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Chinese University of Hong Kong Review

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  internationally and look for top universities with strong academic faculties, resources, and programs. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, ranked 119th in the world according to US News & Report, is the a university of high caliber in the surrounding territory. With a total staff of 1,761, CUHK hosts almost 900 international staff. Founded in 1963, CUHK has "played a significant role in the cross-fertilisation of Chinese and Western academic and cultural traditions," reads their website.

CUHK Ranks High For Research, Low For Publication

With a diverse staff, CUHK is also #13 in the world for international collaboration and hosts nearly 20,000 students. Despite its claims that it is an international hub for melding western and Chinese cultures, only 4,000 of those students are from another country. CUHK does have a strong research reputation, being counted as #13 in the world on a regional basis. It also ranks as #91 for research on a global scale. Where CUHK could use improvement is increasing their rank from #359 for research being cited in publications. Furthermore, they rank #740 for staff that holds PhD.'s, making it easy to understand the unwillingness of publications to cite their body of work.

International Students Are Welcome

In particular, international students will want to browse the Exchange and Summer programs on their website. Students interested in these programs will learn that exchange programs, started with the University of California, have been established with over 20 institutions worldwide. Over 1000 students study abroad with CUHK each term from approximately 36 countries. While this may seem like a lot of students, considering the overall attendance is 20,000, CUHK could use a greater focus on attracting more Western students.

Variety Of Curriculum Choices

CUHK offers both a 3-year and 4-year curriculum option for undergraduates. They have over 100 majors between the two, and almost 150 minors to choose from. They have degrees in the Arts, Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Law, Medicine, Science, Social Science, and Chinese Studies. The university also breaks down its post-graduate programs into research and taught tracks, totaling over 200 majors and diplomas for the ambitious student. The amount of majors to choose from would rank as average among Western schools of the same size.

Students Set Up To Succeed

Information on the student to faculty ratio could not be found, leaving an impression of below average attention to the subject. Students should be given more individualized attention than most post-secondary schools of this size to truly set CUHK apart from the remainder of society as a whole. However, students are encouraged through a staff of academic advisors and volunteer student ambassadors to participate in extracurricular activities. By doing so, the success rate of students increases by allowing for outlets to release stress and tension. CUHK offers very little information on the types of activities supported, and does not stress the competitiveness of their sports as do Western institutions.

Popular Programs Draw Diverse Body

The most popular courses of study have been known to draw very diverse groups of people, giving students a real international learning and growing experience. Some of these programs include Information Technology and Medical/Health Sciences. In particular, CUHK has a very strong local academic reputation in the field of Information Technology, especially considering it is considered the hub for Internet in the New Territories. It is unclear how CUHK, however, ranks for its IT programs in comparison to other powerhouses such as Korea, the U.S. and Russia.