Overview

The C.Y. Tung Program in Sino-U.S. relations is in honor of C.Y Tung, who was instrumental in the founding of Semester at Sea. Tung, a Chinese shipping magnate, founded the world’s first global shipboard educational program in 1963. Tung was a visionary global leader in the critical importance of multi-country study abroad and cross-cultural understanding among young people.

The curriculum focuses on the socio-cultural, policy, and economic interactions between Chinese and Americans to prepare future leaders to better understand each other’s cultures and work together for mutual benefit. The program intends to build on, and to fulfill, program founder C.Y. Tung’s original vision for shipboard education.

The program is led by a distinguished faculty in residence and includes rigorous courses on Chinese and American relations, history, culture, economics and diplomacy; visits from distinguished Chinese and American lecturers; excursions to educational and cultural sites in China; and scholarships for Chinese and American students.

The C.Y. Tung Program on Sino-U.S. relations underscores Semester at Sea’s commitment to global understanding and international exploration and offers a timely and integrated study of China — one of the world’s most influential global powers — and its relations with the United States. It brings together students, scholars, and prominent figures to explore the history and cultures of China and the United States, and to consider how to ensure productive economic and diplomatic relationships between the two in the future.

CY Tung Scholars Reflections

• Fall 2018 CY Tung Scholar Reflections
• Spring 2016 CY Tung Scholar Reflections