China Partnerships

ASU partners many of the top Chinese universities, as well as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Science and Technology, to promote language, innovation, business leadership, health sciences, sustainability, tourism and creativity in education at a global scale.

In Phoenix, more than 3,000 Chinese students attend ASU and 9,000 ASU alumni from China carry on a long-standing tradition of close faculty connections and friendships, built through years of collaborative research between ASU and Chinese colleagues.

Although the histories of ASU and China differ, there is a shared belief that universities are transformational forces in society. ASU has experts that dominate in many areas, such as migration, pollution, climate change, energy and health care, all with global ramifications; however, it is the connectivity across borders and cultures that is essential to creating a positive difference in society and developing the problem-solving capacity to face the emerging challenges of the 21st century.

Through our relationships with China and the Chinese people, ASU hopes to promote cross-cultural communication, interdisciplinary study and engagement, educational internationalization, entrepreneurship, and social and economic development locally and abroad.

American Experience Initiative

The American Experience Initiative is a multi-platform collaborative model for education and engagement to build greater cultural understanding between American and Chinese universities. The initiative aims to enhance Chinese knowledge of American society and culture by broadening the curriculum and resources available to students, faculty, business executives and the general public. Chinese faculty develop multidisciplinary modules on American culture, society, religion, and more—broadening the scope of existing American studies curriculum while improving their pedagogical methods and creating more impactful courses. This initiative, funded by the Luce Foundation, will result in a digital sharing network for higher education scholars.

ASU Joint International Research Laboratory

The Beijing Normal University- Arizona State University International Research Laboratory of Disaster Risk and Sustainability Sciences was launched in April 2016 to consolidate collaborations on disaster risk and sustainability sciences. The International Risk Governance Project, Future Earth Program provides critical knowledge required for societies to understand and address challenges posed by global environmental change.

ASU Joint International Tourism College

ASU offers three dual undergraduate degrees on the campus of Hainan University, a top-tier college in China. The program is led by Kathleen Andereck, director of the School of Community Resources and Development. Launched inn fall 2017 with 253 freshman from China, more than 770 students are enrolled in 2019. Students' ASU degrees are paired with Hainan degrees. This college gives ASU a physical presence in China, where the university already has many partnerships.

Biodesign in China

Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute pursues a number of research partnerships in China, most recently these include relationships with China’s Sichuan University, Soochow University and Huaxi Hospital. Among the Biodesign Institute's strengths to expand with China are new technologies for vaccine discovery and delivery, including breakthroughs efforts made with Ebola, and the early detection and treatment of cancer and infectious diseases.

Global Health Innovators Program

A cohort of 22 undergraduate students from Sichuan University came to the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus in July 2019 to participate in the Global Health Innovators Program, which Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation developed specifically for the participants. The program focused on entrepreneurship and innovation in health and health care, cultural exploration and English language experiences for the students.

Chinese Language Flagship Program

ASU's Chinese Language Flagship Program students achieve a superior level of proficiency in Mandarin Chinese while strengthening pre-professional development in their chosen fields of study. Chinese Flagship and Flagship-ROTC programs are rigorous, honors-level undergraduate programs of study designed to create global professionals who can work bilingually and bi-culturally in the U.S. and the Chinese-speaking world. Student studies include a capstone year in China and offer a path toward careers in government, education, the private sector and non-profit organizations.

InterAsia Program

ASU's Social Science Research Council's InterAsia program and partnerships have built international and interdisciplinary scholars’ networks, transformed scholarly approaches and research agendas, and promoted the development of innovative comparisons on a number of cross-regional and transregional themes. Fellowships are also provided for Transregional Research Junior Scholars.

Sichuan University Language Programs

The School of International Letters and Cultures’ study abroad programs are among the longest-running and most prestigious at ASU. Founded in 1981 and directed by knowledgeable, world-class faculty, the programs offer students the opportunity to experience and study international humanities and learn languages firsthand while earning credit toward their degree. Sichuan University hosts a summer Chinese language program and more extensive study abroad experiences. The summer program is particularly unique in that students, supervised by the school's faculty of Chinese, complete one full academic year of Chinese language coursework in just eight weeks.

W. P. Carey School of Business Executive Programs

ASU's W. P. Carey School of Business partnerships in China include the Executive MBA in Shanghai and the Master of Science in Management (MiM) offered in partnership with the Shanghai National Accounting Institute (SNAI), and the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) in Global Financial Management, developed in collaboration with the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF).