When it’s noon in Kingston, it’s midnight in Beijing. But China is no longer a world away. No one understands that better than URI students choosing to major in Chinese, a new program designed to give them the language and cultural skills they need to compete in the global economy. These are students open to the wider world, and for them, the possibilities are endless.
The popularity of Chinese courses at URI has skyrocketed in the last few years. Many students combine Chinese with a second major, which propels them to even broader international career opportunities. Students enrolled in the International Engineering Program or the International Business Program are good examples.
The popularity of Chinese courses at URI has skyrocketed in the last few years. Many students combine Chinese with a second major, which propels them to even broader international career opportunities.
Take Rachael Browning ’11, a recent grad who combined Chinese and chemical engineering, and as part of her program completed a six-month internship as a research assistant at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China.
Students, like junior Christian Thorne, a global business management student, can also enroll in the URI’s Chinese Summer School, a intensive eight-week language program in which students and instructors live together, speaking only Mandarin for four weeks on the Kingston campus before they travel to China to continue their language and culture studies there.
Alyssa Zisk, is one of 20 students in the URI’s Chinese Flagship Program is a federally-funded intensive undergraduate program for highly motivated students preparing for global careers. For Alyssa, a triple major in mechanical engineering, mathematics, and Chinese, the Chinese Flagship Program has been a perfect fit. “It has changed my life, my goals for the future, and my view of the world,” she says.
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