Best University for Serious/Advanced Student

[jawshoowa]

I'm applying for a Chinese government scholarship, so I need to go to a university mandarin program and I would like to be in Beijing. The scholarship will not work for Princeton in Beijing or IUP because they are not domestically run programs.

Any recommendations for the best university in Beijing for a student who already has 3000+ character vocabulary and is serious about attaining the highest degree of fluency? I place a high priority on having classmates at a similar level, so larger programs are better in my book, as that allows for more precise placement. Also, I would like advanced classes that do readings on literature and Chinese culture using real Chinese materials, not the stuff in text books written for foreigners.

Thanks everyone!

[magnusgren]

On that level, why not apply as a General Scholar (e.g. Chinese Literature) and study with Chinese students?

[self-taught-mba]

I agree with the previous poster. If you are at the level that you are delving into advanced literature, study something you like but in a Chinese setting. That should definitely push you. I remember several threads on here about people doing that kind of experience and said it was really challenging but also incredibly rewarding. In that case, you should probably posit the question on some Chinese language message boards and then find out what the Chinese think are best for studying literature and so forth.

Congratulations on your achievements and good luck!

[jawshoowa]

That is a good suggestion. Perhaps I should go for it.

The reason I was hoping to do Chinese language classes is just to get more correction and help with my speaking skills. But I suppose I could get a private teacher for that, and just attend Chinese literature courses. I imagine I would really struggle to keep up, as I don't read that fast compared to native speakers.

I'll give it a little more thought. In the meantime, can anyone answer the original question regarding a challenging university Chinese language program?