UC Riverside, Xiamen Univ sign agreement to educate doctoral students at UCR

The University of California, Riverside and Xiamen University have announced a new international partnership that identifies a pathway for Xiamen University graduates to pursue doctoral education at UC Riverside.

Over the next five years, UCR will train a total of 40 doctoral students in a variety of disciplines. The partnership agreement outlines eligible programs in several UCR colleges including Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences, Natural and Agricultural Sciences, and Education and Management. 

In return, Xiamen University will provide $1 million to UCR to help defray the costs of the students' doctoral studies. Students from Xiamen University could enroll at UCR as soon as fall 2018.

Xiamen University will recommend up to eight students per year, who will then apply to UCR through the normal application process for graduate students.

Admission to UCR will be offered only to applicants who meet or exceed the standard graduate admissions criteria associated with each academic degree program. The final admission decisions remain with UCR graduate programs.

Upon successful completion of their PhD degree, the students will have the opportunity to assume a faculty position at Xiamen University.

"This exciting partnership with Xiamen University, one of China's leading universities, formalizes our collaborative relationship in research and education," said Cynthia K. Larive, UCR's interim provost and executive vice chancellor. 

"An important facet of this program is the breadth of UCR graduate programs open to the Xiamen students. This program will also enhance future collaborative opportunities for UCR faculty and students in Xiamen, for example through joint research projects and education abroad opportunities."

The seeds for this partnership were planted years ago with the help of the Kay Family Foundation in Orange County, which played a key role in introducing Xiamen University to UCR. From there, the A. Gary Anderson School of Management at UCR established a collaborative relationship with the Department of Economics and the Department of Management at Xiamen University.

In fact, UCR has a significant number of alumni working at Xiamen University. More recently, following a delegation visit to Xiamen in 2015 led by former Provost Paul D'Anieri, UCR and Xiamen University agreed to focus on university-wide collaborations that will enable both institutions to deepen their strategic partnerships in teaching, research and discovery.

The current agreement, which is the outcome of negotiations between the two institutions, was signed at Xiamen University on Sept 2 by Larive, Dean of the Graduate Division Shaun Bowler, and Senior Vice President Bin Yang, representing Xiamen University.