China and Asia-Pacific Studies

Faculty
The Major
Internships
Honors

China and Asia–Pacific Studies (CAPS) offers a unique approach to the study of China’s language, history, politics, society, and foreign relations by providing students with experience both on- and off-campus, including three years in Ithaca, one semester in Washington, D.C., and one semester in Beijing.

Website: www.einaudi.cornell.edu/caps

Faculty

X. Xu, director, R. Bush, A. Carlson, J. Chen, Z. Chen, S. Cochran, S. Divo, E. Friedman, E. Gunn, T. J. Hinrichs, P. Katzenstein, S. Kuruvilla, F. Logevall, T. Lowi, T. Lyons, R. McNeal, A. Mertha, A. Pan, Q. Wang, L. Zheng. Affiliated faculty: M. Evangelista, M. Fiskesjo, J. Kirshner, J. V. Koschmann, V. Nee, B. Rusk, E. Sanders, E. Tagliacozzo, K. Taylor.

The Major:

There are no prerequisites to the major. Upon enrolled in the program, CAPS majors must complete six required CAPS courses and two elective CAPS courses (totally 34-36 credits) with a grade average of C or better.

One CAPS gateway course:

CAPS majors must take any one of the following courses (taught in Ithaca) normally during the first two years:

CAPS 2570 - China Encounters the World (crosslisted)
CAPS 3403 - China Under Revolution and Reform (crosslisted)
CAPS 3827 - China and the World (crosslisted)

Five other required courses:

CAPS majors must complete all of the following required courses:

CAPS 3000 - Seminar on American Relations with China (crosslisted)
CAPS 4001 - China’s Changing Politics, Economy, and Society
CAPS 4002 - Chinese Perspectives on International Relations
CAPS 4030 - Issues in China Studies
CAPS 4998 - Politics and Policy: Theory, Research, and Practice (crosslisted)
or alternately,
CAPS 4997 - Undergraduate Research Seminar (crosslisted)

Two CAPS elective courses are also required:

Please see the CAPS website (www.einaudi.cornell.edu/caps/about/courselistings.asp) for courses currently being offered. CAPS majors may choose any two CAPS courses to fulfill the CAPS elective requirement.

Students may choose other CAPS-related courses to fulfill the CAPS elective requirement upon permission of the program director. Taking additional CAPS gateway courses counts toward fulfillment of the CAPS elective requirement.

Chinese Language Courses:

CAPS majors are required to complete four years of college-level Chinese language courses and acquire high advanced Chinese proficiency or higher upon graduation. They are expected to maintain a minimum grade of B+ in their Chinese language courses; failure to maintain this expectation may result in dismissal from the major.

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 director. Alternatively, students may be exempted through placement testing, at the discretion of Cornell Chinese language faculty and the approval of CAPS director.

See www.einaudi.cornell.edu/caps/about/requirements.asp regarding the CAPS Chinese language course sequencing.

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 (starting from fall 2010, CAPS majors have the option to do an internship either in the summer or in the fall). 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 strongly 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: