Summer Programs

Summer study programs are a great option for students who are unable to spend a semester or year abroad due to conflicting obligations during the academic year and those students looking for shorter, less expensive options. Although it is difficult to replicate the advantages and benefits of longer-term study, our programs are designed to give you a deep and meaningful exposure to the country and culture through an academically challenging format. All summer programs are taught in English.

AsiaLearn Summer Programs are available in Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea.

Summer programs in Hong Kong:

Asia as the Global Future
University of Hong Kong offers a unique and well-structured, credit-bearing undergraduate program on Asian Studies. The program aims at enhancing participants’ awareness of the importance of Asia in world affairs. In doing so, it seeks to create an interactive learning environment where international students of high academic caliber combine knowledge acquired from lectures and seminars with an understanding of real world problems through a series of field trips in Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Seoul. Renowned businessmen, community leaders, and scholars will also contribute to the course as guest speakers. The abilities developed during this course will facilitate team building and public speaking skills, as well as creativity and resourcefulness through problemsolving and research. Instruction is in English.

Special study tours to Macau, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Seoul will be arranged in collaboration with the University of Macau, Zhejiang University and Yonsei University. In addition to academic lectures, seminars and social activities, survival Korean courses will also be offered on an optional basis. In order to enhance deeper understanding of local culture and multicultural interaction, local students will be invited to act as ambassadors for the students whilst in Hong Kong and during the study tours in China and Seoul.

Schedule:
Weeks 1 & 2 (Hong Kong): June 22 - July 3, 2008 (including study tour to Macau during June 27-29)
Weeks 3 & 4 (Shanghai, Hangzhou and Seoul): July 4-11, 2008 (Shanghai and Hangzhou); July 12-20, 2008 (Seoul)

Topics Covered:
ASEAN and Southeast Asia
Asian Modernisation
Business and Economic Development in Asia
China and East Asia
China’s International Relations
Climate Change in Asia
Culture and History of China
Democratisation in Asia
Developments in West Asia
Economics with Chinese Characteristics
From Cold War to Regional Cooperation
Human Rights in Asia
India and South Asia
Korean History and Society, Politics and Economics
Labour in Asia
Macau: Asia’s Las Vegas
Popular Culture in Asia
Olympics 2008
The United States and Asia

Course Content:
Lectures/Seminars
Field Trips
Study Tours (Macau, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Seoul)
Group Discussion

Assessment:
Attendance and Participation
Journal
Exam

Upon successful completion of the course, students will receive 12 credits on a University of Hong Kong transcript (approx. 6 U.S. semester credits) to transfer to their home university. Contact your home university academic adviosr or study abroad advisor for details on how the credits will transfer at your school.

Accommodation:
Accommodation will be provided in student dormitories at various universities in Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Seoul.

Eligibility: Open to all students who have completed at least one year of college credit and have earned a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5

Dates: June 22-July 20, 2008 (4 weeks) - date of departure from the U.S./Canada is estimated to be June 19, 2008

Program Fee: $3,960 USD - includes tuition, insurance, accommodation, and field trips (including airfare between destinations during course). International airfare between your home city and Hong Kong is not included.

HKU Summer School in Social Science Research Methods (Postgraduate)
University of Hong Kong’s graduate summer program is designed to expose postgraduate students to advanced methodologies for conducting social science research. Covering both qualitative and quantitative techniques, the course will offer graduate students a unique opportunity to meet leading scholars in their area, to develop professional networks and to broaden their set of research skills. During these four weeks, students will also be exposed to a wide range of topics related to China and Asia from within the social sciences, humanities, and economics. Instruction is in English. Participants will receive a certificate of attendance upon successful completion of the program, however, there is no examination or grade for the program.

Topics Covered:
Doing Social Research in Asia: Challenges and Opportunities
Methodological Issues in Quantitative & Qualitative Research
Longitudinal Analysis of Historical Demographic Data
Content Analysis
Interviewing Elites
Running Effective Focus Groups
Policy Analysis & Analyzing Government Documents
Interpreting Qualitative Data
Questionnaire Design & Survey Research
Designing Multi-item Scales & Survey Sampling
Survey Question Testing
Secondary Data Analysis
Using SPSS
Basic Statistical Methods
Structural Equation Modeling with LISREL
Researching Sensitive Issues & Research Ethics

Click here to view the program schedule and lectures.
Click here to see the program outline/description.

Accommodation:
Accommodation will be provided in student dormitories at The University of Hong Kong. All rooms are air-conditioned and well furnished. Each floor has its own pantry and is equipped with basic cooking facilities.

Eligibility: Open to all students who have completed an undergraduate degree and have earned a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5.

Dates: July 28 to August 22, 2008 (4 weeks)

Program Fee: $2,960 USD - includes tuition, insurance, and accommodation

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South Korea - Korea University International Summer School

Korea University provides an excellent opportunity for students to learn about South Korea through academic and cultural immersion during a 6-week summer program. Courses cover a wide range of subjects pertaining to international issues, with a particular emphasis on the East Asia region. Each class offers a full-semester of coursework condensed into six weeks of intensive study totaling 48 hours. Classes are held Monday through Thursday with excursions, cultural workshops, and guest lectures incorporated into the program to form a well rounded learning environment. Students can choose up to a maximum of three classes from the academic areas of Economics and Business, Humanities, Sociology and Cultural Studies, Law, Politics and International Relations, Science, Korean Studies, Korean Language, and Fine Art/Design. Except for Korean language classes, the medium of instruction for all courses is English.

Eligibility: Open to all students who have completed at least one year of college credit and have earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5.

Dates: July 1-August 10, 2008 (6 weeks)

Program fee: $5,024 USD - includes tuition, insurance, and accommodation

Students can take 3 classes. Each class is awarded 3 credits (9 credits total). To see classes available at Korea University's International Summer School, click here.

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Malaysia - Swinburne Sarawak Study Tour

Swinburne University of Tecnology-Sarawak offers two 3-week summer sessions or a combined 6-week program designed to bring local and international students together to broaden the international outlook of participants. Students can choose from a range of classes available in the fields of business, information technology, and multimedia. Field trips within the city of Kuching, Sarawak, or other parts of Malaysia are included to compliment the academic content of the summer program. Instruction is in English.

Eligibility: Open to all students who have completed at least one year of college credit and have earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5.

Dates: 3-week program: 23rd June - 13th July 2008 OR 14th July - 3rd August 2008
6-week program: 23rd June - 3rd August 2008

Program Fees: $2,975 USD (3-week program), $4,460 USD (6-week program) - includes tuition, insurance, accommodation, and some excursions

Classes Available - Session 1:

HBM 110: The Marketing Concept
HET 113: The Internet and World Wide Web 1
HBI 340: International Trade Strategies

Classes Available - Session 2:

HBM 223: Transnational Marketing
HET 215: Multimedia Applications
HIT 1401: Introduction to Business Information Systems

 

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Japan - World Campus-Japan: Become a Global Citizen in Japan! - Summer and Spring

In partnership with the Japanese non-profit organization, World Campus International, Inc., AsiaLearn offers an opportunity to take part in a unique educational program with participants from around the globe with World Campus – Japan. With this program, you will have a chance to gain international experience as well as increase your personal and professional networks all in the authentic backdrop of Japanese culture, politics, and business.

During these short term programs, participants stay about one week in each partnering Japanese community. Educational city themes are arranged as the foundation of learning in each city. During these discussions, you are given an opportunity to broaden your outlook not only from guest speakers, but also by sharing your experiences with other class members as well. You will be asked to come prepared to talk about your culture including national, political, religious, etc. views as well as be open to other perspectives too. As a complement to the discussions, hands-on interactive activities in local communities also act to deepen ones understanding of Japan and the world.

Program Components:

City Themes: Planned discussions and community interactive time will differ from week to week and are both information-based and experiential. Example themes from past programs include:

Social Welfare Systems
Corporate Social Responsibility
Community Revitalization
Environment
Immigration
Peace and Conflict

Past classes have had such varied community interactive experiences from attending the public memorial events on August 6th in Hiroshima featuring the Prime Minister of Japan, to working with disabled citizens in Omura, Nagasaki, to meeting company representatives at Mazda, Toyota, ExxonMobil and Cannon. There is also ongoing Japanese language training for beginners and plenty of practice opportunities for more advanced speakers of the language with both everyday situations and public speaking.

Communicating with Culture, Art, Music and Multimedia: World Campus – Japan participants have a chance to experience local culture, develop event planning skills, and show off their unique talents during our weekly “Thank-you Event”.

Host Family Living: Part of what makes this program so powerful is that participants get to experience Japanese communities through a variety of different host families that have a range of values, perceptions and points of view. This experience offers a fantastic learning opportunity when approached with an open-mind, flexible attitude and excitement to get to know new people.

Japanese Community Partners:

Ueda City, Nagano                          
Suita City, Osaka          
Uda City, Nara
Hiroshima City, Hiroshima             
Toyota City, Aichi        
Mito City, Ibaraki
Omura City, Nagasaki                      
Tama City, Tokyo         
Toride City, Ibaraki
Kumamoto City, Kumamoto           
Arao City, Kumamoto  
Abiko City, Chiba

Alumni from the World Campus – Japan program come from the following countries:

Australia		Italy		Qatar
Belgium		Indonesia		South Korea
Brazil		Japan		Sweden
Canada		Kenya		Switzerland
China		Luxembourg		Turkey
Denmark		Netherlands		Uganda
Finland		Norway		USA
Germany		Pakistan		Uzbekistan

         

Program Dates: Program periods are short term and have ranged in the past from 3 weeks up to 12 weeks in the past. Typical stays in communities are about a week long and have taken place in the spring and summer. Dates for the scheduled 2009 programs will be announced by August 2008.

Assessment: This program does not have formal assessment, credit, or grades, as learning is more experiential than theoretical.  At the end of the program you will receive a certificate of completion. Some past participants have arranged independent studies credit if they are attending university.  Contact your academic advisor for credit opportunities at your home university.

Eligibility: Open to anyone over the age of 18. There will be a phone interview process to determine acceptance.

Program Fees: Includes tuition, insurance, accommodation, meals, transportation during the tour in Japan, regional learning related expenses such as entrance fees or for guides, access to all planned community partner resources such as facilities, speakers, special guests, as well as activities with businesses, politicians, and organizations. Fees for the 2009 programs will be announced in August 2008.

Additional information can be found at www.worldcampus.org or www.worldcampusblog.org.            

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