PICKING A PROGRAM

With the exception of the UVA-in-Shanghai program, for which students automatically receive direct credit that appears on their UVA transcript and is factored into your GPA here, all study abroad programs involving study of an East Asian language are transfer credit programs, for which students must get approval in order to receive credit.  UVA maintains a list of approved transfer credit programs that have been reviewed by the language faculty, ISO, and the College of Arts and Sciences. Please refer to ‘Academic Credit FAQ’ for the further information. 

For further information on language study programs, please click on the appropriate link from the list below:

• Chinese
• Japanese
• Korean
• Tibetan

Students who have a compelling reason to study on a program that has not been approved by UVA must submit a petition thirty days before the application deadline for that program through the International Studies Office website. The relevant ISO Education Abroad Advisor should also be consulted to see whether or not UVA will allow the student to use her/his financial aid package for that purpose.

PLACEMENT VERSUS CREDIT

Because no two language programs are precisely alike, taking a course at a particular level at another institution does not guarantee placement into the next level of language instruction at UVA even if the student receives credit for completing that program of study. Placement in all language courses in the department is determined solely by our placement exams.  For example, a student takes an 8-credit Intermediate-level intensive summer Japanese language course that is ostensibly equivalent to a full year of study at the second-year level at UVA. After being tested at UVA, however, the student is placed in the second semester of Intermediate Japanese here (JAPN 2020). Consequently, the student would receive 4 credits for JAPN 2010 and the remaining 4 credits in the form of JAPN 2000T, but in order to continue language study at UVA they would have to enroll in JAPN 2020.

TRANSFERRING CREDIT

In order to receive transfer credit for language study, students must consult with the appropriate language program director beforehand. The student must provide the director with course descriptions, as well as with starting and ending dates for all coursework. If this information is not available, then the student may apply for transfer credit upon arrival in the program (via email) or upon their return to UVA.  In these cases, however, the student runs the risk of receiving only partial degree credit, or no credit at all.

Whenever possible, students will be given credit for the equivalent course taught at UVA (as a rule, 3 UVA credits are assigned for every 40 contact hours). When no such equivalent exists, the language program director may choose to assign an appropriate number of generic transfer credits (such as 3 credits of CHIN 2000T or 6 credits of KOR 3000T, etc.). Please note that we cannot post more credits than those awarded at the sending institution. Internships and service experiences that are attached to academic coursework will be treated as one transfer credit at the appropriate level (1000T, 2000T etc.). Students may count up to 15 credits per semester of study abroad toward department majors and 6 for department minors. Students who are planning to enroll in a regular semester program at an overseas institution should make sure they have enrolled in a total number of courses equivalent to 12 UVA credits in order to avoid academic probation.

PROGRAMS

Shanghai Chinese Language Program

Shanghai Chinese Language Program: the UVA-in-Shanghai Intensive Chinese Language Program in the Department of East Asian Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Virginia is hosted by Fudan University.  It is intended to enable students who are serious about studying Chinese language in a total immersion environment to cover a year’s worth of material and to earn 8 UVA credits.  This rigorous, demanding, and rewarding language program allows the student to have first-hand experience using Chinese in real world situations as well as studying and practicing it in the classroom.  For more information, use the Program Search at https://educationabroad.virginia.edu.

UVA in Shanghai: Fudan University is offered through the partnership of University of Virginia, Fudan University, and The Education Abroad Network (TEAN). This program offers students the opportunity to spend a semester or year in Shanghai studying Chinese language for direct UVA credit, while choosing from a variety of English-taught electives for transfer credit.

Students will take a Chinese Language course at Fudan University, which is offered at the Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced level. The Chinese Language program is designed and guided by DEALLC professor Hsin-hsin Liang, and students will receive direct UVA credit.

Students will take non-language elective courses taught in English for transfer credit. Elective courses are available in areas such as Marketing, Economics, Management, Accounting, Finance, Sociology, Journalism, History and Political Science. Visit the Academics page on the TEAN website for course listings. Students will also have the option to participate in a part-time internship at a multinational or Chinese organization. Please visit the ISO Education Abroad website and select Program Search for detailed information: https://educationabroad.virginia.edu.

Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies

Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies (KCJS): the University of Virginia joins Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan and about a dozen other Ivy Leagues in running KCJS, a well-regarded study abroad program based in Japan’s historic capital city available for one semester, an entire academic year, or the summer, or the combination of the summer and the fall.  KCJS’s summer program offers classical and advanced modern Japanese, details for which can be found on the website below.  The program requires students to have two full years of college-level Japanese language coursework as a prerequisite, and it works to improve students’ language abilities through small-group instruction tailored to each student’s ability level. Content courses on Japan in the social sciences and humanities are also offered and are typically taught in English. KCJS also facilitates daily use of the language outside the classroom by placing all students who want to take advantage of this opportunity with host families and the community. For more information on the program, application deadlines, and financial aid opportunities, please visit https://www.kcjs.jp/

The Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies

The Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies (IUP) is also a consortial program jointly administered by the 14 North American universities distinguished in Chinese studies. Established in Taipei, Taiwan in 1963, IUP has for more than a half century been the gold standard for advanced Chinese instruction, and attracts more graduate and professional school students with China-related career plans than any other language program. Located at Tsinghua University in Beijing since 1997, IUP is headquartered at the University of California at Berkeley. The University of Virginia joined the consortium in 2010. IUP is a purely language instruction program with a proficiency threshold for admission of approximately the completion of third year college-level Chinese. Students are in classes no larger than 3, with daily one-on-one sessions, and enjoy a student-teacher ratio well under 2:1. The basic program is one academic year, but qualified students may attend for the summer, fall, or spring terms only, or any combination thereof. For application, fees, schedule, and other program information, please visit http://ieas.berkeley.edu/iup/.