IES Abroad - Study Abroad in China

Experiencing a Study Abroad in Shanghai is a great adventure. While still applying, the IES team in Chicago will give you an advisor who will help you and answer all your questions regarding the program and everything you need to prepare. Classes offerings will be available on their website but you may want to be flexible because they are still subject to change until the program starts. In terms of accommodation, the program gives the option between living in an apartment with other students from the program and a homestay. If you want to maximize your learning goals when it comes to learning Mandarin, I would advise homestay. My experience has been wonderful and gave me a lot more than I ever expected. The families are super nice and of course, an RA will be available to assist you in questions related to housing, health issues, or really anything. One of my favorite activities is to walk on the Bund, bring a book and read while facing Shanghai’s signature monument and look at people passing. That, of course is just one among many others. If you are a traveler, Shanghai’s location is on your side. There are many beautiful places full of history and rich in culture close by that you can easily access by train. The program also organizes optional and mandatory trips to help you make the most out of your time abroad. Some of the destinations include Beijing, Hangzhou, and Taiwan. If you are looking for a blast abroad and live an experience that will impact your life forever, IES Abroad in Shanghai can give you what you are looking for.

Shanghai, China is one of the most beautiful cities in the entire world. Being able to travel there is a great opportunity, but being able to live there and study there through IES Abroad, was so much more. It was a gift. This program is very different from the many others that I've seen in the sense of living location. IES placed all of it's apartment living students in an apartment that was in the middle of this wonderful city. There was a famous food street a 2 minute walk away where you could find a lot of Shanghai delicacies, the bund was only 15 minutes by foot, to see the beautiful skyline which includes the Pearl Tower and the Shanghai Tower. On the other hand, attending classes was a bit of commute being 45 minutes by metro to Fudan University and 20 by metro to Jiaotong University, but at the end of the program, my fellow classmates (also studying abroad on same program) and I agreed that was worth it, completely! I felt like I had many more opportunities to experience the daily life culture of Shanghai living in New Harbour Service Apartments than I would've having a dorm on on the campuses. Also - a bonus to living in this apartment was that many classes were also held in this building, on a different floor. All of the classes that I attended were bulky in length, meaning I did each class once a week, except for Chinese language which was twice a week. I believe that Hanshuo, my Chinese language and business Chinese teacher, really helped me to improve my language skills and from time to time, she would take us outside of the classroom to learn which gave me yet another opportunity to interact with the Chinese culture. I'm extremely pleased with my experience with IES Shanghai and I'm so happy that for 3 months, I got to call Shanghai my home.

IES Abroad's Shanghai Economy, Business & Society program is an incredible opportunity to step outside of your comfort zone and learn about yourself, the rest of the world, and how the global environment is shaped by students and travelers. I had a wonderful experience in Shanghai with IES Abroad. The staff are excellent - a small enough office that you get to know everyone very well, and they are supportive and welcoming. The staff arrange exciting excursions and trips, assisting with all types of registration (for example visa reentry applications) that would otherwise be an arduous solo task. The program is structured in such a way that you have plenty of time to travel independently and explore Shanghai, but there are also plenty of excursions with the cohort that immerse you in Chinese culture and bond you together. Whether it's visiting an ancient water-town or learning about traditional Chinese medicine, you're going to be exposed to so much of the rich and diverse history that China has to offer. This is an abroad program unlike any other. You aren't going to Europe and staying comfortable with Western practices and keeping the ability to navigate with English. In this program, you're going to learn Mandarin (and some Shanghai-dialect Chinese!) no matter what your language level is on arrival. Students who came in as intermediate speakers of Mandarin left with advanced proficiency, and students who had never studied before left with the ability to comfortable navigate the city, ask for directions, order food, shop (and haggle) and so much more. This is a truly valuable experience because no matter your intent to return to Asia, you are learning about a part of the world that will undeniably contrast what you're familiar with, and you will grow from that exposure. During a school break I was able to travel to several cities in China and hike through the world's deepest river gorge, into a mountain range in Western China. Travel and accommodation is accessible and inexpensive, especially compared to Europe or North America. For the budget-minded traveler who wants to get the most out of a semester abroad, China is the place to go, and IES Shanghai EBS is the program to choose. Our living arrangements were fantastic - clean and modern service apartments right in downtown Shanghai. This meant that the commute to classes was short, but we also lived within a 10-15 minute walk from some of the most bustling sites. Museums, restaurants, art galleries, bars, malls, markets. Everything is accessible. American students I met through classes at Fudan University who were enrolled in other exchange programs were much less fortunate in their housing placement - they had to commute a considerable way to get to any night life or daytime attractions, and this made their experience less enjoyable. They were restricted by their location and thus couldn't fit as many activities into their time abroad. Shanghai Economy, Business & Society has no such problem. Part of the program was a week-long trip to Seoul, South Korea, where we experienced a completely different variety of Asian culture. Having free time in South Korea to explore and understand some of the nuanced differences between Chinese and Korean culture despite the underlying similarities from Confucianism was extremely rewarding. The Asia-Pacific region is one of the most geographically, culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse regions in the world. By virtue of studying there, you have the liberty to travel and visit parts of the world you may otherwise never get the chance to. I couldn't recommend this program more strongly.