Most intensive/best quality Chinese language programs?

[obscuritea]

Is there any certain university within China that is known for their particularly good/intensive Mandarin programs? I mean I know what counts most is probably how much you put into your classes along with what you do outside of class of course (plus the other factors of weather and environment etc. which I am ignoring for the sake of this question), but naturally some programs will teach better than others. From what I've seen for example, it seems ICLP in Taiwan is for sure regarded as one of the best programs quality-wise. Is there any equivalents at any of the universities in mainland China?

[roddy]

Sounds like you might be looking for IUP - or were you hoping to save money by shifting to the mainland?

[OneEye]

Yeah, IUP is expensive, but does have a good reputation. ACC and Princeton in Beijing are two others.

I've heard from former IUP students that they're having a hard time holding on to their teachers for long, so the quality is kind of hit or miss. One of the best things about ICLP (I'm told) is that many of the teachers have been there for decades, so they've really mastered the sort of teaching they do there. I'm sure IUP is still good, but I don't know if it would be worth the premium when there are other options.

If you can get your hands on Developing Professional-Level Language Proficiency by Betty Lou Leaver and Boris Shekhtman, there's a chapter by Cornelius Kubler in which he outlines several of the top programs in China and Taiwan. It is about 10 years old, so some of it is outdated by now. For instance, he recommends TLI in Taiwan, which from what I understand has fallen a long way from its former glory. Anyway, it may be a good place to start.

[obscuritea]

Thanks for the replies, and thank @oneEye in particular for the book recommendation- I managed to find it pretty easily through my university library system as an ebook- that chapter was definitely a helpful resource.

Seems the most "reputable" programs are either run in coordination with American universities, thus are much more expensive (even with scholarships) and/or in Beijing?.... Personally I'm only averse to Beijing since I already studied there for a semester in high school, and the only reason I was looking more towards mainland is because I have a pretty solid chance at the CI scholarship (not too many applicants at the local CI, my Chinese professors seem very confident) and that would cover most everything for just a normal language program at a university. Their sister uni is Qingdao University, so I may just end up sticking with that and seeing how it goes if I get the scholarship (didn't find too much info of other's experiences there on this forum, gonna see if I can get in contact with some students who are there currently...).

[Friedrich]

Have a look at the LTL total immersion programs in Beijing/Chengde, cheaper than IUP and better for immersion.

[roddy]

If you want to use the scholarship, fair enough, but the courses are a completely different ballgame - you could easily be looking at 20+ people in a class, rather than one to ones and small groups.

[roddy]

Obscuritea, are you any closer to a decision now?