OVERVIEW

This immersive summer course offers students the opportunity to gain first-hand, in-depth knowledge of Chinese culture through the lens of arts and language, enhanced by a three-week field trip to three of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. 

Program Highlights:

• An online asynchronous summer course with a mandatory three-week in-country residential travel component to mainland China;
• Intensive, first-hand study of Chinese culture through guided discovery of three of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China: Xi’an (Chang’an), Luoyang, and Beijing;
• Examination of cultural artifacts and historical relics at museums and visits to important archeological sites;
• Exploration of royal court culture, including palaces, mausoleums, treasures, the feudal system, dragon imagery and vernacular culture, including Buddhism, Taoism, and other religions in imperial China;
• Guided tours of all major sites of cultural interest, including the Youli Castle Site in Henan Province, where King Wen of Zhou (1112 BC - 1050 BC) was imprisoned and created the sixty-four hexagrams of the Chinese classic, I Ching (Book of Changes);
• Special guest lectures from local Chinese experts on culturally significant topics, such as the evolution of dragon imagery throughout Chinese history.

FACULTY MEMBER

Liwei Jiao (East Asian Studies) 

COURSEWORK

• Course Title: EAST 0311: CHINA: Chinese Language, Arts, and Culture 
• Credit: Participants will earn one unit of credit, equivalent to four semester hours.
• Prerequisites: None
• Language of instruction: All classes are delivered in English. No Chinese language proficiency is required. Chinese proficiency at the Intermediate mid level or below will not directly aid in understanding this course’s content but will facilitate communication with local Chinese. However, no Chinese language skills are needed for the course itself.

DATES

*June 23, 2025 – July 31, 2025

 *Please note that program dates and itinerary are tentative and will be finalized in Spring 2025. 

ITINERARY

*The online pre-travel coursework will be fully asynchronous and will consist primarily of independent course reading and independent review of pre-travel orientation materials.  

**The online post-travel coursework will involve both asynchronous and synchronous components.  Asynchronous work will consist of independent work on a final project, due by July 31, 2025.  Synchronous work will consist of one real-time Zoom session for final project presentations, which will be scheduled at a mutually convenient time for all participants.

HOUSING

In China, students will be housed in hotels in multiple occupancy rooms with a shared bathroom.  Housing arrangements are subject to change as the program is finalized.

Please note that all participants are required to stay in program-arranged housing. Independently arranged housing will not be permitted. 

All breakfasts and most lunches will be provided and paid for by the program.  Students will be responsible for paying for their own dinners out-of-pocket.

PROGRAM COST

Brown Global Summer Program participants are billed for Brown Summer Session Tuition and a Global Housing, Meal & Activity Fee that covers housing, program activities, and some meals while in-country.  The tuition and fees for Summer Session 2025 are published on the Student Financial Services website. The estimated Global Housing, Meal & Activity Fee for this program is $3,900.

• For a detailed breakdown of fees billed by Brown and costs that you will be responsible for paying directly yourself out-of-pocket, please review and complete the Global Summer Financial Planning Worksheet for this program.  This will help you to determine your individual, out-of-pocket cost of attendance after factoring in any Summer Grant funding that you receive from the Office of Financial Aid (see “Summer Grants” below.)

SUMMER GRANTS

Brown undergraduates who receive financial aid during the academic year may be eligible for a Summer Grant towards their Summer Session charges. Eligible students will be contacted by the Office of Financial aid in late February/early March with information about their eligibility. 

TIMELINES 

Please make note of the following deadlines for Summer 2025 programs.  Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

• Saturday, February 1: Preferred Application Deadline
• Saturday, March 1: Final Application Deadline
• Friday, March 7:  Admissions Decision
• Saturday, March 15:  Commitment Deadline

VISITING STUDENTS 

Visiting students from other (i.e., non-Brown) colleges and universities are welcome and encouraged to submit a visiting student application to any Brown Global Summer Program. 

As part of the application process, visiting students must also submit an official academic transcript to demonstrate that they meet the following two eligibility criteria:

• Active enrollment as a degree-seeking, undergraduate student at the time of program delivery (i.e., graduating seniors are not eligible)
• Good academic standing

Instructions for submitting an official transcript as a visiting student are provided in the online application for each program.

CONTACTS

Chris Van Booven, Assistant Director of Global Programs