Course Outline & Descriptions
Summer Term I (16 units)
MAIS 501: Chinese Culture & Society (3 units) – required course
MAIS 502: Comparative Research Methods (4 units) – required course
MAIS 510: Basic Chinese Language (3 units) – can be waived when placement test results prove Mandarin proficiency
-or-
MAIS 511: Intermediate Chinese Language (3 units)- required course
MAIS 528: TESOL Certificate Class (2 units) – can be waived per assessment by course professor based on valid US teaching credential or prior TEFL/CELTA/TESOL certification
MAIS 520: Foundations of Chinese Education (4 units) – Education concentration elective
-or-
MAIS 530: Foundations of Chinese Business (4 units) – Business concentration elective
-or-
MAIS 540*: Foundation of International Development (4 units)-Development concentration elective
*Those waived out of MAIS 510 and/or MAIS 528 are required to serve as teaching assistants for the same classes.
Fall Term (9 units)
MAIS 503: Ethnographic Research (3 units) – required research course
MAIS 592: Teaching Practicum I (3 units) – required course
MAIS 525: Environmental & Instructional Design (3 units) – Education concentration elective
-or-
MAIS 531: Global Economics and Enterprise (3 units) – Business concentration elective
-or-
MAIS 541: Social Change & Project Management ( 3 units) -- Development concentration elective
Spring Term (9 units)
MAIS 504: Data Analysis (3 units) – required course
MAIS 593: Teaching Practicum II (3 units) – required course
MAIS 527: Literacy and Language Acquisition (3 units) – Education concentration elective
-or-
MAIS 533: International Management & Leadership (3 units) – Business concentration elective
--or--
MAIS 542: Social Change & Project Management ( 3 units) -- Development concentration elective
Summer Term II (4 units)
MAIS 600: Thesis Writing (4 units) – required course
Detailed Listing
Summer Term I (16 units)
MAIS 501: Chinese Culture & Society (4 units) – required course
This is an integrative course on the basic knowledge of Chinese history and culture. A true understanding of Chinese history and culture is essential to the building of any successful relationship with the Chinese in China and the preparation of a China-related career. The purpose of this course is twofold: to acquaint students with basic knowledge of Chinese history and culture, as well as to prepare students for intelligent communication and easier cultural adaptation in China.
MAIS 502: Comparative Research Methods (4 units) – required course
This course examines the field of social science research and provides a summary of the issues involved in conducting, evaluating and utilizing research. The class will explore the purpose and limitations of human sociological and educational research, investigate various research methods, inquire into the aspects of research evaluation, and consider the available measurement and statistical techniques that are commonly used in analyzing educational and sociological research. Special consideration will be given to the selection of research techniques and design appropriate for the context and the research problem being investigated. The course is also intended to assist students in understanding a) literature research methodology, b) research design possibilities, c) the selection of study topics and research problems, d) application of research techniques, e) the procedures to be followed when gathering and analyzing data, and f) reporting considerations that will be useful in completing their upcoming and required project.
MAIS 510: Basic Chinese Language (3 units) – required course
The course is designed for students and professionals who are going to live and/or work in China. The purpose of the course is to provide students with fundamental Chinese language learning and communication skills needed to function successfully in everyday encounters in China. Class time focus will consist of 75% on listening & speaking and 25% on reading & writing.
--or--
MAIS 511: Intermediate Chinese Language (3 units) – required course
The course is designed for students and professionals who are going to live and/or work in China. The purpose of the course is to provide students with some Mandarin background the opportunity to improve their language skills. Class time focus will consist of 50% listening & speaking and 50% on reading & writing. Students with previous experience or course work may be able to waive out of the course only if they can demonstrate proficiency in Chinese (Mandarin) through CUI-MAIS Chinese language placement tests (conducted the first week of summer term courses at CUI). Students opted out of this course must serve as teaching assistants for MAIS 510.
MAIS 528: TESOL Certificate Class (2 units) - required course
This course will include second language acquisition theories, methods and techniques for the classroom, lesson planning, language assessment, and ethical considerations. It also gives students the opportunity to engage in team teaching with peer teachers-in-training. This includes delivery of lessons, along with peer and instructor feedback on those lessons. At the end, the classroom management plan, including the individual TESOL teaching philosophy, will be drafted. Students with existing TESOL/TEFL/CELTA/ or valid teaching credential can be opted out of this course based on professor evaluation. Students opted out must serve as teaching assistants for the course.
MAIS 520: Foundations of Chinese Education (4 units) – Education concentration
This course provides the context for understanding how education has evolved in China. Students will discover the methods of instruction most prevalent in China as compared to Western teaching methods. Furthermore, the cognitive, social, moral and psychological development of students in China will be examined, particularly in comparison to that of students in the US. Topics such as human learning, achievement, motivation, conduct and attitude will also be covered. This course prepares prospective teachers for the Chinese classroom experience.
MAIS 530: Foundations of Chinese Business (4 units) – Business concentration
This course will address China's emerging role as a major power in both the global economy and international affairs. China's unprecedented economic and social transformation will be examined along with its integration into the world community of nations. The world needs to understand how China sees herself and her role in the world. Both Chinese and Western perspectives of international relations and economics will be explored along with major aspects of Sino-American relations from 1949 to the present.
MAIS 540: Foundation of International Development (4 units) -- Development concentration
Starting with a general survey of the history, sociology, and economics of international development in China, students develop an intimate understanding of best practices and approaches to NPO & NGO work in China. The knowledge and skills developed in this foundational course will prepare students for their practicum work in China.
Fall Term I (9 units)
MAIS 503: Ethnographic Research (3 units) – required course
As an extension of MAIS 502 this course explores contemporary economic, social, and political issues impacting China today. The primary text (The return of the God of Wealth: The Transition to a Market Economy in Urban China by Charlotte Ikels) will provide a variety of potential topics for investigation. Utilizing research skills learned in MAIS 502, student will conduct mini-experiments (replication studies) to determine the validity of date from the 90's as it pertains to contemporary China. The Final Research Paper for this course will be a culmination of these assignments – a replication study of one component of the Ikels text. This Final Research Paper for this course will model what a thesis on a small scale would look like, with a Thesis Proposal due by the end of the course. This course will include readings (primary text and various articles), online (Blackboard) discussions and a final paper.
MAIS 592: Teaching Practicum I (3 units) – required course
This course provides students with the opportunity to apply and implement language teaching principles, activities, strategies, and assessment techniques while teaching in an authentic EFL classroom environment. It focuses on providing students with experiences as educational practitioners and then building upon these experiences in a reflective, collaborative, and action oriented manner. Teaching experiences will be analyzed and assessed through sample lesson plans, reflective journaling, discussions on Blackboard, implementation of ideas learned through readings, university field supervisor evaluation(s), and an onsite supervisor evaluation.
MAIS 525: Environmental & Instructional Design (3 units) – Education concentration
This course focuses on the design of effective, appropriate and positive classroom environments and instructional strategies for students from diverse backgrounds and learning modalities. Students acquire skills in lesson planning, classroom management and assessment. The frameworks that are utilized include Vygotsky's Scaffolding Learning, Gardner's Multiple Intelligences and Bloom's Taxonomy.
MAIS 531: Global Economics and Enterprise (3 units) – Business concentration
This course presents an overview of the dynamics of the global marketplace and international sources of economic change, with an emphasis on China. Topics include emerging markets, supply and demand, comparative economic development, control and democratic regimes, competition and cooperation, international trade organizations, and globalization. Students will apply their knowledge of these theories to market analysis and business planning, analyzing the multiple internal and external factors that must be addressed for economic success of the global enterprise.
MAIS 541: Social Change & Project Management ( 3 units) – Development concentration
Methodologies and strategies appropriate to diverse Chinese contexts, both urban and rural, are developed through practical and experiential implementations of development theories and research. Site visits to existing service project venues will be organized in collaboration with local NGO's and NPO's.
Spring Term I (9 units)
MAIS 504: Data Analysis (3 units) – required course
Students will acquire the skills of quantitative data analysis to examine and make sense of both business and educational information. The course will focus on descriptive statistics and regressions, though other forms of analysis will also be covered. Students will be required to build on their research from MAIS 507 by either utilizing data that was already gathered through the ethnography or collecting additional quantitative data sufficient to run analyses on.
MAIS 593: Teaching Practicum II (3 units) – required course
This course provides students with the opportunity to apply and implement language teaching principals, activities, strategies and assessment techniques in an authentic EFL classroom environment. Classroom experience will be analyzed and assessed through essays of self-assessment, sample lesson plans and classroom observations.
MAIS 527: Literacy and Language Acquisition (3 units) – Education concentration
Utilizing a framework that examines the intersection of language, culture and cognition, students will study classroom methodologies in language development and acquisition with a focus on cross-curricular and cultural diversity issues. The successful implementation of pedagogical strategies for teaching the English language learner is the primary objective of this course.
MAIS 533: International Management & Leadership (3 units) – Business concentration
In this course, students will examine the inner workings of Chinese companies by examining them through the lenses of the mechanistic/bureaucratic perspective, the human relations perspective, the political perspective, the cultural perspective and the management perspective. These multiple perspectives will provide the substance for projects in group leadership and further business planning.
MAIS 542: Social Policy & Sustainability ( 3 units) – Development Concentration
The International Development Concentration curriculum concludes with an investigation of strategies for creating enduring change that persists beyond the length of a given intervention or action, fostering local ownership, policy change and sustainable development. These require knowledge of meta-level factors and players as well as grassroots, community-based mobilization and training paradigms.
Summer Term II (4 units)
MAIS 600: Thesis Writing (4 units) – required course
Students will work with a faculty advisor and be engaged in completing their research project by editing and publishing a final research paper that will meet the professional standards of validity, reliability and credibility.
Fall Term II (if necessary)
MAIS 600E: Thesis Writing – if necessary to complete the Thesis, a one-time, one-term extension is provided without an additional tuition charge/fee (only available for students enrolled in the Summer Term II MAIS 600 course).
Students who do not file their Master's Thesis at the end of the Fall Term II may repeat the Research Writing course in the Spring Term II for 4 additional units at the full tuition fee. Students not completing their Thesis during the Spring Term II and needing to complete and file their theses late during the following Summer Term III will be subject to a additional $500 late filing fee. Students not completing their theses by the end of the Summer Term III will not be allowed to graduate from the program.
Summary of MAIS Units/Terms
Summer Term I = 16 units
Fall Term I = 9 units
Spring Term I = 9 units
Summer Term II = 4 units
====================
Total = 38 units