Wenzhou-Kean University (WKU) is a province-state friendship project between the Zhejiang Province and New Jersey in the United States. It is a Chinese-American jointly established higher education institution with independent legal person status and limited liabilities. On November 16th, 2011, the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China (MOE) approved the application of preparation on establishing Wenzhou-Kean University which was cooperatively run by Wenzhou University and Kean University USA. On March 31st, 2014, the MOE announced the approval of the establishment of Wenzhou-Kean University. The University adopts such a governance structure as the Chancellor shall act as the executive officer, and serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors composed of members from both the Chinese and American parties is the highest authority of Wenzhou-Kean University.

During the preparation stage, the University received friendly concerns from the Chinese Central leaderships and enormous attention from Party committees and People’s governments at different levels. On May 8th, 2006, Mr. Xi Jinping Secretary of CPC Zhejiang Province (at that time) visited Kean University in New Jersey and delivered a keynote speech in the Signing Ceremony of cooperation in establishing Wenzhou-Kean University. The MOE regards the establishment of the University as one of the critical projects that enlarges the scope of Education Open-up while enhancing education reform in return. In July 2014, WKU was listed on the fifth round of the deliverables of China-U.S. High-level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange as the only education project in Zhejiang province. On September 23rd 2015, President Xi Jinping mentioned Wenzhou-Kean University at the third China-U.S. Governors Forum, describing the University as “making good progress”. In June 2018, the Chinese Ministry of Education and Zhejiang Province listed WKU as one of the exemplary Sino-foreign cooperative universities, supporting it to become “an internationalized and world-class university”.

Striving for excellence in building an international university with world-class education, WKU has been dedicated to the principle of “providing students with different ways of development”. In November 2013, the University was accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. In March 2018, the Bachelor Degree Conferral Evaluation Panel of the Department of Education of Zhejiang Province concluded that WKU has the qualifications to confer bachelor degrees. In 2019，WKU was approved to offer 11 graduate-level programs. Being well-knit with Chinese actual conditions and needs in developing regional economy and culture, the University sets up its pedagogical goal that aims to merge Chinese and American teaching methodologies in practice and builds itself into a world-class university featuring world-class campus and facilities, professional faculty communities, academic research and maintenance services. Aiming to build itself into a high-level education institution as a fine example of Sino-foreign education partnership, the University strives to cultivate students with global vision and patriotic sentiment, pressing ahead China’s higher education reform and better serving regional economic, social and cultural development. The WKU TOEFL center was unveiled in September 2019, and Wenzhou has become the third city in Zhejiang Province that has a TOEFL test site. In January 2020, WKU was approved as a GRE test center, making it the only test center in southern Zhejiang area. The construction of the campus was listed as one of the major projects for the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta. WKU’s many international indexes rank top in Zhejiang Province.

The University introduces advanced educational resources from prestigious universities in the U.S. and uses original American textbooks. 100% of the curriculum are provided by Kean University and all the courses are taught in English. 100% of the faculty are recruited globally. The University offers small size classes and adopts an inquiry-based learning approach. China’s national conditions and culture education are embedded in teaching practices. The University aims to cultivate students with global vision, know-how of international rules and conventions, and innovative creative and initiative competences. “Start here, go anywhere”. The University helps students realize their dreams and prepare them to be successful in the global arena.

WKU adheres to the principle of “student-centered” and strives to provide high-quality undergraduate education while gradually expanding its graduate programs. The University comprises five colleges–College of Business and Public Management, College of Architecture and Design, College of Liberal Arts, College of Science and Technology and College of Education. The University now offers 18 undergraduate programs with six disciplines, namely, economics, science, engineering, literature, management and art. WKU has established a diverse and mixed discipline in the field of science, engineering, literature and arts with economics and management as its pillar. The University boasts one provincial first-class discipline (Applied Economics). Global Business, Computer Science, Finance, Marketing, Graphic Design, English, Biology, Accounting, Architectural Studies, and Mathematics and Applied Mathematics are included in the provincial first-class undergraduate programs list. Global Business, Computer Science, and Graphic Design are listed as Zhejiang Provincial Higher Education Distinctive Program. Mathematics and Applied Mathematics are included in the city-level characteristic program. The College of Business and Public Management(CBPM), in collaboration with CBPM at Kean USA, earned accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB); an accreditation held by only 5% of business schools globally. The Accounting program maintains its recognition from the Certified Practising Accountants Australia (CPA Australia), the Visual Communication Design program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) in the United States, and the Architecture program has gained initial candidacy status with the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) in the United States. The Psychology program is recognized by the Psi Chi International Honor Society. Students will receive dual degrees from Wenzhou-Kean University and Kean University in addition to a graduation certificate from Wenzhou-Kean University. WKU now offers eight graduate programs, including Global Management(M.B.A), Instruction and Curriculum(M.A), Computer Information Systems(M.S.), Biotechnology Science (M.S.), Architecture (M.Arch), Psychology (M.A), Educational Administration (M.A.), Educational Leadership (Ed.D.). The University will roll out more graduate programs gradually, including Accounting (M.S.), Counseling and Supervision (Ph.D.), and Combined School and Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.). Students will receive a degree from Kean University after graduation. WKU currently has about 500 faculty and staff, with around 220 faculty members. The faculty members come from 40 countries and regions around the world. More than 90% of the faculty members are foreign nationals, with the majority holding international teaching backgrounds and doctoral degrees. Faculty members has collectively published over 800 research papers, with over 300 of them being published in international academic journals included in SCI and SSCI databases, either as first authors or corresponding authors. According to Scopus statistics, WKU witnessed a significant increase in academic impact in 2022, with a Field-Weighted Citation Impact of 2.28, positioning it at the forefront among Chinese universities. The proportion of highly cited papers in the top 10% (Outputs in Top Citation Percentiles) is 17.9%, exceeding the Chinese average of 11.4%. The ratio of papers published in the top 10% of the world’s most cited academic journals (Publications in Top Journal Percentiles) is 19.1%, surpassing the Chinese average of 18.5%. This outstanding international faculty team provides strong support for the University’s commitment to international education.

In 2023, the University recruited about 1100 students. Now it has a student population of about 4500. WKU and KU have exchanged 1500 students over the past few years. Now, WKU has graduated eight cohorts–around 3300 students have graduated from the University. 60% of them choose to further their studies in the most prestigious universities in the world. Among these, roughly 62% have been admitted to world-class institutions such as Harvard University, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, University College London in the UK, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Melbourne in Australia, the University of Hong Kong, and the University of Toronto in Canada, all of which are ranked within the top 100 by QS World University Rankings.43% have gained admission to universities ranked within the top 50 globally. Some students opt to pursue postgraduate studies in domestic institutions, with successful admissions to prestigious universities in China, including Peking University, Fudan University, Tongji University, and Southwest University of Political Science and Law. For the graduating class of 2023, the graduate school placement stands at 75%, with nearly 60% securing positions in the world’s top 50 universities. According to the data released by Shanghai Ranking Consultancy, the Class of 2019 ranks the 13th by the rate of graduate school placement rate. Many outstanding students participated in various global platforms, including APEC meetings, World Youth Leadership Camp, and Youth Leadership Conference. Students also won awards in many high-level competitions both in China and abroad, such as Imagine Cup Global Competition, Mathematical Contest in Modeling, etc. WKU students also published papers in leading magazines, including Frontiers in Microbiology and Bioinformatics. They have published 160 papers in international journals indexed by SCI, SSCI and have attended international academic conferences approximately 370 times.

Covering an area of 494 acres in land planning, the campus of Wenzhou-Kean University is located in a beautiful township called Li’ao in Wenzhou. The style of Chinese layout and elements of American university are embodied in the campus buildings and facilities. The University strives for building a humanistic, ecological, intellectual, and outreach campus with merged Chinese and American cultures. Currently, the first phase of the campus has been completed, including both existing and under-construction buildings, covering approximately 300,000 square meters, meeting the basic educational and teaching needs. The planning for the second phase, spanning around 329 acres, has been largely finalized. Efforts are underway to advance the construction of student dormitories(section 3) and faculty housing(phase 2), making way for the emergence of an international, modern, and open university campus. Over the course of twelve years, starting from the integration of Chinese and American education, WKU has integrated the natural beauty of Wenzhou’s mountains and waters with American culture. The campus architecture has been recognized as one of Wenzhou City’s “Top Ten Landmark Buildings” and included in the “Centenary Celebration Showcase.” It has also been highlighted as a typical “Sponge City Project.”

According to the strategic planning, WKU will develop about 7000 on-campus students and 400 faculty by the year 2025. 30 undergraduate and graduate programs will be offered to students, and the campus will reach 380,000 square meters. WKU will be a high-level international  university that is “contributing in Wenzhou, renowned in Zhejiang, influential in China and distinctive in the world”.

Last modified time: Oct.31 2023