Focus on Stanford in China
Stanford University, whose formal name is Leland Stanford Junior University, is one of the world’s best universities. It was set up in year 1891 by Leland Stanford in memory of his son who died early, and is located in Stanford, near San Francisco. With an area of 35 kilometers, it is the second largest university in America. The decision of Leland Stanford brought California countless fortune, although California was remote and undeveloped and called a farm at that time. Nowadays, students still need bicycles to go to classes. Now, the campus of Stanford, together with those of Princeton and Cornell, are the most beautiful campuses in America.
In the ranks in year 2002, Stanford was listed the 5th star university in America, and ranked the first in scholastic aspect. Its School of Engineering and School of Education were the second best in America. Also, its Law School was in the top of America. There was a time when 6 of the 9 justices America’s Federal Supreme Court were Stanford graduates. Its famous majors include: computer science, math, physics, English, psychology, biochemistry and drama. According to a market research report, the average annual income of Stanford graduates is the highest among all universities. In 1998, Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of Bill Cliton, chose Stanford, which again proved the university’s quality.
Compared with schools in the Ivy League like Harvard, Yale, Stanford has a shorter history, but does not lag behind. For example, according to Forbes, Stanford has 28 billionaire students, following only Harvard.
According to 1995 statistics, among the over 1,300 professors of Stanford then, there were 10 Nobel Prize winners, 5 Pulitzer Prize winners, 142 academicians from American Academy of Arts and Science, 84 academicians from National academy of Sciences, and 14 State supreme science and technology award winners. Also, 67 students won Rhodes Scholarships, the one which Bill Clinton once won.
Stanford has a branch school in Beijing(北京), China. It is the result of the friendship between Stanford and Peking University. It opened in September, 2004, and is the 8th overseas branch school of Stanford. The Stanford Program in Beijing takes the quarter system in Stanford, and has two sessions every years, with 10 weeks a session.
Stanford has many famous alumina. Herbert Clark Hoove, 31st president of America, graduated from Stanford in year 1891. Yukio Hatoyama, the former prime minister of Japan, was a Ph.D. of Engineering in Stanford. Victor LEE(李泽钜), who obtained his double master’s degree from Stanford, has now become China’s wealthiest man. Richard LEE(李泽楷), the brother of Victor, also graduated from Stanford.
The competition for overseas students to be enrolled in Stanford is fierce. In year 1997, there were 1,700 overseas applicants to Stanford, but only 123 got accepted.
Top universities in China like Tsinghua University(清华大学) and Peking University(北京大学) all have exchange programs with Stanford, but the standard is high, and only a few students have the chance. Also, there are some NGOs that hold exchange programs for EMBAs in Chinas top universities.
Edited by Amy Wang from Daxue Consultant China
Credit Photo: Baidu
