About

The Chinese Language and Culture Academy is a three-week residential Mandarin immersion program at the University of Pennsylvania, designed for high school students at the beginning to early intermediate stage of Chinese language study. The program is led by Dr. Chih-Chieh Lee, a Penn faculty member since 2005 with a PhD in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Penn and a research focus on Chinese language pedagogy and curriculum innovation. He previously directed the STARTALK Penn High School Chinese Academy, a federally funded initiative to expand study of critical languages in the U.S. — a background that gives the program a more substantive academic foundation than most pre-college language offerings. Penn's Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, which hosts the academy, is among the most comprehensive Chinese language programs in North America.

The curriculum integrates daily language instruction in small-group classes with interactive workshops and faculty-led discussions on Chinese history, contemporary society, and cultural practice. The goal is not merely linguistic — students build real-world communication skills while developing a contextual understanding of how language connects to culture and history, including how modern China has shaped and been shaped by its linguistic traditions. The three-week residential format is the program's most distinctive structural feature: language acquisition accelerates meaningfully with daily immersion, and the peer community — students who have collectively committed three weeks to the subject — creates a learning environment that a one-week or commuter program cannot replicate.

No credit is awarded; students receive a certificate of completion and may request letters of recommendation from Penn instructors. Admissions are rolling and capacity-based rather than merit-selective. For students with a genuine interest in Mandarin, East Asian studies, international relations, or any field where Chinese language proficiency will carry weight — and who want a more immersive experience than a traditional classroom course can provide — the Chinese Language and Culture Academy is one of the most substantive pre-college language programs available at the high school level.