Ira Solomon, dean of the Freeman School, and Xiaohui Qu, dean of the Institute for Financial and Accounting Studies at Xiamen University, at January’s signing ceremony in Xiamen, China.
The Freeman School is partnering with two universities in China to establish new dual education master’s programs for Chinese students.
This summer, the Freeman School will begin admitting students from Xiamen University in Xiamen, China, to Freeman’s Master of Accounting and Master of Finance programs. The offering will lead to a graduate certificate from Xiamen and a master’s degree from Tulane.
In addition, the Freeman School has signed an agreement with Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, to admit students from Zhejiang’s School of Management to the Master of Accounting and Master of Finance programs. That offering, which is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2013, expands a program the Freeman School had previously had exclusively with Zhejiang’s Honors College.
“Xiamen University and Zhejiang University are each among the top universities in all of China, so we’re delighted to be able to partner with them to offer these new dual education programs,” says Dean Ira Solomon, who traveled to China in January to work out the arrangements. “These students will enhance the classroom environment, and they will also be great connections for U.S. students interested in learning about China and expanding their careers internationally.”
The programs will admit up to 75 students per year from the two universities, each among the most prestigious and highly ranked in all of Asia. University Undergraduates Teaching Assessment and Chinese Universities Evaluation Standings ranked Xiamen 11th in China, and a recent study by Brigham Young University ranked Xiamen No. 1 in China for accounting research. Zhejiang University was ranked 7th in China in the 2011-2012 QS World University Rankings and No. 1 in China according to the 2011 China University Rankings.
Solomon and Xiaobo Wu, executive dean of Zhejiang University’s School of Management.
In addition to the master’s programs, the Freeman School also signed a memorandum of understanding with Zhejiang University outlining a host of initiatives officials at Zhejiang hope to pursue with the Freeman School, including executive MBA exchange programs, joint research activities, faculty exchanges, and new energy management and Latin American programs.
“Zhejiang is very interested in Latin America, and that’s an area we have a lot of connections in,” says John Trapani, executive director of the Freeman School’s Goldring Institute of International Business, who helped draft the agreement. “We plan to assist them in setting up programs for entrepreneurs from Zhejiang to visit entrepreneurs in the southern part of Latin America, most likely Chile and Brazil.”
According to Trapani, a strategic partnership is in the best interest of both institutions. “Given the growing importance of China in the world, I think it will be a great benefit for us to bring these very bright students to New Orleans and let our students bond with and become friends with them,” Trapani says. “And from the perspective of the Chinese students, they’re getting a graduate degree from a prestigious U.S. institution, and U.S. business schools still represent the gold standard for management education in China. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
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