Yenching Scholars

The Yenching Scholarship (also Yanjing Scholars; Chinese: 燕京学者, pinyin: Yānjīng Xuézhě) is an interdisciplinary graduate program at the Yenching Academy of Peking University (PKU) in Beijing, China.

The program, started in 2015, will provide Yenching Scholars, selected annually from around the world, with full scholarships for a one-year master's degree from Peking University. The program hosts in its own purpose-built residential college and is designed to cultivate leaders who will advocate for global progress and cultural understanding.

Inspired by the classical Chinese academies known as Shūyuàn and the Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University (Yenching Academy is called Yānjīng Xuétáng in Chinese, translated directly as Yanjing College), Yenching Academy at Peking University will compete with Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University in China and similar global scholarship programs around the world. It is the first such program to launch in Asia.[1][2]

Scholarship

Mission

Yenching Scholars is an intensive global leadership program designed to provide outstanding young scholars with a broad interdisciplinary graduate education that reflects global perspectives. The program is designed "to cultivate leaders who will advocate for global progress and cultural understanding."[3]

Overview

The Yenching Program will offer fully funded scholarships, including tuition, accommodation, transportation, and a living stipend to Yenching Scholars selected annually from around the world. The acceptance rate for the most recent cohort is 2.7 percent. Unlike most graduate master's degrees in China which run two years for professional programs and three years for academic fields, the program will last one year. Additionally, there will be the option to extend it for a second year as well as the opportunity for scholars to continue with doctoral studies at Peking. The program will initially offer concentrations in law and society, economics and management, public policy and international relations, literature and culture, history and archaeology, and philosophy and religion. Upon graduation, graduates will receive one of the following degrees: Master of Law (Politics & International Relations, Law & Society); Master of Economics (Economics & Management); Master of History (History & Archaeology); Master of Literature (Literature and Culture); or Master of Philosophy in China Studies (Philosophy & Religion)The first cohort of scholars have taken a range of paths. Roughly 30% continued to Ph.D. level studies at esteemed universities, while others are employed by Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company, Google, J.P. Morgan & Co., the Associated Press, the Boston Consulting Group, General Electric, HNA Group, NEO blockchain, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, and more. All Yenching Scholars write a Master's thesis under the guidance of an adviser and defend it orally before an academic committee. In addition to a fully funded scholarship, scholars also receive a monthly stipend of $500 and round-trip airfare.

Eligibility requirements and selection criteria

Eligibility requirements

Applicants for the scholarship must be have completed their bachelor's degree before starting the scholarship program.[4]

  • Bachelor's (first undergraduate) degree in any field
  • Demonstrated English language proficiency (Chinese language proficiency is not required)
  • Must be 25 years of age or younger on 31 August in the year during which the program starts; students from countries with mandatory national service for university graduates must be 27 years of age or younger
  • Marital status is not considered (however spouses or partners will not be funded by the scholarship or accommodated in the college)
  • No citizenship requirements

Allocation

The Academy expects its "first cohort of Yenching Scholars to be from 47 universities, with the most numerous coming from Oxford, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Cape Town, Cambridge, Stanford, United States Military Academy at West Point, Chicago and Leiden." Scholars "will represent 36 countries and regions, from Armenia and Australia to Vietnam and Zimbabwe."[5][6]

Admission

Applicants can apply directly for either early admission or regular admission. Additionally, students who are nominated will submit their applications before the regular admission deadline.

See also

References
  1. "2nd China university starts Rhodes-style program". The Big Story. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  2. http://eap.einaudi.cornell.edu/sites/eap.einaudi.cornell.edu/files/YENCHING%20BROCHURE5-0430.pdf
  3. "Yenching Academy of Peking University". yenchingacademy.org. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  4. "Yenching Academy of Peking University". yenchingacademy.org. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  5. "Yenching Academy of Peking University". Facebook. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  6. "Happy Chinese New Year! - Yenching Academy of Peking University - Facebook". facebook.com. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
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