Courses of Study 2024-2025
China and Asia-Pacific Studies
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In the College of Arts and Sciences .
Course Offerings
The Brittany and Adam J. Levinson China and Asia–Pacific Studies Program (CAPS) offers a unique approach to the study of contemporary China, through a set of courses on China’s language, history, politics, economy, society, and foreign relations, and by providing students with experience both on- and off-campus, including three years in Ithaca, one optional semester in Washington, D.C., and one required semester in Beijing.
Website: caps.cornell.edu
Faculty
J. Weiss, director, N. Admussen, A. Carlson, S. Divo, Y. Du, E. Friedman, T. J. Hinrichs, P. Katzenstein, P. Sun, J. Wallace, X. Xu. Affiliated faculty: D. Chang, R. McNeal, V. Nee, A. Pan, D. Silbey, E. Tagliacozzo, D.X. Warner
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The Major:
There are no prerequisites to the major. Upon enrollment in the program, CAPS majors must complete six or seven required CAPS courses and two elective CAPS courses (total 30-36 credits) with a grade average of C or better. In addition, majors must achieve the 3000-level Chinese language proficiency (see “Chinese Language Courses” below).
Note: In addition to the major requirements outlined below, all students must meet the college graduation requirements .
One CAPS gateway course:
CAPS majors must take any one of the following gateway courses (taught in Ithaca) normally during the first two years:
Other required core courses:
CAPS majors must complete the following required courses:
For students opting out of the D.C. semester, they will be required to take the following courses offered in Ithaca as replacement:
Any one of the following courses:
and
- Two additional 4000-level seminar courses (in any department or college that have a China focus, subject to approval by the CAPS Director of Undergraduate Studies, Ithaca)
Note: For students interested in opting out of the D.C. semester, please schedule a meeting with the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Xu Xin, xx12@cornell.edu.
Two CAPS elective courses:
Please visit the CAPS website for courses normally used to fulfill CAPS elective requirements and courses. CAPS majors may choose any two CAPS courses to fulfill the CAPS elective requirements.
Chinese Language Courses:
CAPS majors are required to complete three years of college-level Chinese language courses (CHIN 1000-level through 3000-level) and acquire the high-intermediate Chinese proficiency or higher upon graduation.
Native speakers holding regular high school diplomas from Chinese mainland or Taiwan (i.e., not international schools) may be exempted from the CAPS Chinese language requirement, per the discretion of Cornell’s Chinese language faculty and the approval of CAPS administrator. Alternatively, students may be exempted through placement testing, at the discretion of Cornell Chinese language faculty and the approval of CAPS administrator.
See the CAPS website page on language requirements regarding the CAPS Chinese language course sequencing, and the Asian Studies website about Chinese language placement testing and exemption.
Internships:
CAPS majors hold internships in governments, businesses, the media, think tanks, and other organizations during their time in Washington, D.C. and in Beijing. No academic credits are granted for internships. Yet they may combine their internship experience with Independent Study. Majors are encouraged to coordinate their two internship experiences.
Honors:
CAPS majors are encouraged to complete an honors thesis when possible. Honors in CAPS are awarded for excellence in the major. Honors candidates must complete the following two honors tutorials while writing an honors thesis:
CAPS 4010 and CAPS 4020 may be used to fulfill the requirement for one CAPS elective course. You can read more regarding the CAPS Honors Program.
The Minor:
The CAPS minor is open to undergraduate students enrolled in any of the seven Cornell undergraduate colleges. Course Requirements:
To complete the CAPS Minor, students need to complete at least 18 credits of coursework in China and Asia-Pacific Studies, including one of the CAPS gateway courses (CAPS 3049 , CAPS 3827 , or CAPS 3967 ) and four more courses. At least two of these courses need to be chosen from the list of CAPS required core courses (offered in Ithaca, DC, or Beijing), and the remaining two may be electives, generally to be chosen from the list of CAPS recommended elective courses (including the courses offered by the School of International Studies at Peking University in China), in consultation with the CAPS Director of Undergraduate Studies. One of these electives will usually be a Chinese language course.
The CAPS course offerings are posted on the Arts and Sciences Course Roster and CAPS website (caps.cornell.edu). The list of electives, which is regularly updated, is intended to be representative but not exhaustive.
A minimum grade of C must be received for all courses counted towards the Minor. All courses used to fulfill the Minor requirements, including language courses, must be taken for a letter grade.
Language Requirements:
All CAPS minors need to complete the equivalent of second-year Chinese, or, if they place beyond the second year, then must complete any single Chinese language course at a higher level (for advanced students this may be a literature or special topics class in Chinese). Off-campus Opportunities:
Students in the Minor may be considered for one of the off-campus semesters (CAPS in D.C. or CAPS in Beijing) if space is available in the program, AND if they place into the language level appropriate for that semester’s CAPS Chinese courses (2000 level for Beijing). Students who are interested in either of CAPS off-campus semesters must make an appointment to see the Director of Undergraduate Studies for consultation.
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