Concordia University Irvine

I would absolutely recommend the Concordia program if you want to travel, work and live abroad, in addition to working towards a Master's degree by relating your online classes to what you're seeing, breathing and feeling in China. I really enjoyed teaching in China, I worked for Scholastic, which has English language centers for children in Shanghai. I taught on the weekends, which can be intense, but then I had most of the week free to do homework, get to know the city and travel around China. I had only taught a little bit before teaching in China and found it to be a great environment to learn from other foreigners and the local Chinese staff. And the students are adorable! Now, I'm working for Scholastic as the teacher trainer, training new and current teachers and helping to make their jobs as easy as possible. It's challenging to make all the different parts of your life here work, but that's what makes life here interesting and satisfying. Right now, China is unlike any other place on Earth. It is growing and changing beneath my feet and every time I step out of my apartment in the middle of the city. It is becoming a modern, more Western place, but it still has its China quirks. You'll have good China days, when everything goes right and you feel on top of the world; and then there are bad China days when you want to stay in your room or search out Western food and fellow program friends for a big taste of home. These days come and go, but when you get through those bad China days (and really bad days happen in every corner of every country) you'll be happy you're still in China to realize you have no idea what the next day will bring to you. The Master's course work is good, just enough during the summer to get your curiosity flowing and then a steady stream throughout the year to keep you focused and allow you to explore other opportunities and excel at your job. I thoroughly enjoyed completing assignments that forced me to talk to my coworkers, try new foods and take pictures of nooks and crannies of the city. There are things in China I would have never seen nor truly explored to the extent I did if not for my homework. I am back in China, living and working, and that would not be the case without the Concordia program. If you want to be challenged everyday and if you want to grow as a human being this program can give you the job, the support and the Master's Degree in International Studies while you're living in one of the most dynamic countries in the world. If you have this opportunity, do it and don't look back!

From Day 1, the MAIS program challenged me. It was like a multifaceted jungle gym. I would just learn to climb one way and I would need to go another direction. The first week, we completed a class that was ordinarily taught on campus in 14 weeks; in one month, three graduate classes. With barely time to pack our suitcases, we went to China and began teaching. Throughout the year, there was a constant struggle to balance the demands of teaching and living in China, and taking several graduate classes at a time. Then, we came back after a year in China for another week of intensive campus learning. I had not been home to see my family yet, but it was good to have one more treasured week with MAIS classmates, teachers, and administrators. I particularly enjoyed the challenge of the Comparative Education assignments the final semester in China. I almost couldn't find any Chinese associates with enough time to participate with me in the assignment about leisure. Other assignments included comparing conditions in Guangzhou twenty years ago and now (complete with photos), finding and completing a factory tour, surveying durable goods among different strata of society, having a home stay, conducting ethnographic interviews, and writing papers individually and as a group. This educational program is not for the weak-hearted (or only for the young), but with determination you can succeed and gain perspective about yourself and the world around you. Lessons learned from books cannot compare with lessons learned through life experience. One day, as I looked out the window at the mango trees from the vantage of my room under the stadium steps at Yitian High School, I thought, What a great way to spend a master's program! The best part of the program was being an apprentice in servant leadership. As a faith-based experience, I heartily recommend it. The experiences we had were unique, I believe, in the world of education. The assignments were focused and pertinent. The success rate was high. Each person faced different individual challenges, but together we made it through.

Working at a job that would not have been possible had I not worked in China and worked toward a master's degree with Concordia. I am buying parts and planning for a multinational semi-conductor company. I speak Spanish and Chinese everyday. Other than the hours behind the computer, I am definitely enjoying it!

The MAIS program gave me the valuable opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and to challenge myself. You will learn new things about yourself you never knew, all while earning your Master's degree and living and working in China. The Chinese culture is unique, vibrant and moving to a tune that is all its own and with Concordia's MAIS program you will be right in the heart of it all! It is a once in a lifetime experience that will remain with you forever.

The Concordia MAIS Program has helped me to live out a real-life adventure living in China while achieving a master's degree at the same time. It's a multi-tasker's dream come true! After my first year in China, I have clearer defined career goals, sharper personal identity, and a lifetime of laughs and memories made while forging my way through cultural differences. The gem of the program for me has been the thesis process. My research has opened doors for me in professional and personal ways that I never dreamed possible when entering this whirlwind of a program. I have confidence now knowing that when I go into an interview in my future I not only have a competitive master's degree, but I also have experience living in a multi-cultural environment overseas. Living in China is an every day adrenaline rush and I cannot think of a better way to gain higher education.