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China Programs

College of Agriculture China Programs builds bridges between the U.S. and China. To fulfill this mission, we draw on the strengths of various departments in the college and other colleges at the University, and partner with public and private organizations in Alabama and the U.S. to promote relations with China by

• facilitating educational exchange including exchanges of faculty, staff, and students;
• promoting collaborative research and research activities;
• facilitating activities related to teaching and training;
• fostering an understanding of history, cultures, and values;
  
• serving as a catalyst and resource for the promotion of economic, governmental, and civic pursuits; and
• increasing mutual interest and understanding.

SOME ONGOING TIES TO CHINA

Northwest A & F University in Yangling, Shaanxi Province, is a key national comprehensive university that is expanding its relationship with AU. In May 2009, AU Agronomy & Soils Professor David Weaver offered the AU Maymester course AGRN 6100 PLANT GENETICS AND CROP IMPROVEMENT taught on the Yangling campus. Read Weaver's travel journal. Northwest Ag & Foresty students were able to take the course and receive credit through Northwest Ag & Forestry University.  Auburn students received academic credit through Auburn University.

Collaboration with Ocean University of China initially developed through the AU Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures, but has now expanded across Auburn University to bring top graduate students to more than five different departments in at least three different AU colleges.

New relationships have developed with Shanghai Ocean University where a Memorandum of Agreement was recently signed. Biosystems Engineering Professor Yifen Wang and other Auburn University faculty will teach a course there in the coming year.

Founded in 1897, Zhejiang University is one of China's oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher education.Zhejiang University is located approximately 112 miles (180 km) southwest of Shanghai in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. AU ties focus on engineering and agriculture with this institution.The word Zhejiang (crooked river) was the old name of the Qiantang River.

New relationships between Auburn University and the Chinese Academy of Fisheries Sciences (CAFS) are fostering the exchange of personnel and expertise. AU has had a longstanding relationship with one of the CAFS constituent institutions, the Yellow Sea Fishery Research Institute (YSFRI) in Qingdao.

Although there has been a steady pattern of faculty exchanges and graduate students from universities all across China, new relationships are developing with the China Agricultural University of Beijing. Among several others, the AU College of Agriculture has had strong relationships with the Agricultural University of Hubei and Shandong University.

OBTAINING A VISA

The Consulate for the Peoples Republic of China in Houston, Texas, has jurisdiction for Alabama. Click on visa and passport for more information. Be sure your U.S. passport has at least six months before it expires before submitting it for a Chinese visa.

If time is short, you may choose to use a visa expediter. OIA staff can assist you in this process.

GRADUATE STUDY IN CHINA

Each of the partner universities mentioned above has generous stipends available for U.S. students to study in China. Contact the Office of Intenrnational Agriculture in the College of Agriculture or the Auburn University Graduate School if you are interested. Normally the first year of residence is devoted largely to language study, but many courses are beginning to be taught in English. It is also possible for Masters students to spend a semester or more at Chinese University, particularly if the individual is willing to teach English in return for housing and a small stipend. The OIA will facilitate the process for interested graduate students.

For example, China Agricultural University (CAU) will recruit 25 full doctoral graduate scholarship students supported by Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC) for the fall 2010. A similar program is available at each of the other universities.

The doctoral study in China program information is now available online at http://oir.cau.edu.cn/view_en/index4.php?id=29.

Access to this site is sometimes difficult, so the page is reproduced below.

This is the first time this university has recruited CSC scholarship students directly. Auburn University has set up a special committee to review applicants. For this first call for application to CAU, the scholarship will be only open for doctoral study applicants.

Scholarship Details

- Waiver of registration fee, tuition fee, fee for laboratory experiment, fee for internship, fee for basic learning materials, and accommodation

- Living allowance: CNY 1,400 per month for doctoral students

- Fee for outpatient medical service and Comprehensive Medical Insurance of Foreign Students in China. The outpatient expense is generated in the CAU’s hospital or the hospitals appointed by CAU. Students should afford a certain percentage of the expense in accordance with CAU’s relevant regulations.

- One-off settlement subsidy: CNY 600 per person after registration

The application deadline was May 20, 2009 for the academic year starting from fall semester, September 2009. It is helpful for a successful application if the applicant contacts some advisors or departments in CAU first. Also, because this is the first time CSC open the program to several universities, it a second call for application may be offered, which is for spring semester enrollment.

SUPPORT FOR U.S. GRADUATE STUDENTS
text from http://oir.cau.edu.cn/view_en/index4.php?id=29.

The Graduate Student Scholarships, supported by the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC), are provided for prospective international students to study for master's or doctoral degrees in top universities in China, thus expanding student exchanges and academic collaborations between Chinese universities and their overseas partner institutions.

China Agricultural University (CAU) is among the list of the top universities supported by CSC to directly recruit scholarship students for the academic year of 2010-2011. Other univesities also participate in this program and often have parallel processes for recruiting U.S. students.

I. Basic Information and Duration of the Scholarships Program
1. Up to 25 scholarship students will be accepted to China Agricultural University for the next academic year (normally the academic year in China starts in September).

2. The Graduate Student Scholarships only support the students who apply to be fully registered as graduate students (master's or doctoral students) in CAU.

3. The Graduate Student Scholarships only support students who are currently not enrolled in the same level of graduate programs.

4. Details of the scholarship (subject to the policies of CSC Full Scholarship):

- Waiver of registration fee, tuition fee, fee for laboratory experiment, fee for internship, fee for basic learning materials and accommodation;

- Living allowance is offered: CNY 1,100 per month for master's degree students, CNY 1,400 per month for doctoral students;

- Fee for outpatient medical service and Comprehensive Medical Insurance of Foreign Students in China. The outpatient expense is generated in the CAU’s hospital or the hospitals appointed by CAU. Students should afford a certain percentage of the expense in accordance with CAU’s relevant regulations.

- One-off settlement subsidy: CNY 600 per person after registration.

5. The duration of the scholarship for all programs is the same as the normal length of the specific graduate programs in CAU. (Please check the master's degree and doctoral programs of China Agricultural University in the appendix.)

If the courses for doctoral and master's degree students can not be conducted in English, applicants who are non-Chinese speakers are generally required to take remedial Chinese language courses for one year before their major studies. The one-year Chinese language study is also covered by the scholarship.

II. Application

Applicants should submit written application materials directly to Office of International Relations in China Agricultural University. The deadline for the materials to arrive at CAU is before May 20, 2009, for the academic year starting from fall 2009.

III. Eligibility

1. Applicants must be non-Chinese nationals and in good health.

2. Education background and age limit:

- Applicants for master's degrees must have a bachelor’s degree and be under the age of 35.

- Applicants for doctoral degrees must have a master’s degree and be under the age of 40.

3. Applicants must have a competitive academic record.

4. Applicants must have strong scientific research ability.

5. Applicants do NOT enjoy any other kind of sponsorship.

IV. Application Materials

The applicants must fill in and provide the following materials truly and correctly.

1. The Application Form for Chinese Government Scholarship (available at http://www.csc.edu.cn/uploads/forms/6-????????.pdf), one original and one photocopy, in Chinese or in English.

2. Highest diploma (notarized photocopy). If applicants are still university students or are already employed, they should also provide confirmation letters presented by their universities for enrollment status or by their companies for employment status. All documents in languages other than Chinese or English must be attached with translations in Chinese or English.

3. Applicants for master's degrees are required to provide notarized copy of their undergraduate academic transcripts. Applicants for doctoral studies need to provide notarized copies of both their undergraduate and graduate academic transcripts. Transcripts written in languages other than Chinese or English must be attached with translations in Chinese or English.

4. A photocopy of the passport and four recent ID photos (white background, 35mm×45mm in size).

5. A study or research plan written in Chinese or in English (no less than 800 words).

6. Two letters of recommendation from full professors or associate professors (in Chinese or English).

7. Published academic papers or other academic achievements (if applicable).

8. Photocopy of the Foreigner Physical Examination Form (PDF available at http://www.csc.edu.cn/uploads/forms/foreinphy.pdf). This form is provided by the Chinese quarantine authority. Applicants are expected to keep the original copies to apply for entry to China and should be completed in English or Chinese. The medical examinations must cover all the items listed in the Foreigner Physical Examination Form. Incomplete records or those without the signature of the attending physician, the official stamp of the hospital, or a sealed photograph of the applicants are invalid. The medical examination results will be valid for six months. All applicants are kindly requested to take this factor into consideration while determining when to take the medical examination.

Applicants should submit the above materials to the Office of International Relations at China Agricultural University before May 20, 2009. Application materials will NOT be returned regardless of the result of application.

V. Choices of Specialties

Please check the attached list of master's degree and doctoral programs of China Agricultural University (also available at: http://oir.cau.edu.cn/view_en/index4.php?id=29) . Applicants are encouraged to contact their prospective graduate study supervisors prior to application and are expected to enclose in their application package the relevant recommendation letters written by those supervisors.

VI. Languages of Instructions and teaching

Although most of the CAU professors and supervisors can communicate in English, at the moment most of the main courses are still instructed in Chinese. Thus, applicants with no command of Chinese are generally required to take remedial Chinese language courses for one year in China before their major studies begin. The Chinese language study is also covered by the scholarship.

VII. Approval and Notification

China Agricultural University will review all the application materials and then the materials will be submitted to China Scholarship Council for approval. The admission and scholarships will be given on the basis of the applicant's competitiveness and academic competency.

Admission Notice, Visa Application Form for Study In China (JW201), and other relevant documents, if accepted, will be sent before July 31, 2009.

VIII. Other Notices

1. According to CSC policies, all scholarship grantees must go through the review of the Chinese Government Scholarship Status annually.

2. The duration of the Scholarship for Graduate Studies in China Agricultural University for International Students can not be extended if the applicants fail to finish the studies due to personal reasons.

3. Scholarship students who have to suspend their studies because of serious illness should return to their home country for further treatment and rest. All the costs, including round-trip ticket for the treatment back to home country will be paid by the students themselves. Once the illness break is approved by CAU, their scholarship status will be reserved for one year at most; meanwhile, the monthly living allowance would be suspended during the period of illness break time. Scholarships of the students who suspend their studies for reasons other than illness will not be reserved.

Contact Information:

The Office of International Relations

China Agricultural University

Mail: P.O.Box 184, No.17, Qinghua Dong Lu,Haidian District,

Beijing, 100083, P.R.CHINA

Phone:+86 10 62736704

Fax: +86 10 6273 7704

E-mail: cauie@cau.edu.cn

China Agricultural University (pinyin: zhongguó nóngyè dàxué; or nóng dà for short) is a university in Beijing, China, specializing in agriculture, biology, engineering, veterinary medicine, economics, management, humanities, and social science. It was formed in 1995 by merger of the Beijing Agricultural University and the Beijing Agricultural Engineering University. At present there are more than 14,000 undergraduate and 3,000 graduate students studying in the university.

The university is the top institution in China for agricultural studies.

Interested persons also may want to review this brief introduction for international students at CAU.