Tufts Office of Study Abroad will break new ground in the next two years, adding programs in Hong Kong and on the Chinese mainland. The Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China will open its doors to Tufts students in the fall of 2002 and the University of Hong Kong will do the same in the spring of 2003.
Students of all majors can participate in the Hangzhou program, as long as they have reached Chinese 4. A two-hour train ride from Shanghai, Hangzhou is China's biggest city. Students will attend Zhejiang University, one of the largest and oldest in the country, where they will live in singles in a new foreign students' dormitory.
Juniors and seniors are eligible for the Hong Kong program, including those without language experience. But students who demonstrate an interest in Asia or have taken classes related to the region will be given preference.
Sophomore John Barn, a political science major, plans to study in one of the new locales and said he looks forward to experiencing Chinese society after recent changes in its economy, including China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). "It's really going to help me in my understanding of democracy and its foundations," Barn said.
The Hong Kong program will give another study abroad option for English speakers. Freshman Anne Siarnacki will attend Hong Kong University (HKU) during her junior year and is grateful that she will not have to meet a language requirement to be eligible.
"I can't go abroad for another two years, but I am already getting excited about Hong Kong," she said. "I've always wanted to go to China, but I thought I would never get by without speaking the language. This is the perfect opportunity."
Assistant Director of International Relations John Jenke, who helped found the program, said that it was designed to help students seeking English-speaking abroad programs. The program, he said, "opens doors to students of all backgrounds, languages, and majors to participate and to enjoy living in Hong Kong as much as possible."
Jenke said the program gives students the opportunity to live in a modern communist country, and to experience firsthand Chinese society. Students on the Hong Kong program, he added, will bear witness to China's domestic and international problems.
The arts, education, engineering, science, and social sciences departments will accept Tufts students when the Hong Kong program first opens. All classes will be offered in English, though the program's advisors recommend an elective course in Chinese culture or language.
Faculty who organized the program emphasize its cultural aspect. Students of different nationalities will interact in academic and social settings, such as classes and dorms. "Interaction between the Tufts students and those from China will be interesting, as a common language isn't quite spoken between them," Jenke said.
Chinese literature and culture professor Xueping Zhong, who directs Asian Studies, said a letter to the Daily partly inspired the program. The letter writer pointed out that Tufts had programs in many different countries, but had overlooked the world's most populous nation. The Hangzhou program has been in the works for five years.
"The program in Hangzhou was established based on a long period of exploration and on student demand," Zhong said.
Zhong said that the prominence of Tufts' international relations program should warrant study abroad options in China. "Tufts prides itself on the prominence of its IR program, and yet there has not been a program of its own in China, an unquestionably very important part of the world," he said. "I suppose one does not need to try too hard to justify the creation of such a program."
The administration pushed for the program's creation, and student input from the first few classes will be crucial to its further development. "We will work... to make the program the best it can be," said Sheila Bayne, director of study abroad programs.
The Office of Study Abroad will hold a question and answer session to discuss the two new programs on Tuesday, Oct. 30 in the campus center. Along with faculty, exchange students from the HKU will answer questions about living in the country, natural sciences classes, and the engineering programs.
