Faculty leaders at Duke University have approved the first degree to be offered on its new campus in China, reports The Chronicle, Duke’s student newspaper. Pending a vote by the university’s Board of Trustees this weekend, Duke’s Fuqua School of Business will offer a master-of-management-studies course that will be split between Kunshan, China, and the home campus in Durham, N.C., with enrollment expected to start next year. Fuqua opted to split the course between the two campuses after research showed that Chinese students were wary of a Duke degree offered solely in China that cost roughly the same as Duke charges at home, $41,140.
Fuqua plans to review the program after a three-year test period to gauge the student market in Asia. A number of Duke faculty members have raised concerns about the China campus, asking questions about its financial viability, whether academic freedom would be respected, and how it would fit into the university’s global strategy. The Academic Council approved the degree, 44 to 8, with four abstentions.
