Peking University, May 21, 2015: The enrollment of 2015-2016 Master of China Studies program of the Yenching Academy have recently ended. Ninety-nine graduates across the world will enter the Yenching Academy in September, arriving at a new starting point in their life.
Since the program launched on May 5, 2014, it has attracted widespread attention of students and universities domestic and abroad. The mission of the program is to equip young scholars with a broad, interdisciplinary knowledge of China that reflects both Chinese and international perspectives, and to cultivate leaders who will advocate for global progress and cultural understanding. With the support of experts and scholars from faculties of humanists and social sciences in Peking University, the Yenching Academy offers an intensive program of interdisciplinary classroom and field study of Chinese history and culture, as well as real-time issues in China’s development.
Among the ninety-nine matriculates, twenty-four are from twelve universities in mainland China; seventy-five are international students and students from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, and they are from forty-six universities including Harvard, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge in thirty-three countries and regions.
The graph below shows the distribution of the matriculates’ origin.
During the enrollment, the Yenching Academy took multi-factors into consideration: student’s academic record, career planning, research direction, hobbies and interests, cross-cultural exchange experience and leadership potential. The matriculates not only meet the above qualifications, but also have interests in China’s multiple issues, passion for learning Chinese traditional culture and deep understanding in interdisciplinary studies. These talented young students hope to fulfill their potential as global leaders in political, cultural and other realms through the one-year study in the Yenching Academy.
The international enrollment of the Yenching Academy was mainly carried out by the help of its partner institutes, which promoted the program, received applications and gave recommendations. The Yenching Academy then interviewed the qualifiers and made the final decision. With the promotion of the program, more and more international colleges and universities are becoming the partner institutes of the Yenching Academy. On April 8, 2015, Peter-André, President of Free University of Berlin exclusively go to the Yenching Academy during his visit at Peking University, and discussed the student recommendation work in the future. The Rhodes Scholarship of Oxford also carried out a student exchange program with the Yenching Academy in late March in order to enhance the cooperation.
The "PKU Action Plan of Reform and Development of 2018" and "PKU Comprehensive Reform" have laid claims to the development of the Yenching Academy. The development-based Yenching Academy is expected to pack intellects around the world, focusing on China’s politics, economy and culture, especially real-time issues of China’s society, in order to facilitate young talents’ cultivation and scientific research. At the same time, the Yenching Academy also brings an active promotion of curriculum and extracurricular training constructions into force. Professor Lin Jianhua, President of Peking University, has heard several working reports of the Yenching Academy recently, and set a high standard for its curriculum and faculty construction, students’ development and administrative services.
The enrollment of the Yenching Academy of Peking University, 2016 session has started. For more details, please visit The Yenching Academy.
Written by: Wang Yue
Edited by: Li Ruiqi
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
