Program Information
Columbia University’s Summer Business Chinese and Internship Program in Shanghai is based at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. For 10 weeks, advanced Chinese language students gain a firsthand experience of the language, culture, and customs that drive the economic development of the world’s most populated nation.
The program begins with six weeks of intensive, personalized instruction in Chinese language classes that emphasize the specialized vocabulary, jargon, linguistic styles, and appropriate behaviors used in a professional setting. Private tutorials and daily practice with a language partner chosen from local university students supplement class work. A discussion series featuring speakers who provide personal insight into working in China is offered.
During the final four weeks of the program, students work as interns in the Shanghai offices of local or multinational companies giving them an invaluable opportunity to apply their classroom learning of Chinese in a professional setting. Depending on the company, interns might attend meetings, assist in projects, translate, research, or observe how the Chinese do business. Program instructors meet weekly with students to answer questions concerning language and linguistics. As final term projects, students write an analytical account in Chinese of their experiences as interns and give an oral presentation in Chinese to instructors and fellow students.