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The College of Arts & Sciences
The Brittany and Adam J. Levinson Program in China and Asia-Pacific Studies offers a unique approach to the study of contemporary China through a set of courses on China's language, history, politics, economy, society and foreign relations, and by providing students with experience both on-and-off campus, including three years in Ithaca, one optional semester in Washington D.C., and one required semester in Beijing.
The 11th Lecture | “Unmasking the CCP: History, Politics, and Society in Post-1949 China” Lecture Series Title: Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder Speaker: Amb. Michael McFaul (Stanford University, Former U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation)
Twenty new faculty have joined the College of Arts & Sciences this year, strengthening departments and programs with their wide-ranging expertise and filling numerous leadership roles for the College and university.
Diana Fu, Associate Professor of Government, Director of the Levinson Program in China and Asia-Pacific Studies
Visualizing the China Transition by Xia Seufert-White reflects on her experiences as a student spending a semester in in China. Through photographs and personal storytelling, Xia shares her observations of daily life, culture, and the contrasts between tradition and modernization that shaped her time there. The project offers an engaging, firsthand perspective on living and…
Majors: Calista Cornet | 院晶深 Leo Glasgow | 郭立鸥 Nile Johnson Genevieve Moore | 莫艾珍 Emily Shen | 沈傳寧 Tianran Song | 宋恬然 Minors: Ally Han | 韩锦阳 Kaleb Kavuma | 康伟明 Owen Sharp | 单培文 Serena Tang | 唐启沅 Kayla Wang | 王凯儿 2026 Levinson Program Commencement Class Speaker Remarks Tianran Song | 宋恬然…
Leo Glasgow is majoring in government and China & Asia-Pacific Studies.
The Levinson Program major in China and Asia-Pacific studies gives students experience both on and off campus, including one required semester in Beijing and one optional semester with Cornell in Washington, during which students participate in internships and cultural immersion. This unique and ambitious program offers CAPS majors unprecedented pre-professional training mapped onto a solid Cornell liberal-arts education.
With three years of intensive Chinese language training, internships in Beijing, and the option to complete additional internships in Washington, D.C., Cornell graduates with a major in CAPS are well suited for entry- or higher-level positions in consulting, journalism, law firms, businesses, financial services, NGOs, diplomacy, and other government and public service agencies. An undergraduate CAPS degree also readily prepares one for graduate studies in law, business, and other disciplines with a focus on China.
When you arrive in Qufu, the hometown of Confucius, the first thing I notice is not the ancient architecture or the grand temples, but the way other people talk to me. On my first day in Qufu, I was a little confused by how people talked to us. Whether it was the staff at the scenic site, the volunteers inside the auditorium, or even the food delivery guy, who said: “Laoshi (Teacher), your delivery is here, please sign.” Me and my friends looked at each other and laughed: “Since when did we become teachers?” At first, it felt a little weird, almost funny. We were young adults from different countries, not actual teachers, but why were we being called that everywhere we went? After a few days, I began to understand. It wasn’t a mistake or just a polite term. It was something habitual here, but also rooted in culture and history. In Confucius’ hometown, “Laoshi” is not simply a job title. It is a way of showing respect, a recognition that every person has something to teach. Confucius once said: “三人行 必有我师焉 When three walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher.” In Qufu, I could truly feel the meaning of this. Here, everyone could teach, and everyone could learn.