Coinciding with the 85th Anniversary of the founding of Xiamen University, a group of high-flying international students will enjoy the benefits of a scholarship, in the same way that Chinese students at the University do. According to the University authorities, this is the first time that Xiamen University is offering special scholarships for international students, and it is being done with the aim of attracting more outstanding overseas students to study here. The prospect of being awarded free tuition or a cash subsidy is also expected to act as an inducement to overseas students to study harder. 16 outstanding current students will be presented with the first scholarships during the celebrations of the 85th Anniversary this April.

Currently there are 1612 overseas students at Xiamen University, enrolled on full-time programmes or short courses. However, of these, only 209, or 20%, are pursuing degree courses, well below the target of 1000 degree-level students from abroad as set in the University's 11th Five-Year Plan.

According to the Director of the University Admissions Office, Professor Zhan Xinli, the University has sent delegations to "Study in China" education exhibitions on a number of occasions, for the purpose of promoting the University's image abroad and raising the number of overseas admissions. The beauty of Xiamen University's campus and the specially-tailored study-programmes have always generated great interest among overseas students. It is expected that the new "Scholarships for International Students" scheme will greatly raise interest and attract more of the most outstanding foreign candidates to come to Xiamen University.

The new "Scholarships for International Students" scheme will be operated intially in two tranches:
One tranche will be for new applicants for degree courses: two for PhD applicants, two for master’s degree applicants and four for applicants for first degree courses. The recipients will have their tuition fees covered, up to a maximum of 3 years for a PhD, 2 years for master's degree and 4 years for a first degree. The recipients' academic performance will be assessed each year and only those achieving the required standard will have their scholarship renewed for the following year.

The other tranche will be for overseas students currently following any degree course at the University. "First-class" awards will be made to one doctoral student, one master's student and four undergraduates; "Second-class" awards will be made to two doctoral students, two master’s students and six undergraduates.

The initial appraisal and assessments for the scheme have already begun. An initial fund of RMB 200,000 has been set up by the University, which intends to seek for further support through the provision of special funds by the local government, entrepreneurs, alumni both at home and abroad, and other members of the community. As the amount of funds available increases, the benefits offered will increase and greater numbers of overseas students will be able to receive awards.

(Report by Wang Yinghui, University Council News Centre)