Since its inception in 2005, Cornell's new undergraduate major in China and Asia-Pacific Studies (CAPS) prepares students in the language, culture, history, politics and foreign policy of the world's largest emerging economy.

CAPS students study for three years in Ithaca and spend one semester in Washington, D.C., and one in Beijing participating in China-related externships in government agencies, embassies, newspapers, television networks, businesses, law firms, non-governmental agencies and other organizations. They take four years of intensive Chinese language training along with coursework on China's history, politics, society and foreign relations.

In Washington, D.C., CAPS majors take a seminar on U.S.-China relations and interact with Americans who have worked in China in diplomacy, business, law, journalism, education and other fields. In Beijing, students live on the campus of Peking University and take courses with English and Chinese-speaking professors.

The program is the brainchild of Michael Zak '75, who proposed the creation of the major. Sherman Cochran, the Hu Shih Professor of Chinese History and director of the CAPS program, developed the idea into a curriculum. The program attracted one of the world's leading China experts to Cornell: Chen Jian is the Michael J. Zak Professor of History for U.S.-China Relations.

As the CAPS program enters its third year, enrollment is increasing, according to Jian. "We have 12 CAPS majors in the Class of 2008 and 12 majors in the Class of 2009. As of now, we already have 16 majors in the Class of 2010 (with the prospect that more students may declare the major in the near future). Eleven students of the Class of 2011 have declared a strong interest in becoming CAPS majors," he said.

Jonathan Ray '09 is bullish on the program. "I declared the CAPS major because two internships worth of work experience and the exposure of living in arguably the two most important national capitals in the world, on top of a Cornell education, is an extraordinary opportunity," he said. "Being one of the first students in a major that is revolutionary for Cornell, if not the entire Ivy League, is a true honor. I won't lie. CAPS is a tough major, but it is more than worth it."

CAPS majors (the first class will graduate in 2008) are expected to be in demand for positions in business, government, public service, diplomacy, journalism and other fields.