Peking University

[roddy]

This topic is for discussion and reviews of Peking University. Accommodation, courses, on-campus facilities and activities - anything to do with Peking University goes in here. If there's a lot of discussion about any one particular topic we might split it into a new thread and leave a link here.

Discussion on Peking Universities Chinese Courses

[smossey]

Hello I was wondering if anyone can provide some input into a few questions I have about Peking University. It sounds like I have been admitted to PKU for the Master's in International Relations English taught program for two years. I am both excited and nervous at the same time, and have about a million questions/fears on my mind.

The first being whether or not I should go to my state school the University of New Hampshire for a few thousand dollars, or to PKU for two years for around 20 thousand dollars (I have been awarded a partial csc scholarship with housing, allowance, and insurance covered but not tuition). It sounds like a great experience, and sounds like it would make learning Mandarin easier being surrounded by the language on a day to day basis. Plus while my state school and alma mater is a good school it seems PKU ranks much more highly, and would help me with my job prospects in regard to International Relations once I arrived back in the States. Any input you may have would be great.

Second I a was curious if anyone knew when and how often courses meet at PKU, and other Chinese Universities for graduate school? I have about ten 3 credit courses to take for my major with my last semester mostly covering my thesis. Do classes meet once a week for a few hours like most State graduate courses do, or do they meet more often? Also are the courses generally more difficult, time consuming, etc? I don't want to sound lazy I just like to know what I am getting into, before committing to a program.

Third is anyone familiar with the global village at PKU? Are they nice apartments, have their own bathroom, etc? My scholarship is covering a " two-bed double room". Any input on how nice this is would be awesome, and what to expect.

Last is skype video blocked in China? Homesickness is my major issue, and Skype made my study abroad in England awesome without me ever being too lonely. Without skype I think I would be extremely homesick.

I am one of those extreme over-analyzing types so I apologize for the questions!

[Flipper86]

skype is not blocked, it works properly. the only problem is the connection, not very stable.

[smossey]

@Flipper86 that is excellent news! I can go without Facebook and the other site's but Skype is my main way of staying in touch with my family. An unstable connection is something I can live with!

[jirbau]

I will be studying Mandarin Language course in Peking University this September so I inquired into Global Village accommodations. It seems that the accommodations there is in high demand and that because I inquired too late (first week of July), they no longer have an available room for me. So if ever you are interested in that, be sure to contact them very early for reservations. At least around 4 months before you term starts.

[gianluca88]

I will be attending a master's course in International Relations at Peking University for two years.

Since I was already there for a year, involved in an exchange program, I can tell you that rooms in the Global Village are really good, those ones are usually given priority to students who have been awarded full scholarship.

For students with partial scholarships I believe that it is still possible to choose rooms in the Global Village, but the other option on campus would be Shaoyuan (here conditions are not that good!).

See you in a month time guys!

[Basilm]

@jirbau Are you sure there are no rooms availible anymore at the Global Village? I received a full scholarship from the CSC, and was hoping to stay there. I have been wondering if maybe I needed to call/email them to "register/reserve" a spot at the village, however no response to my email, and I was told by an administrator at my current uni that its just to "show up at registration day".

I would prefer not to live in Shaoyuan if it can be avoided, as said I'm not sure if it makes any difference if I have a full scholarship, provided by the Chinese government, if I have not "reserved" a room, did not actually think you needed to call them to reserve an accommodation for you.

Sadly all kinds of queries are NOT responsed to via email, which is quite frustrating.

Best of luck to all, and yes, see you all at Beida in September in the beginner chinese class or sociology & anthropology department.

[jirbau]

@Basilm well, that's what they told me. but I don't have a scholarship so maybe in your case it would be different. I tried emailing them first but they have not responded to any of my emails so I decided to just call them. I suggest you call them to check.

[ccyjie]

@Validating, I got my master degree from Peking University. I could answer a few of your questions:

1. All oversea students are settled in Shao Yuan(勺园) near its west gate before 2007. After that Peking University had a new dormitory building outside its east gate. It's 中关新园. I think your dorm should be in 中关新园.

2. Skype is not banned in China or Peking university. But it is international network service. In campus, the free network is Chinese educational network. If you need international network service, such as Skype, CNN, washingtonpost, you'd better pay for 校园直通车. About ￥50/month. I've no idea whether it is ￥50 NOW.

3. Relax. I‘ve classmates from South Korea, US. and UK. It seems professors have some "special" policies. If you try you best, there is nothing to worry about. Attitude is more important than what's your thesis to some extent.

4. When you enter Peking University, there will be good guide for you. Everything will be ok. Trust me.

Finnaly, good luck.

[valikor]

I apologize if I'm posting this in the wrong place.

But, does anyone know how to read this schedule? It seems to say, for example, that I have class from 7:00-8:00 on Monday, 5:00-6:00 on Tuesday, and 3:00-4:00 on Thursday (with no indication of AM or PM).

But, not only would this be a fairly odd schedule--also low on hours--but it seems to say that both of the classes are 6 hours a week... but the numbers given add up to only 3 hours a week, so I'm wondering if they have the day broken up into sections or periods. I've read all the materials given to me, and they made no mention of this!

Thanks!

[jirbau]

1-2 means 8-950am, 3-4 1010am to 12nn, 5-6 1-250pm, 7-8 310-5pm.

[yialanliu]

Just something to note: I wrote almost all my papers in english when I was at PKU and all my professors were okay with that as long as you tell them ahead of time (outside of the Chinese language class obviously).

[Phmios]

I will be studying Chinese there for one year, starting 2013. Anybody else as well?

[Pat G.]

Do we really need a guarantor to be able to study at Peking University? What if you don't know anyone living there?

Also, is it hard to get in the university? are there cases wherein they won't accept you?

[moncrieffalgy]

Hi, is anyone else starting in Peking University this Fall 2013? I'll be on a General Visiting Student programme in International Relations; it'd be good to hear from anyone else enrolling in Peking, whether in International Relations or otherwise!

[heyyu]

@moncrieffalgy

I applied for the CSC scholarship and chose Peking University as my top choice to go as a General Visiting Scholar. I just got my Bachelor's in IR but decided to study International Trade and Economics with a year of Chinese language training prior to major study. I don't know if I'll actually be going since I don't know if I received the scholarship, but if I do, I'll let you know!

[wensente]

大家你好

I'll be starting at 北京大学 this fall (September 2013) for a ten month Chinese Language program on a CSC scholarship.

Some questions to people who were there last year:

1) what will the free scholarship covered dorms look like? I hear we have a room mate. Any pictures or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

2) what is the schedule like at the school for Chinese as a second language?

3) how do they pay out the CSC scholarship?

4) any advice or things to consider before going?

thanks!

vince

[Jamasian]

Hi has anyone done the CIEE advance Chinese program at this school? I'm wondering if it's worth it to do it this spring or enroll directly to study the language intensely. Afterall CIEE is $14,000 plus for next year when a full year of direct enrollment is only half that.

[Huina]

Hi, I am going to apply for pre admission to Fudan for a master's degree starting in 2016. I want to go under the CSC program so I can afford to go to grad school! 

 

What were your experiences with the pre admissions process? How did it work?

Is it super hard for foreigners to get in? I had an ok GPA at one college and an amazing GPA at another. My professors should give me good recs and are fairly well known in their respective fields. 

What program did you apply to-English language or Chinese?

Did you need to have a thesis proposal for pre-application? 

I'm interested in public policy and international relations. In my undergrad I focused on US-China relations with a lot of study on environmental politics and NGOs (US, China and globally). So what program would you suggest for that? I am willing to put the pedal to the metal to hit HSK 6 and study in Chinese. I should be HSK 5 by July. 

 

I'm posting all over and I'm sorry for the copypasta, I just made my "big decision" to apply for grad school starting 2016 and I want to know as much as possible before I start the arduous process of getting my USA uni to get its crap together and send out recommendations/transcripts.

[Coral2015]

Hi everyone,

 

Do you know anyone who has done Chinese Literature subjects at Peking Uni? For example, Selected Readings from Contemporary Chinese Literature, History of Modern Chinese Literature, History of Ancient Chinese Literature or similar?

 

Are these subjects taught fully in Chinese and only allowed to be taken by native Chinese students, or can foreign exchange students take them as well?

 

I appreciate any info you can give! Thank you.