Hopkins-Nanjing Center Blog

On Thursday, December 3rd, the Hopkins-Nanjing Center and Project Pengyou are hosting a panel event in Beijing on how to build China into your career across a variety of sectors. If you are currently in Beijing, see below for more details on how to attend. We hope to see you there! Building China into Your Career: Expersts' Perspectives from the Classroom to the Workplace  Event Details Project Pengyou and the HNC are co-hosting a panel event on how to build China in your career into a variety of sectors.  The discussion will offer insights into getting started, the role of language skills, and strategies to shape a meaningful career, featuring prominent HNC alumni from the business, policy and nonprofit sectors. Special keynote speaker Anthony Kuhn, Beijing Correspondent for National Public Radio, will join the discussion and share his personal journey, from his first trip to China in the ’80s as a student to his career as a journalist, covering As...

Earlier this month, the HNC hosted the first Open House for prospective students. Read on to learn more about the event from the HNC American Academic Coordinator, John Urban. Hi guys, John Urban here. I am the American Academic Coordinator at the HNC, and I am based in Nanjing, China. One of my responsibilities is recruitment of international students in greater China. This part of my job has me traveling to language programs in Beijing, Hangzhou, Harbin, Shanghai, and other cities in China visiting language programs and presenting to students studying Chinese.  When I am on the road, I am always sure to show lots of pictures of the HNC facilities and students doing activities, as well as shots that try to capture the unique HNC atmosphere. So, when we decided to hold our first-ever prospective students open house before the semester started, I knew that it had potential to be a great success. Thankfully, I believe it was! Prospective students came from all over Chin...

  Hi All, Throughout the year, we receive many questions from prospective students. In today’s post, I’d like to address a frequently asked question: “Is my Chinese good enough?” Let’s start by setting the premise: academic Chinese is different from colloquial Chinese. The vocabulary used in HNC classes includes words that even regular Chinese people are unfamiliar with (e.g. classes on Islamic Fundamentalism, Comparative US-China Foreign Investment Law). In other words, the level of a student’s language skill isn’t solely judged by their vocabulary base. Coursework at the HNC requires students to adapt and expand their vocabulary at a rapid pace. Thus, the admissions committee is looking for an ability to overcome a steep learning curve. Now that we’ve set the premise, let’s move on to exactly what Chinese classroom instruction entails.  Listening Comprehension: Unless at the request of the class, professors will not lecture at a pace lower than they w...

When students study abroad, it’s usually with the goal of immersing themselves in a target foreign language environment. At the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies, however, it is truly a bilingual community. Classes are conducted either in Chinese or English, and student life includes various initiatives that mirror the bilingual academic environment. The Public Speaking Club has two components: daily and biweekly. Buttons worn by members daily indicate the language in which to speak in for the day. When other students see the button, they are encouraged to converse with the wearer in that language. There are also biweekly meetings held to practice public speaking in the form of short speeches. The speeches are given in the target language, and the rest of the club provides feedback following the speech.  The Movie Club has a mission of introducing the US and China in the form of a weekly film. While students cover specific topics such as ...