Hawaii Tokai International College continuously strives to develop innovative programs that reflect its educational mission to serve as a "Gateway between Eastern and Western cultures." In order to meet its goal to serve as an international institution, HTIC now offers "Discover China" as a part of its overall "Discover East Asia" certificate program. Participants will receive an East Asian Studies certificate with their A.A. degree diplomas after earning 15 HTIC credits, including a minimum of six credits during their study abroad experience in China.

The Discover China program is open to all full-time HTIC students who are non-native speakers of Chinese. It provides participants the opportunity to experience life and study for approximately four months, usually September to early January, in Shenzhen University, which is located in Guangdong Province near Hong Kong. This program is very much in keeping with HTIC's educational mission and the College's liberal arts program learning outcomes of cross-cultural understanding, second language acquisition, and global citizenship.

Program students should enroll in HTIC in the Summer, Fall, or Winter terms, taking the Freshman Experience as well as other General Education courses to meet the College's core requirements. Students without first-year Chinese language ability will take CHN 101 (Spring term) and CHN 102 (Summer Session I) before departing for China during the Summer Session II term. Chinese language study should include a minimum of 3 credits at HTIC and then 6-9 language credits abroad depending on the student's placement upon arrival at Shenzhen University.

Before departing for China, students will be asked to select 6-9 credits from Asian studies courses such as: "Introduction to Eastern Art" (ART 180), "East Asian Civilizations" (HIST 209-10), "Civilizations of Asia" (HIST 241-242), "Introduction to the World's Major Religions" (REL 150), or "Asian Traditions" (PHIL 102).

After completing the intensive language program at Shenzhen University, students return to Hawaii to HTIC to continue their studies from the Winter term. These students must then give a Chinese language presentation on a topic of their choice as a program capstone at the LA Winter Presentation Day. Students may also be asked to choose a topic related to China for their IS200 Capstone paper and presentation.

Students who successfully complete the Discover China Immersion Program receive nine credit hours for language study and a minimum of six credits in the China-related field. These fifteen credit hours apply to the total number of credits necessary for HTIC students to successfully complete their Associate in Arts degrees. Recruitment for the Discover China program is taking place now. Please contact Admissions for further information.