As China’s roaring economy propels it to the forefront of world affairs, U.S. college students are taking notice and traveling to the Middle Kingdom in droves, school officials say.
Though only the seventh most popular destination for American students, China still attracted 8,830 students during the 2006-2007 academic year, a 38 percent increase over the previous year, according to a press release from the Institute of International Education, a nonprofit dedicated to study abroad programs. During the 2002-2003 academic year, study abroad in China increased by 90 percent.
The opportunities for advancement in the world’s most populous nation also attract students to enroll. From Emerson College, which only offers a program in Taiwan, a group of students had the opportunity to write for the Olympic News Service during the Beijing Olympics, programs Director David Griffin said.
“In many ways, I think this is going to be the Asian Century,” he said. “It’s a place where economies are growing very fast and there’s a lot of opportunity. I think students want to be a part of that.”
Boston College students are also choosing to immerse themselves in Chinese society, like their peers nationwide.BC has seen a steady increase in the number of students interested in studying abroad in China, international programs Assistant Director Christina Dimitrova said.
“Asia is the new Europe for students who are already looking to study abroad,” she said.
Though China has garnered interest from a vast array of majors, a larger number of business students are applying to BC’s Beijing and Hong Kong programs, Dimitrova said.
Tufts University has also seen a steady increase in enrollment in its Hangzhou and Hong Kong programs over the last couple of years, study abroad program director Sheila Bayne said.
Bayne cited China’s economic growth as a probable reason for students’ increased interest.
In 2008, after recognizing China’s increasing role as a world power, Boston University developed a new internship program as well as a program on Chinese language and culture at Fudan University in Shanghai, Office of International Programs program manager Kathleen Rodriguez Dietzel said in an email.
“There is increased interest in learning to speak Chinese and to learn more about Chinese culture,” she said. “Having the opportunity to learn about China, in China, while learning the language, will benefit students in numerous ways.”
University Professors Program senior Will Lewis studied abroad in BU’s inaugural spring 2008 Shanghai program.
“Regardless of whether or not China is the next world power, it’s a country that’s home to thousands of years of fascinating civilization, including schools of political and social thought and forms of art that are quite different from those found in the U.S.,” he said in an e-mail. “I’m happy that I’m able to see China as a place where some of my friends live, rather than as lines on a map or a system of government.”
The study abroad program in China offers students an unmatched opportunity, BU East Asian Studies department Director Joseph Fewsmith said.
“It simply opens their eyes to things that we can try to address in the classroom, but they benefit a lot more if they can go to China and visit the society,” he said.
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Patrick Vena plans to study abroad next semester and said he is eager to take his education to another level.
“The potential knowledge you can gain by going to a foreign country and learning about that country from native professors is astounding,” he said. “I don’t know how anyone can pass it up if they have the opportunity.”
