The Flagship pathway consists of the following components:

UMN Flagship Curriculum: Primarily offered by the AMES department (see the “AMES” page and “Academic” page for more information), our curriculum includes courses specially designed for developing practical, professional, and intercultural Chinese language skills.

Weekly One-On-One Tutoring: (free; mandatory) Our tutors are often native speakers pursuing UMN undergraduate or graduate degrees. Many of them are from Second Language Education programs. We also aim to pair students with domain tutors in the same major field.

Extracurricular,  leadership, community outreach opportunities.

Funded summer abroad opportunities

Proficiency Tests: Diagnostic tests are administered at least once per year. To attend the Capstone year, students must meet proficiency benchmarks.

Capstone Year: following the completion of the UMN Flagship curriculum: one semester of direct-enrollment courses and one semester of internship offered by Flagship overseas or domestic Capstone centers. Our current partners are Taipei Capstone Center and the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA.

The Capstone Year prepares you to elevate your Mandarin Chinese proficiency level to Superior and receive federal certification, develop a deep understanding of Chinese culture, and practice your field of study in Chinese speaking communities.

Length of Study

The length of the Flagship pathway can vary considerably based on your preexisting Chinese proficiency level, the requirements of your major degrees, as well as individual motivation.

In general, students entering UMN with intermediate or advanced proficiency in Chinese can complete the UMN Flagship curriculum in two years, while pursuing other degree plans, and attend the Capstone program during the junior or senior year based on their preference. For any gap time in the curriculum, the program will provide special tutoring or directed study.

Absolute beginners to the Chinese language, while pursuing other degree plans, may need three or four academic years to complete the UMN Flagship curriculum, and attend the Capstone program in the fourth or fifth year. 

However, with accelerated options and summer courses (see Academic section), motivated beginners may complete the UMN curriculum within two years. It is thus possible to start learning Chinese at UMN as an absolute beginner as late as during your sophomore year and complete Flagship within four years.

Our Flagship team will work with you on individualized course options. We build flexibility into our curriculum and may consider special requests from students pursuing majors with highly demanding workloads.