Duke University Receives Go-Ahead for New Venture in China: MBA news

By QS Contributor Updated Jun 15, 2014

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Introduction
DKU program to be split between US and China
Decision Delay for Fuqua School of Business not the first for higher education in China

Duke University Receives Go-Ahead for New Venture in China: MBA news main image

Duke Kunshan University (DKU) – the joint venture between Wuhan and Duke University that has been in development since 2010 – will offer a one-year master of management studies (MMS) program in 2014 that will be supplied by Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.

It brings to an end Duke University’s agonizing wait to receive final approval from China’s Ministry of Education. In the year since DKU first achieved a preliminary thumbs-up, plans for the number of graduate degree programs to be offered have had to be scaled back.

However, further graduate programs are now in development and will aim to build on the Fuqua School of Business MMS, which is to be launched alongside a Global Health MSc. Graduates of both programs will receive Duke University degrees.

DKU program to be split between US and China

DKU will be housed at a newly built location in Kunshan, a city situated between Shanghai and Suzhou that has witnessed rapid expansion in recent times. However, all those enrolling onto the inaugural MMS program will matriculate next fall at Duke University’s Durham, North Carolina campus alongside domestic students before taking up residence in Kunshan from January 2015.

The school is led by former Wuhan University president, Liu Jiangnan, and Mary Brown Bullock, the former Agnes Scott College president and Emory University professor who holds a Ph.D. in Chinese history from Stanford.

Liu wants the school to have a positive impact on higher education in China. In a press release he said that students and faculty at DKU would, “Have academic freedom to air their opinions about any academic issue. They can criticize the policies of the Chinese government, such as about the ‘one couple--one baby’ policy or government economic policies. That's OK.”

Decision Delay for Fuqua School of Business not the first for higher education in China

The wait experienced by Fuqua School of Business in securing approval to operate a program offering higher education in China has been endured by others in the US before.

Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina (UNC) wanted to offer a dual-degree executive MBA (EMBA) program in Beijing, combining business and engineering. Despite the program partnering with the reputable Tsinghua University, official approval still took over a year.

However, the program was able to launch in October 2012, with James W. Dean Jr., dean of UNC Kenan-Flagler describing it as a great honor, “to offer a new model for preparing executives in China to be global leaders.”

Duke University will also be hoping that its efforts are proved worthwhile when its first programs get going at DKU next year.

Learn more about the Fuqua School of Business >