Bates College
Off-Campus Study Program

Downtown Varanasi, India (Photo by L. Graham Jones '09)

This list of programs and universities is provided to assist students in the identification of junior semester and year abroad opportunities in Asia. A great deal of variation exists in the locations, durations, foreign language expectations, housing options, and educational formats. The language requirements for programs in China and Japan are listed so that students may avoid programs that are inappropriate in terms of having either too much or too little foreign language training. Other programs exist in many of the countries on this list, but have been excluded because their duration, academic program, or sponsoring organization does not conform to the principles established by the Off-Campus Study Committee.  (Students may petition the Committee to participate on an unapproved program if they believe it provides a compelling academic advantage compared to the listed programs.)   You may access the program and university web sites by clicking on the Sponsor/University name.

The "number of participants" entry in the Comments column is per semester. Numbers often fluctuate from year to year, and we provide them to give a general sense of program size.

Asia, as defined here, extends from India to Japan and Indonesia.  It is an area of tremendous physical variation and cultural diversity. It also contains areas of political unrest, poor sanitation, health hazards, and uneven access to quality medical care. In some settings, Americans stand out as affluent "targets of opportunity" for crime, and women as targets for sexual harassment. Students are encouraged to consider these issues as they evaluate the programs below and to contact the program sponsor to discuss their concerns. Background information is also available in the Web Information Resources pages.

Hard copies of the brochures and evaluations for most programs are available in the Off-Campus Study Office Library.


Approval of participation, including completion of a Bates application, is required to receive credit for study on any of these programs or universities.  Please see Dean Sawyer or Mr. Das, in the Off-Campus Study Office in Lane Hall, for further information and discussion.

 

 

Location  Duration  Sponsor/University Lang. Req. Housing Options  Comments  Faculty and Returning Juniors & Seniors. "Prior" = past Bates participants

China
Beijing
Semester or year Associated Colleges in China 5 sems Dorm Language focus, run by Hamilton, Williams, & Oberlin, summer-fall option, host family prog. For advanced students with excellent language aptitude. Language pledge. Number of participants: 18 Hiromi Go '11
Beijing
Semester or year CET 2-4 sems Dorms w/Chinese roommate Intensive language and Chinese Studies options. Optional January term before Spring semester. Based at Capital Normal Univ. Number of participants: 130 Lucas McNulty '11
Beijing Semester or year IES 2 sems Dorms w/Chinese roommate or Family Intensive language program plus two courses or one course and internship. Field trips. Based at Beijing Foreign Studies Univ. Number of participants: 90 Emily Cassidy '11
Hyun-Woo Kang '11
Hangzhou Semester or year Middlebury College 6 sems Dorm w/Chinese roommate Excellent program; language focus; for advanced students; beautiful, historic city. Prior
Kunming
Semester SIT Study Abroad 2 sems Family & group Intro to minority cultures in Southwest China.  More rural; independent study proj. or extra language course. Number of participants: 20 Michael Adashek '11
Nanjing
Semester or year CIEE 2 sems Family or Dorms  w/ Chinese students Low cost, Nanjing Univ. Historic city in central China. Focus on language learning. Number of participants: 5-10 Prior
Prof Yang
Prof Maurer-Fazio
Shanghai Semester or Year Alliance for Global Education 2 sems Dorms  w/ Chinese students Intensive language course (20 hours per week) and course on Contemporary Society and Culture. Based at Fudan Univ. Kellie Chang '11
Taiwan 
Semester or year CIEE 2 sems Dorms w/ Chinese students National Chengchi Univ. in suburb of Taipei. Number of participants: 15-20 Prior
Xi'an Semester or year Alliance for Global Education 2 sems Dorms w/Chinese students Chinese lang; courses on Silk Road, art history, history. Based at Xi'an Int'l Studies Univ.. Historic, imperial city.  

India
Bodh Gaya Fall Semester Antioch University None Monastery housing Buddhist studies focus with time at monastery. Serious meditation practice. Hot and humid. Number of participants: 32 Arjun Iyer '11

Hyderabad Semester or year CIEE None Family or Dorm with Indian students Central India; hi-tech capital of India. Campus setting. Program and university courses. Hindi lang. Few westerners. Fall: late July-early Dec; Spring: late Dec-early May. Number of participants: 30 Prior
Madurai Semester SITA Consortium (including Bates) None Family & group Southern India. Excellent program with emphasis on religion and culture; ind. study project. Hot and humid. Number of participants: 15

Prof. J. Strong 
Prof. Kemper
Deborah Altman '11
Bridget Brewer '11
Nathan Kane '11
Hannah Mack '11

Indonesia
Bali Semester  SIT Study Abroad None Family & group Arts and culture of a traditional society affected by tourism and development. Number of participants: 10

Audrey Jensen '11
Elizabeth Lee '11



Japan - Some Programs are based at a "Center for Japanese Studies" or the equivalent at a Japanese university.  Often students from other nations attend. Such programs tend to have excellent Japanese language courses and mediocre thematic courses taught in English.
Hirakata City Semester Kansai Gaidai 2 sems Family A semester program with emphasis on language study, near Osaka.  Early application is best. Number of participants: 200 Terehas Edwards '11
Gita Kantrow '11
Matthew Parker '11
Mi Shan Wong '11
Kyoto Year Asso. Kyoto Prog. (including Bates) 2-4 sems Family Excellent program in historic, medium size city, quality peer group of students and faculty. Number of participants: 40 Prof. S. Strong
Patrick McNulty '11

Nagoya Semester or year IES/Nanzan Univ. 2-4 sems Family or dorms Separate campus in large city, via IES; courses w/Japanese students in Fall; competitive admissions; early app. Number of participants: 30 (130 international students) Prior
Sapporo Semester or year BCA Abroad 2 sems Family Program based at Hokusei Gakuen Univ; program begins with extended study tour to Honshu. Medium sized city in north; outdoor activities.  
Tokyo Spring or Year CIEE/Sophia Univ. 2 sems Family Sophia Univ., Sept-Feb, late-March-July semesters, wide range of courses available. Number of participants: 90 Prior
Tokyo Year Waseda University 4 sems  Family, apts. Excellent univ., Direct application  or Great Lakes Colleges program with a larger support system. Number of participants: 65 Prior

Korea
Seoul Semester CIEE None Family  or dorm At Yonsei University, language and area studies. Study trip to China or Japan. Prior

Mongolia
Ulaanbaatar  Semester SIT Study Abroad None  Family & group Herding culture and development themes, cold and remote; program based in capital. Not for vegans. Number of participants: 15  Prior

Nepal

Kathmandu Semester SIT Study Abroad None Family & group Culture and development; Nepali language; ind. study. A challenging setting. Number of participants: 15 Judson Peck '11
Kathmandu Semester  SIT Study Abroad None Family & group Tibetan and Himalayan studies, travel to India, Bhutan and Tibet (if possible). A challenging setting. Number of participants: 25 Samuel Polak '11

Sri Lanka
Kandy Fall ISLE Consortium (including Bates) None Family Excellent academic & cultural program. Buddhist studies; links with Univ. of Paredeniya. Travel limited by lingering civil war. Early August start. Number of participants: 18

Prof. Kemper 
Prof John Strong
Prior

Thailand
Khon Kaen Semester CIEE None Family & dorm  Development and Globalization; Based at Khon Kaen Univ; Core courses, field study, Thai language, community work. Number of participants: 18 Prof. Kemper
Charlotte Friedman '11
Khon Kaen Seemster CIEE --- Apt. w/Thais and Family Public and community health, practicum, Thai language  

Viet-Nam
Ho Chi Minh City Semester CIEE None Group, family, dorms w/Vietnamese At Ho Chi Minh Int'l University; traditional country in transition; work w/NGOs. 5 weeks in Cambodia at end of semester. Number of participants: 10 Allison Vingiano '11


Multi-Country
Multi-Country
Semester International Honors Program None Family & group  Cities in the 21st Century: People, Planning and Politics. Less cultural connection due to frequent travel. Expensive program. Number of participants: 25-30. Prior
Multi-Country
Spring International Honors Program None Family & group  Health and Community. Two program options: India/China/South Africa or South Africa/Vietnam/Brazil. Less cultural connection due to frequent travel. Expensive program. Lauren Okano '11
Alexandra Steverson '11



Links to other programs:


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