The University of Utah’s Confucius Institute is now taking registrations for its summer abroad program. The Summer Scholars Study Abroad (June 5th-July 4th, 2014) is open to High School Students (9th-12th grade) who will have completed at least 2 years of Chinese by the time of the trip.
Participants will fly in to Beijing and spend the first two weeks studying either at Beijing No. 4 High School (a highly prestigious High School) or Nankai University in Tianjin, then spend two more weeks at Sichuan University in Chengdu. Students will participate in intensive Chinese study Monday through Friday, with recreational/educational excursions on the weekends.
The trip is estimated to cost $3700 (not including food; with the current exchange ratio 1:0.16). Scholarships are available for students at the Annual BYU Language Fair in April. The Confucius Institute is applying for a grant funding in January to subsidize student costs. There will also be service opportunities in the summer working as teacher aides for elementary Chinese language summer camps for those who choose to participate, which will also offset costs. The institute also encourages students to work with their school community or Chinese class for fundraising; for example, a Chinese New Year activity with charged admission.
Spots are limited to 15 students, and will be granted on a first come first serve basis to qualified students. Students will also need to provide a teacher recommendation from their current Chinese teacher.