View current program fees, deadlines, and financial aid information.
Longtime IUP board member, Dr. Charles Laughlin, joined IUP as its new Resident Director in July 2007. IUP is very proud to have Charles directing the language center for years to come.
By the application deadline, IUP requires that all students have already achieved a level of Chinese roughly comparable to successful completion of at least two years of university level Chinese instruction. Under new admissions procedures, beginning with the 2005 Summer Program, IUP has a strict Pre-admission Language Qualification requirement, because all IUP classes are taught in Chinese, and no English is allowed to be spoken in the IUP Center.
As the final step in the application process, all applicants initially admitted to any IUP program by IUP's admission committee are required to take a 15-minute phone interview in Mandarin conducted by IUP's Head Instructor or Resident Director after sending in their non-refundable deposits. Academic Year/Semester applicants who are initially admitted will be interviewed in early March. Summer applicants will be interviewed shortly after they've been admitted and have sent in their non-refundable deposits. There are three possible outcomes of the interview: pass, fail, and borderline. Those who pass the interview may attend IUP's programs, and their deposits are non-refundable. Those who fail the interview may not attend the IUP program to which they applied, and their non-refundable deposits will be refunded under these circumstances. If requested, IUP will recommend other effective language programs in Beijing or in Taipei. Those who are considered "borderline" cases may attend the IUP program to which they applied only if they agree to complete a language review program approved by IUP in good standing and have finally passed their Mandarin interview. Please note that applicants with borderline interview results who choose to enroll in a language review program should be prepared to pay for all language review program costs (most review programs approved by IUP are based in Beijing), and borderline applicants should be prepared to review for at least two months prior to the IUP program to which they applied. If an applicant with borderline interview results chooses not to enroll in a language review program, the applicant will be refunded their deposit under these circumstances. Please see Pre-admission Language Qualification.
IUP will review summer applications soon after they arrive at the IUP-Berkeley office, rather than hold admissions after the summer program deadline (January 31, 2008). Admission is competitive, and it is recommended that you send in your application as soon as possible due to limited space at IUP's language center.
Due to the very large number of applications that IUP has received in the past two years, IUP will no longer allow applicants to defer attendance. Applicants who have been accepted to IUP but who would like to attend the following year will need to re-apply as new applicants and meet the official application deadlines.
IUP has traditionally accepted students only for the full academic year, but we will consider semester, or summer-semester applicants as space permits (priority will be given to academic year applicants).
IUP has signed an agreement with Chinese University of Hong Kong that allows qualified IUP students to study Cantonese at any level there.
Due to the lower level of health care available in China, the current state of medical facilities in Beijing, and the long distance of Tsinghua from Western-managed clinics and hospitals (all located on the other side of Beijing), IUP strongly recommends that any students with a pre-existing medical condition consult with their physician to see if their condition would be worsened by living in Beijing.
Beijing has severe air pollution, extremely dry air and dust storms in winter and spring, and several infectious diseases (e.g. TB and hepatitis) that are prevalent. Asthma sufferers and those with other respiratory aliments will find living in Beijing very challenging.
