At the groundbreaking. Via Weibo
Duke’s coming to China. In August, 2012, China’s Ministry of Education approved Duke University’s proposal to build a new college in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, named Duke Kunshan University (DKU). A cooperative venture between Wuhan University and the city of Kunshan, DKU will merge traditional Chinese education with American liberal arts education and Duke’s well-known strength as a research institution. DKU will begin admitting students in 2013.
Kunshan, located between Shanghai and Suzhou, two metropolitan areas in eastern coastal China, will provide 200 acres of land for DKU’s campus. Wuhan University, one of China’s top 20 universities, will become DKU’s partner. In its first phase, DKU will offer business and medical graduate and professional degrees, which are conferred by the Fuqua School of Business and the Duke Global Health Institute. Semester-long non-degree programs for undergraduates will also be provided. Over time, DKU will add programs, and will eventually include full undergraduate offerings for its own degrees.
The creation of DKU is not the first time Duke University has reached beyond America’s borders. Before DKU, Duke built a Graduate Medical School in Singapore to promote global health education. Through DKU, Duke will provide China with new models of higher education, which includes liberal arts education, research methods and interdisciplinary study.
However, based on this Duke sophomore’s discussion with classmates, it appears that Chinese Duke students have their reservations about DKU. First, a normal Chinese family can’t afford the school’s tuition, which according to the university has not yet been set but is “expected to be comparable to Duke University tuition,” albeit “with substantial scholarship funding available.” Second, DKU’s admissions will still depend on SAT scores and the common application. This means its student body will be drawn from those who have given up China’s test-centered gaokao system and have already decided to study abroad. Third, Kunshan is not a major city in China, meaning it may not be prosperous enough to attract a critical mass of elite students. And Duke–unlike Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia and UC Berkeley–is not widely known by most Chinese. If you ask around in China, only basketball fans will know of Duke.
If this is what DKU ends up looking like, please sign us up
Discussions on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter, evince mixed opinions as well. @老末丹阳 wrote, “New York University at Shanghai, Duke Kunshan University… I believe there will be Harvard University in Shantou, Boston University in Tieling! [Shantou and Tieling are both large, prefecture-level cities but are considered third-tier cities in China.] It sounds funny! Why can’t we focus on building our own elite university, but using others’ names?”{{1}}[[1]]上海—纽约大学、昆山—杜克大学……我相信以后还会有汕头—哈佛大学、铁岭—波士顿大学等等！听起来就想笑！为什么我们不能用心做好自己的大学，而一定要借别人的名头来用 [[1]]
But many netizens say they feel excited. @花钱如流水劳动最光荣 wrote, “From now on, I can attend Duke University in Kunshan!” (Yes, but you’ll still need to get admitted.) @果粒糖肥摩卡 said, “Does that mean we can go to Ivy League schools [sic] in China?” @周武浩睿 wrote, “Duke University?! Oh My! Will Coach K come as well?”
Others see this as part of a wise improvement in China’s education system. @王瑞杰_JerryWong wrote: “Ningbo has a Nottingham University, now Kunshan has a Duke University. The pattern of Sino-foreign cooperation in running schools is germinating. The South University of Science and Technology (中国南方科技大学), which completely follows a liberal arts model without the Gaokao, has just recruited its first student. There are unreasonable things in the education system, but people are removing existing institutional barriers.” {{2}}[[2]]宁波有个诺丁汉大学，现在刚批下来的昆山杜克大学…中外合作办学的模式在中国有萌发之势。南方科大也刚刚招了第一届学生。。周围的很多事情不合理，但国人在默默地拔除已有体制的藩篱。[[2]] Coach K may not be coming, but it seems that American styles of higher education are increasingly gaining a Chinese foothold.
Is that a Benz in the artist's rendering?
