Duke Kunshan University launches first undergraduate degree

Duke Kunshan University, an institution jointly established by Duke University in the US and Wuhan University in China, has launched its first undergraduate programme.

The university said that the four-year degree, which will begin in August 2018, will deliver a liberal arts education, with students receiving a “broad academic education” for two years before choosing a major subject.

Classes will be conducted in four seven-week modules to “respond to the compressed learning style of millennials” and there will be a low student-staff ratio of 11:1, the institution added.

Students will spend two semesters studying at Duke University in the US and the rest of their degree at Duke Kunshan, which is based near Shanghai, and graduate with degrees from both institutions.

The university said that it was targeting students in the UK and Europe and the syllabus was designed to educate students to respond to the challenges of new technologies, such as AI, robotics and quantum computing.

All classes will be conducted in English but all international students would learn Mandarin, it added. There will be a choice of about 20 majors, including economics, data science and big data, political economy/political science, environmental science, history and global health.

Denis Simon, executive vice-chancellor of Duke Kunshan University, said that families are no longer only looking at the US and Europe when considering where to send their children to university.

“Creating a global viewpoint and understanding and the ability to work and interact internationally is critical and we are witnessing more and more students from the UK, Europe, US, Canada, Japan and other countries applying to study at Duke Kunshan University,” he said.

ellie.bothwell@timeshighereducation.com