Duke Kunshan University (DKU) is a
Wuhan University
Wuhan University (WHU; ) is a public research university in Wuhan, Hubei. The university is sponsored by the Ministry of Education. Wuhan university was founded as one of the four elite universities in the early republican period of China and i ...
–
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
, independently
accredited
Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
in
Kunshan
Kunshan is a county-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province with Shanghai bordering its eastern border and Suzhou on its western boundary. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Suzhou.
Name
There is a strong pos ...
,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
, China.
In 2018, Duke Kunshan University welcomed their first inaugural undergraduate class.
History and timeline
* Jan. 2010 – A Cooperation Agreement signed between Duke University and the People's Government of Kunshan
* Sep. 2010 – Construction of Phase 1 campus started
* Jan. 2011 – Cooperation Principles Statement signed between Duke University and Wuhan University
* Jun. 2011 – Application for Preparation Approval of Duke Kunshan University submitted to Jiangsu Provincial Bureau of Education
* Aug. 2012 – Preparation Approval from the
Chinese Ministry of Education
The Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China is a cabinet-level department under the State Council responsible for basic education, vocational education, higher education, and other educational affairs across the country. The Min ...
* Sep. 2012 – Appointments of Duke Kunshan Chancellor and Executive Vice Chancellor
*Dec. 2012 – Celebration Ceremony of Preparation Approval in Kunshan
* Apr. 2013 – Application for formal establishment of Duke Kunshan University submitted to
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
Provincial Bureau of Education
*
![Duke Kunshan Innovation Building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Duke_Kunshan_Innovation_Building.jpg)
Sep. 2013 – Duke Kunshan Establishment Approval granted by the Chinese Ministry of Education
* Nov. 2013 – First meeting of Duke Kunshan Board of Trustees held at Wuhan University
* Dec. 2013 – Duke Kunshan legal entity registration completed
* Jan. 2014 – Duke Kunshan Advisory Board established
* Apr. 2014 – Second Meeting of Duke Kunshan Board of Trustees held in Kunshan
* May 2014 – First meeting of Duke Kunshan Advisory Board held in Beijing
* Jul. 2014 – Duke Kunshan
MMS MMS may refer to:
Science and technology Network communication protocols
* Multimedia Messaging Service for mobile phones
* Microsoft Media Server, a content-streaming protocol (mms://)
* Manufacturing Message Specification for real time proces ...
program began in
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
*Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...
* Aug. 2014 – Inaugural Convocation and Orientation Week held at Duke Kunshan University
* Aug. 2018 – Inaugural undergraduate program begins
*Aug. 2019 – Innovation Building opened, construction of Phase 2 campus begins
*Jan. 2020 – COVID-19 forces international students off campus, DKU switches to hybrid classes
*Aug. 2020 – First group of DKU undergraduates begin study abroad at Duke's main campus.
*May 2022 – Inaugural undergraduate of 2022 graduates in hybrid ceremony at Duke and DKU's campuses
Administration and organization
Duke Kunshan University is governed by an independent Board of Trustees, with members from Duke University and Wuhan University.
Academics
Undergraduate admissions
Duke Kunshan University admitted its first undergraduate students as part of the Class of 2022. Significantly exceeding its original target of 1,500 applicants, the university received a total of 3,143 applications for an estimated 225 first-year spots, including 2,551 applications from China and 332 from the United States. There were 80 countries represented in the applicant pool, including Kazakhstan, South Korea, Pakistan, and Ethiopia.
In March 2018, DKU admitted 251 students, or 7.98% of its inaugural applicant pool, a selectivity similar to the 8.3% acceptance rate at Duke University.
All undergraduate applications for Duke Kunshan are submitted using the
Common Application
The Common Application (more commonly known as the Common App) is an undergraduate college admission application that applicants may use to apply to over 1,000 member colleges and universities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as we ...
. Students applying to Duke University can also check a box on the Duke application to apply for admission to Duke Kunshan University. International students, including those from the United States, typically submit transcripts,
SAT
The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...
or
ACT standardized test scores, and application essays.
However, a test-optional policy is in effect for applications submitted in 2020 and 2021.
Graduate admissions
Students can apply separately to each of DKU's five graduate programs.
Academic programs
![Duke Kunshan University Academic Building Interior](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Duke_Kunshan_University_Academic_Building_Interior.jpg)
The undergraduate curriculum is structured into divisional areas of knowledge (Natural and Applied Sciences, Social Sciences, and Arts and Humanities) in contrast with traditional university academic departments. Undergraduate students declare their major in sophomore year.
There are 15 majors approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education so far, which span the natural sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities.
Many of the majors have multiple tracks or concentrations that students choose between.
Core components of the undergraduate curriculum include core courses (taken once per year for the first three years), with each major consisting of an "interdisciplinary set of courses that integrates different forms of knowledge and a distinct set of disciplinary courses that provides expertise in specific areas".
Semesters are broken up into two seven week sessions, and classes are not scheduled on Fridays to support field trips, internships, and other co-curricular activities. Additionally, international students, including those from the United States, are required to take Chinese language for the first two years and can continue with more advanced courses afterwards.
In November 2022, DKU launched the Duke Kunshan–
Duke-NUS Medicine Pathway for undergraduates studying data science and global health/biology to complete their Doctor of Medicine at Duke NUS Medical School in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
.
Academic freedom concerns
An article in the Financial Times stated that although Duke Kunshan University had signed legally binding agreements with
Education Ministry of China
The Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China is a cabinet-level department under the State Council responsible for basic education, vocational education, higher education, and other educational affairs across the country. The Mi ...
that guaranteed academic freedom on campus, many academics had doubts that the agreements would be upheld.
Rankings
Both Duke University and Wuhan University have been recognized in the top ten in respective national rankings.
Campus
![Duke Kunshan University Campus Panorama](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Duke_Kunshan_University_Campus_Panorama.jpg)
Duke Kunshan is located in a 200-acre campus in Kunshan, a city in southeastern
Jiangsu province
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...
. The campus will become the center of the Duke Creative Park, part of the city's “Five Zones, One Line” plan for urban renewal. The area will host the Sino-US (Kunshan) Technology Innovation Center and serve as a mixed-used project integrating R&D centers, business services, and ecological parks.
Kunshan's location between
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
and
Suzhou
Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...
allows easy access to these major metropolitan centers by highways and high-speed railway.
![DKU Student Residence Hall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/DKU_Student_Residence_Hall.jpg)
The campus is being constructed in phases, with Phase I designed by American design and architecture firm
Gensler
Gensler is a global design and architecture firm founded in San Francisco, California, in 1965.
In 2021, Gensler generated $1.235 billion in revenue, the most of any architecture firm in the U.S. As of 2021, Gensler operated offices in 49 citi ...
. Phase 1 facilities include an academic building with a variety of classroom configurations, a 200-bed dormitory building, a conference center and hotel, a faculty residence, and an administration building. An innovation center equipped with a library, classrooms and team rooms was opened in 2019.
Phase 2 is scheduled for completion in 2021,
designed by
Perkins and Will
Perkins&Will is a global design practice founded in 1935. Since 1986, the group has been a subsidiary of Lebanon-based Dar Al-Handasah (Arabic: دار الهندسة). Phil Harrison has been the firm's CEO since 2006.
History
The firm was establ ...
, and will feature an expansion of undergraduate, graduate, and faculty housing, a community center, recreation center, the WD Research Institute, and a library. The 71.3 acre Duke Kunshan Gardens are also currently under construction, and are scheduled for completion in 2021.
Later plans call for Phase III and IV construction to take place in the coming decade.
As part of the partnership between Duke University, Wuhan University, and the city of Kunshan, the municipal government has leased the Duke Kunshan University campus to the university at no cost for the first ten years as well as paying for construction of the buildings.
Alumni
Duke Kunshan University alumni are coterminous with
Duke Alumni, being conferred Duke University undergraduate or graduate degrees (accredited by
SACSCOC) upon graduation. Undergraduates also receive a graduation certificate and diploma officially approved by the
Chinese MOE.
Undergraduate alumni from the inaugural class of 2022 include 1
Rhodes Scholar
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom.
Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
, 2
Yenching Scholars
The Yenching Scholarship (also Yanjing Scholars; Chinese: 燕京学者, pinyin: Yānjīng Xuézhě) is a prestigious interdisciplinary graduate program at the Yenching Academy of Peking University (PKU) in Beijing, China.
The program, started i ...
, and 1
Schwarzman Scholar.
Research centers
![Duke Kunshan University Academic Building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Duke_Kunshan_University_Academic_Building.jpg)
* Global Health Research Center (1st research center at Duke Kunshan)
* Environmental Research Center
Conferences
*International Meteorite Conference, Meteorite China – Duke Kunshan University hosted China's first-ever international meteorite conference on 15 September 2017. Over 80 scientists from China, the U.S., the U.K., Australia, and Russia met at the three-day event. Enthusiasts and meteorite collectors also participated in the conference.
References
External links
Official websiteOfficial website
{{Coord, 31, 25, 3.67, N, 120, 53, 35.96, E, display=inline,title
Wuhan University
Duke University
Universities and colleges in Suzhou
Kunshan
Educational institutions established in 2013
2013 establishments in China
Duke family