Update 12/13/2020: According to The Student Life, the Shanghai program will likely be canceled. A previous Independent update erroneously stated that the Shanghai program had already been canceled. As of now, the London program is still planned to continue.
Partnering with IES Abroad, Claremont McKenna College (CMC) in California is offering international students residential programs in London and Shanghai to create a “community as students live and study together” while taking a full load of CMC courses remotely. The programs will not be available to domestic students. Previously, CMC announced that the London residential program will help alleviate “time zone challenges”; the time zones of London and Shanghai are respectively eight and 16 hours ahead of CMC’s local time zone. CMC courses will remain remote for all students when the Spring 2021 semester starts for all students, domestic or international.
To qualify for the London program, students must be “F-1 visa holders, or who have a permanent address outside of the United States.” The program is available for all class statuses, including first-year students. The Shanghai residential program—located in Shanghai’s central Huangpu district—is only available to Chinese nationals.
“Students participating in CMC in Shanghai, will live together at IES New Harbor. . . Accommodations will include fully furnished 2-3 bedroom apartments and students participating in CMC Shanghai will share a bedroom. Independent housing is not an option for this program. The program fee CMC in Shanghai mirrors the price of a semester in Claremont ($36,745). This fee includes tuition, housing, field trips, a meal stipend for the semester, a transportation stipend for round-trip transportation to Shanghai, a local transportation allowance, and on-site academic, student services, and holistic support. Also included, is international student medical and emergency insurance through CISI.”
Additionally, the Shanghai program requires one local course:
“The Chinese government requires that all students take one local course during their participation in CMC in Shanghai. This course will be taught by an IES adjunct faculty member, but designed by CMC.”
Similar conditions apply to the London program, albeit without the local course and citizenship requirements. Students can apply financial aid to both programs. IES Abroad will provide comprehensive international health insurance. The application deadlines for both programs were on Dec. 8, and students have to confirm their participation by Dec. 12.
None of the other four other undergrad institutions of the Claremont Colleges Consortium—Pomona College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, and Scripps College—have publicly announced any residential programs for international students.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Correction: A previous version included the address for the IES New Harbor location.