IES Abroad Shanghai – Economy, Business & Society

Living in China is an ever-more important experience in a world where China is becoming a larger and larger player on the international stage. Becoming immersed in China is difficult for any foreigner, and traveling around the country isn't meant for noncitizens. However, IES Abroad staff are quite helpful in guiding students to helpful resources in order to facilitate travel. The most rewarding part of living in China as a part of the IES Abroad program is the abundant opportunities to learn. The classes IES allows you to take partnering with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Fudan University are topical, and give a student unique insight into Chinese education and the Chinese economy. The IES professors are extremely knowledgable and incredibly helpful throughout the semester. I learned more about Chinese economics, culture, and language in this one semester than I learned in my four semesters before it combined. Making lasting Chinese friends is challenging, and cultural immersion is difficult living in an apartment (but the Western toilet is a lifesaver).

I went to Shanghai never having travelled to Asia and without knowing Mandarin. It was the scariest thing I had ever done...and the most amazing! I learned so much about not only Chinese culture but about myself as well. Learning the language and the city was exciting and I will never forget Shanghai or any of the people who made it a second home for me.

I studied abroad in Shanghai with IES my spring semester of 2015. It was one of the best decisions I have made to go abroad. We were situated at New Harbor Service Apartments, which is in a prime location. It is a 5 minute walk to subway station with all kinds of different food options all around. You could walk to People's Square or the Bund within 15 or 20 minutes. There were about 20 kids in my program and we went to Jiao Tong University. Socially, there were clubs on campus that we could join to meet more local students. The one downside of the program is that we do not attend classes with other international or local students. We took intensive Chinese language classes almost everyday, which were very helpful with acclimating to the culture and making me feel more comfortable practicing my Chinese. We had to take three other classes, which were academically fine. I really enjoyed the subject matter, but the teachers could have been better and more enthusiastic. We had an awesome week trip to Tokyo, which was amazing but also exhausting. They filled the week with lectures, then we had free time in the afternoon to explore the city. Students had the option to travel throughout China on the weekends and people went to Beijing and Hangzhou. During our May holiday, everyone went to different places throughout China including Guilin, Xi'an, Lijiang, Chengdu, and many other places. They were all beautiful and amazing to go to. The only thing I got frustrated about in the program was how disorganized the administration was. Overall, I had an amazing time in Shanghai - the food is awesome, the city is beautiful, and the people are so interesting.