intensive mandarin at Beida for only $3000??

[tinkle]

is this too good to be true?

http://www.mcgill.ca/eas/peking/ for the application

McGill-Peking University Summer Chinese Program is a recent joint effort by McGill’s Department of East Asian Studies and China’s top university - Peking University, which aims at providing students with an excellent opportunity to learn standard Mandarin Chinese while experiencing the Chinese culture by living in Beijing, the capital of China.

The program runs from early May to late July, offering ten-week intensive Chinese courses primarily at two levels: First Level Chinese and Second Level Chinese, which are equivalent to McGill courses with the identical course names. Third Level and/or more advanced-level courses may be offered on the condition that a minimum enrolment (15 students) for each class can be reached. All the courses will be taught by experienced teachers of Peking University, who are specialized in teaching Chinese to foreign students.

Courses are taught Monday to Friday, with two-hour lectures in the morning and two-hour tutorial/practice sessions in the afternoon. In addition to the regular language classes, interesting extracurricular activities will be arranged as well for participants to enrich their cultural experience, which would include weekly tours/visits to historical and cultural sites in and around metropolitan Beijing.

Convenient on-campus or near-campus accommodations will be provided for the participants by Peking University.

McGill East Asian Studies faculty Bill Wang will be leading the group of participants, as the Residence Director, to Beijing University and will coordinate with the faculty and staff at PKU to supervise the program for the entire duration.

Program Fees

1. Beijing University Tuition, Activity Fee, and Accommodation Fee:

$3,000 (Canadian dollars)

2. McGill-Peking University Program Administration Fee (including program management, registration, correspondence, visa application (visa fee, courier service): $360 (Canadian dollars)

Courses to be Offered

1. First Level Chinese (9 credits)

2. Second Level Chinese (9 credits)

3. Third Level Chinese (6 Credits) *availability subject to enrollment

4. Fourth Level Chinese (6 credits) *availability subject to enrollment

Textbooks

1. New Practical Chinese Reader Textbook 1, Textbook 2, and Textbook 3 (Liu Xun. Beijing Language and Culture University Press, 2004)

2. New Practical Chinese Reader Workbook 1, Workbook 2, and Workbook 3 (same compiler and publisher)

Classes

• Date: May 10 – July 18, Monday to Friday

• Morning: lectures

• Afternoon: tutorial/practice and free lectures on various aspects of Chinese culture

• Class size: 15 students/class

Trips

1. During or by the end of the course at least one tour will be arranged to visit Chinese cultural/historical sites.

.

2. One or two short excursions will be organized per week for our students to learn about Chinese culture and society while making use of what they have learned in classroom.

Accommodation

For the 2006 summer Chinese program, a very convenient hotel by the west gate of Peking University Campus has been chosen to accommodate our participants. Features of the accommodation are described as follows:

A Standard Hotel Room for double occupancy which is equipped with

• air conditioning

• washroom

• TV

• telephone

Important Dates for

Prospect Participants for

McGill-Peking University

Summer Chinese Program

May 8-July 18, 2006

Itinerary:

• May 7: Leave Montreal for Beijing

• May 8: Arrive at Beijing

• May 9: Opening ceremony & program introduction

• May 10: Classes start

• July 18: Last day of class

• July 23: Last day of the accommodation

Meetings for Prospect Participants:

• November 23 - First Info. Session: Program introduction

• January 11 – Second meeting: Registration matters

• February 1 – Third meeting: Non-refundable program deposit ($360), Peking U. form, passport and photos, etc.

• March 1 – Fourth meeting: Full payment

• Mid-April – Last meeting: Pre-departure preparation

Contact:

For inquiries about the program, please contact Program Coordinator Bill Wang at (514)398-6743 or email: asian.studies@mcgill.ca. You may also check McGill East Asian Studies website for updated information at http://www.arts.mcgill.ca/eas/

[adrianlondon]

The cost of applying directly for a one-semester (4 month) course is 13,600RMB.

You should convert that back into Can$ to work out the differential.

[hakkaboy]

IUP is $13000 for 48 weeks. 10 weeks for $3000 is not a giveaway price.

Oops, I forgot its is Canadian dollars. Can you convert and tell us more?

[tinkle]

hi adrian, does the 13,600 include living accomodations? and also, is there a tour at the end? thanks

[deezy]

Ya, how is $2600 USD "too good to be true?"

[adrianlondon]

According to the website, no; it doesn't include those things.

[tinkle]

Ya, how is $2600 USD "too good to be true?"

well i thought it sounded cheap since most of the US programs i've looked at were $4000-6500 (including living accomodatiosn)...and mcgill seems like a reputable school