The Influx Of Chinese Students At Harvard University

Harvard University has a long history of intellectual engagement with China. In 1880, Ding Chongji became the first Chinese student to enrol at Harvard. The number of Chinese students has grown since, with approximately 1,378 Chinese students attending Harvard in 2018, making China the largest contributor to the growth of international students at the university. In 2022, Chinese students made up 36% of the international students at seven leading US universities, including Harvard.

Popularity of Harvard with Chinese students

Harvard University is a popular destination for Chinese international students. In 2018, there were 1,378 Chinese students at Harvard, accounting for 4.5% of the entire student body and 19.8% of the international student body. This number has been increasing over the years, with an average growth rate of 7.6%.

Harvard has a long history of intellectual engagement with China. In 1879, Ge Kunhua, a scholar from Ningbo, became the first Chinese language instructor at Harvard. In 1880, Ding Chongji, also from the Ningbo area, became the first Chinese student to enrol at Harvard. By 1908, Chinese students at Harvard had formed a Chinese Students Club, and between 1909 and 1929, about 250 Chinese students earned Harvard degrees.

Harvard's commitment to the study of China and engagement with Chinese scholars has steadily grown over the years. The university has several institutions dedicated to Chinese studies, including the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, the Harvard-Yenching Institute, and the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. The university also has the largest collection of East Asian materials outside of Asia, housed in the Harvard-Yenching Library.

Harvard is ranked 65th out of 1,079 colleges and universities in the U.S. for popularity with students from China. The university's commitment to Chinese studies, its academic reputation, and its rich history of intellectual exchange with China are likely factors contributing to its popularity among Chinese students.

Number of Chinese students at Harvard

Harvard University has a long history of intellectual engagement with China. In 1880, Ding Chongji became the first Chinese student to enrol at Harvard. By 1908, Chinese students at Harvard had formed a Chinese Students Club, and between 1909 and 1929, about 250 Chinese students earned Harvard degrees.

In more recent years, Harvard has remained a popular destination for Chinese international students. In 2018, there were 1,378 Chinese students at Harvard, accounting for 4.5% of the entire student body and 19.8% of the international student body. This number has been increasing, with an average growth rate of 7.6% over the last several years.

In 2022, seven leading US universities, including Harvard, hosted over 12,600 Chinese international students, a 33% increase from 2018 levels. Chinese students made up 36% of the international students at these seven schools.

Harvard University is committed to the study of China and has several institutions dedicated to Chinese studies, including the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, the Harvard-Yenching Institute and Library, and the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. The University has the greatest concentration of specialists in Chinese studies in the United States.

Increase in Chinese students at Harvard

Harvard University has a long history of intellectual engagement with China. In 1879, a Chinese instructor joined Harvard, and in 1880, the first Chinese student, Ding Chongji, enrolled. Since then, the number of Chinese students at Harvard has grown, and by 1908, they had formed a Chinese Students Club.

Fast forward to 2020, and Harvard was home to approximately 1,378 Chinese students out of a total of 6,963 international students. This made China the largest contributor to the growth in the international student population at Harvard, which increased at an average rate of 5.3% over several years.

The popularity of Harvard among Chinese students is further evidenced by a Nikkei study, which showed that the number of Chinese international students at Harvard and other top U.S. universities climbed by a third between 2018 and 2022, despite ongoing tensions between China and the U.S.

Harvard's commitment to the study of China and its rich history of intellectual exchange with Chinese scholars and students is undoubtedly a contributing factor to the increase in Chinese students choosing to pursue their education at the university.

History of China at Harvard

Harvard University has a long history of intellectual engagement with China. In 1879, a scholar from Ningbo named Ge Kunhua became the first instructor in Mandarin Chinese at Harvard College. The books he brought over from China were the university's first in an Asian language, and they formed the core of the collection at the Harvard-Yenching Library, which is now the largest academic library for East Asian research outside of Asia.

In 1880, Ding Chongji, also from the Ningbo area, became the first Chinese student to enrol at Harvard. By 1908, the number of Chinese students had grown, and they formed a Chinese Students Club. Between 1909 and 1929, about 250 Chinese students earned Harvard degrees. Nearly half became professors, and more than a dozen became university presidents in China. Graduates also pursued careers as writers, mathematicians, climatologists, and leaders in medicine, banking, and diplomacy.

Harvard's commitment to the study of China and to learning from Chinese scholars has continued to grow over the decades. The Harvard-Yenching Institute, founded in 1928, supported the development of what is now the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. The Institute offers doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships for study and research at East Asian and Southeast Asian universities.

Harvard's Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, founded in 1955, is named after John K. Fairbank, Harvard's professor of modern Chinese history. Fairbank raised the quality of Western studies of East Asia and, through his students, effected the widespread integration of Chinese studies into the American university curriculum. Today, the Fairbank Center is considered the premier centre for the study of China in the United States.

Harvard now promotes a deeper understanding of China through many institutions, including the Harvard-Yenching Institute and Library, the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, the Asia Centre, the Harvard China Fund, and the Harvard Center in Shanghai. The university has the greatest concentration of specialists in Chinese studies in the United States.

Harvard's commitment to the study of China

Harvard University has a long history of intellectual engagement with China. In 1879, a scholar from Ningbo named Ge Kunhua became Harvard College's first instructor in Mandarin Chinese. The books he brought from China were the university's first in an Asian language, and they formed the core of what is today the million-volume collection of the Harvard-Yenching Library. The Harvard-Yenching Library is the largest academic library for East Asian research outside of Asia.

In 1880, Ding Chongji, also from the Ningbo area, became the first Chinese student to enroll at Harvard. The number of Chinese students grew, and by 1908, they had formed a Chinese Students Club. Between 1909 and 1929, about 250 Chinese students earned Harvard degrees. Nearly half became professors, and more than a dozen became university presidents in China.

Over the next several decades, Harvard's commitment to the study of China, and to learning both from and with Chinese scholars, steadily grew. The Harvard-Yenching Institute, founded in 1928, supported the development of what is today Harvard's Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. The Institute offers doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships for study and research at East Asian and Southeast Asian universities.

Harvard's Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, founded in 1955, is named after John K. Fairbank, Harvard's professor of modern Chinese history, who not only raised the quality of Western studies of East Asia but also, through the diaspora of his students, effected the widespread integration of Chinese studies into the American university curriculum. Today, many consider the Fairbank Center to be the premier center for the study of China in the United States.

Harvard now promotes a deeper understanding of China through many institutions, including the Harvard-Yenching Institute and Library; the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations; the Asia Center; the Harvard China Fund; and the Harvard Center in Shanghai.

The Harvard-China Project on Energy, Economy, and Environment, founded in 1993, is another example of Harvard's commitment to the study of China. The project conducts rigorous, peer-reviewed studies with partner institutions in China on global challenges such as climate change, air quality, energy systems, and economic development. It provides scientific evidence for the design of innovative and effective policies to confront these challenges in China and other countries.

Harvard's long history of intellectual exchange with China continues today, with Chinese students, faculty, and researchers enriching the university's intellectual community, and Harvard's students and scholars pursuing a deeper understanding of China.

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