University Websites and Resources

Introduction

This section contains cameos of those universities that have the highest global rankings. For each university, it contains links to a set of web resources: undergraduate and postgraduate admissions procedures, fees for international students, financial assistance programmes, scholarships, mandatory academic qualifications, English language requirements, application procedures, visa requirements, immigration policies, Chinese student associations, number of Chinese students, and international student office contact details – where you can obtain further information. The number of Chinese students at these leading institutions usually falls in the range 6–8 per cent of the overall student population, the percentage being consistently higher among postgraduates than among undergraduates. The entries are presented in rank order, with each university’s name followed by its global ranking (2019 THE World University Rankings).

University of Oxford (#1)

The University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world, boasts over forty colleges. With around 22,000 students, a diverse and internationalized faculty, and a collection of famous alumni – among them twenty-six Nobel laureates – the University of Oxford is globally recognized for its research and teaching excellence. The number of Chinese students at the University of Oxford is about 1,300 (there are about 240 Chinese members of staff).

Some resources relating to the University of Oxford are as follows:

University of Oxford International Students
University of Oxford International Students – Information
University of Oxford International Students – Admissions
University of Oxford International Students – Admission Criteria
University of Oxford International Students – Undergraduate Admissions
University of Oxford International Students – Graduate Admissions
University of Oxford International Students – Fees and Funding
University of Oxford International Students – Financial Assistance
University of Oxford International Students – Graduate Scholarships
University of Oxford International Students – Qualifications
University of Oxford International Students – Applications
University of Oxford International Students – English Language Requirements
University of Oxford International Students – Visas and Immigration
University of Oxford International Students – Contact Us
University of Oxford China Centre
University of Oxford China Office

University of Cambridge (#2)

The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. With over 18,000 students, divided among thirty-one colleges, the University can boast ninety-two Nobel laureates, over one hundred libraries, and six schools: Arts and Humanities; Biological Sciences; Clinical Medicine; Humanities and Social Sciences; and Physical Sciences and Technology. The number of Chinese students at the University of Cambridge is about 1,170, of which 420 are undergraduates and 750 are postgraduates. Of particular interest to new arrivals is the Fresher’s Guide, published by the University of Cambridge Chinese Society.

Some resources relating to the University of Cambridge are as follows:

Stanford University (#3)

Stanford University, founded in 1885, lies at the heart of California’s Silicon Valley. With more than 16,000 students, Stanford hosts seven schools on the same campus: Graduate School of Business; Graduate School of Education; School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences; School of Engineering; School of Humanities and Sciences; School of Law; and School of Medicine. Stanford alumni include two Fields medallists, eighteen Turing Award recipients, and nineteen Nobel laureates. Stanford alumni and associates are renowned for the global companies they have founded, most of which are in the technological sector, companies such as Google, Hewlett-Packard, Instagram, Netflix, and Sun Microsystems. The number of Chinese students at Stanford University is about 1,150.

Some resources relating to Stanford University are as follows:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT (#4)

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a research-oriented university, which specializes in the fields of engineering, science, and technology. With over 11,000 students, MIT hosts five schools on the same campus: Architecture and Planning; Engineering; Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; and Management and Science. Between them, MIT’s alumni boast 86 Nobel laureates, and have launched more than 30,000 companies and organizations. The number of Chinese students at MIT is about 740.

Some resources relating to MIT are as follows:

California Institute of Technology – Caltech (#5)

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has a world-leading reputation for research in science and engineering (as testified to by the fact that Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, and Howard – characters in the celebrated TV soap The Big Bang Theory – all allegedly work at this institution). Caltech’s alumni include thirty-five Nobel laureates. With about 2,240 students (1,000 undergraduates and 1,240 postgraduates) and about 300 faculty members, Caltech has an unusually low student-to-faculty ratio. It also has a highly competitive admissions process (as Sheldon would have us believe, persons possessed of a deficient intellectual understanding – among them rocket scientists and toll takers on the Golden Gate Bridge – need not apply!). The number of Chinese students at Caltech is about 190.

Some resources relating to Caltech are as follows:

Harvard University (#6)

Harvard University, the oldest university in the US, occupies a 5,000-acre campus and lays claim to the largest academic library in the world. With over 22,900 students, Harvard has twelve schools: Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; Harvard Art and Science Museums; Harvard College; Harvard Design School; Harvard Divinity School; Harvard Extension School; Harvard Graduate School of Education; Harvard Kennedy School; Harvard Law School; Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies – and, of course, the world-renowned Harvard Business School. Harvard alumni boast forty-five Nobel laureates. The number of Chinese students at Harvard is about 1,320.

Some resources relating to Harvard University are as follows:

Princeton University (#7)

With a campus spread across 500 acres and boasting forty Nobel laureates, Princeton University is noted for its emphasis on teaching. It has a student population of about 8,600. The number of Chinese students at Princeton is about 450.

Some resources relating to Princeton University are as follows:

Yale University (#8)

Yale University, with about 12,970 students, encourages a more interdisciplinary approach to education than many other US universities: it requires students to follow a liberal arts curriculum – one covering both the humanities and the sciences – before students are asked to choose a departmental major. Unlike the practice in most US universities, students are housed in residential colleges, modelled on the ancient collegiate UK universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Yale offers a variety of courses and free online lectures – via platforms such as YouTube, iTunes, and Coursera – some with subtitles in Chinese: navigate to the Yale Center for Teaching and Learning; select values from the “Discipline”, “Field”, and “Platform” drop-down lists; and then press the “Apply” button to see what’s available. The number of Chinese students at Yale is about 770.

Some resources relating to Yale University are as follows:

Imperial College London (#9)

More to Come …

Imperial College London has a long held, worldwide reputation for its research expertise in science and engineering; more recently, it has extended this reputation to the fields of medicine and business studies. Imperial alumni boast fourteen Nobel laureates. Having about 16,600 students, the university is based in the centre of London, and so is ideally located for students who wish to live in the UK’s capital city. A joint programme with China’s CSC awards fifteen full scholarships each year to Chinese students wishing to study for PhD degrees at Imperial. The number of Chinese students at Imperial College is about 2,600. The university has about 220 Chinese faculty members and over 7,000 alumni living in China.

Some resources relating to Imperial College London are as follows:

CHINESE STUDENTS

STUDYING ABROAD