206/t20220624_10709057.htm. You will be applying for a tourist visa. For those who reside on the East Coast, you will apply for a China visa from the Chinese consulate New York City office: http://newyork.china-consulate.gov.cn/eng/zjfw/visa/rhsq/202303/t20230316_11042460.htm. For those residing in the West, you will apply for a China visa from either the Chinese consulate in either Los Angeles or San Francisco. Online applications for China visas via designated travel agencies are possible. We will talk more about visa application and using a travel agency to facilitate the task if needed after the application deadline on Nov. 29, 2023.
- The HIST T190 Literary and Intellectual Traditions: Past and Present through Chinese History and Architecture class is a seven-week summer I class (May 6-June 23). Except for the two weeks traveling to and from China, the other five weeks will be asynchronous online via Canvas. We will have at least one synchronous online orientation meeting per week in the two weeks before departure to make sure we have addressed all questions.
- We depart for Beijing, China on May 20, 2024, arriving in Beijing on May 21. We leave Shanghai for the US on May 31, arriving in the US on May 31 (probably; we lose a day going to China, and gain a day coming back). We will have daily trips.
- We will complete the rest of the three weeks of the summer session online back in the US.
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