Minimum GPA 3.0, good academic standing. Two years of college level Mandarin Chinese. Harbin's history and setting provide an ideal environment for this type of intensive study. Harbin students must speak Chinese 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the time they board the train to Harbin until the time they leave. While appearing to be more difficult than it is, this intensive language pledge ensures rapid progress in one's language skills and strengthens the program's environment.
Students also participate in specialized drill sessions with one other student and one professor.
Tutorials total eight hours per week. This individualized attention makes it possible for advanced students with varying levels of fluency to significantly improve their own proficiency without fear either of falling behind or of being held back by other students in the program. Therefore, all of our students in Harbin share living space with a Chinese student at HIT and are assigned a host family. CET students and their Chinese roommates often share meals together as well as participate in fieldtrips to various historical and cultural sites around Harbin. Host families provide students with excellent opportunities to practice their Chinese and gain a deeper understanding or home life in Harbin.