Kentucky Institute of International Studies (KIIS)

Students can earn 6 credits in two classes in the KIIS summer program in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in China’s southwest. The curriculum varies from year to year. The program also provides workshops in subjects like Chinese painting and tai chi and includes field trips in the area. Kunming’s climate is moderate year round and the surrounding area is home to several of China’s ethnic minorities. At the end of the program, students travel to Xian, site of the terra cotta warriors, and Beijing where they visit the Great Wall and Forbidden City as well as other must see sites.

The University of Louisville is a member of KIIS, a consortium of universities based at Murray State University, and U of L students have regularly participated in this program.

Further information about the program in China can be obtained from the UofL International Center or from kiis.org

Beijing Foreign Studies University

The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Louisville has an ongoing relationship with BFSU. BFSU has one of the best Chinese as a Second Language Programs in China. Every summer since 2004, intermediate and advanced language students from the University of Louisville have had opportunities to study Chinese at the Beijing Foreign Studies University: Website

Nankai University

Nankai is located in Tianjin, which is near the sea about two hours east of Beijing. During 2002-2006, five faculty from Nankai were visiting professors at U of L and taught classes in Chinese, Chinese Studies, and Political Science.

For more information, visit the Nankai University Website

Honors Seminar: Buddhism in China

In 2000, as part of the U of L Honors seminar “Buddhism in China,” students traveled to Beijing, Xian and various Buddhist sites, including the cave temples at Yungang and the sacred Wutai Mountain in the northern province of Shanxi and to the Baoding grottoes in the western province of Sichuan.