Schwarzman Scholars

Schwarzman Scholars (Chinese: 苏世民学者; pinyin: Sūshìmín Xuézhě), founded by American financier and philanthropist Stephen A. Schwarzman, is a one-year fully-funded master's degree leadership program at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.^[3][4][5] The program selects 100 - 200 Scholars per year based on their leadership ability, academic achievement, and commitment to advancing mutual cultural understanding and global progress.^[6] Selected scholars pursue a one-year master's degree in Global Affairs at Tsinghua University, residing at Schwarzman College.^[7]

Schwarzman Scholars

苏世民学者
Type	Private
Established	2016; 7 years ago (2016)
Endowment	$575 million
Chairman	Stephen A. Schwarzman
Dean	Xue Lan
Director	Amy Stursberg
Executive Director	Lara Tiedens
Students	100–200
Location	Beijing , China
Campus	Urban
Language	English
Colors	Blue, Purple, Gold, and White^[1]^[2]
Affiliations	Tsinghua University
Website	www.schwarzmanscholars.org
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	苏世民学者
Traditional Chinese	蘇世民學者
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sūshìmín Xuézhě

The program launched in June 2016, upon the completion of Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University, located in Beijing, China^[8][9] and is housed in a college designed by Robert A.M. Stern, Dean of the Yale School of Architecture. It hosts up to 200 scholars annually from the United States, China, and other countries around the world. Schwarzman Scholars has an acceptance rate comparable to the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships, making it one of the most competitive scholarships in the world.^[10][11]

Modeled on the Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University and the classical Chinese academies known as Shūyuàn (Schwarzman College is called Sūshìmín Shūyuàn in Chinese, translated directly as Schwarzman Academy), Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University is a competitor to similar international scholarship programs like the Yenching Scholarship at Peking University.^[12] Since its founding, the program has maintained ties to the United Front Work Department as well as other organizations and personnel affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party.^[13][14][15]

History and motivation

Schwarzman Scholars was conceptualized by its founder, Stephen A. Schwarzman, in response to what he saw as growing tensions between the United States and China, largely due to China's economic growth.^[16] According to Schwarzman, in the fall of 2010, then-university president Gu Binglin asked if Schwarzman would want to help Tsinghua with a concept for a "Global Scholars" program. At the time, Schwarzman was on the advisory board of Tsinghua University's School of Economics and Management. A year later in 2011, a delegation from Tsinghua visited Schwarzman in New York where the concept was put on hold until the leadership at Tsinghua had changed (the term of the then-executive administration was ending) and the global financial crisis had receded.^[16]

In 2012, the newly appointed Tsinghua president Chen Jining met with Schwarzman in Paris. Schwarzman, who was interested in moving forward with the concept, put forth six special ideas that would "reduce friction" for the new program. First, the college would need its own physical facility. Second, the program would need to be immersive, including travel and field work across the country with professors. Third, the program would assign mentors to each of the scholars in their area of interest. Fourth, there had to be no cost to the scholars. Fifth, the program would only be one year instead of two or three years long. Sixth and last, the program would be taught in English. Schwarzman told Chen:

"If we do this, what I really want to do is construct a program that has the same prestige as the Rhodes, because those are the students that I’m aiming for."^[16]

With 200 scholars per year, he envisioned an alumni network of 10,000 scholars within a half century to include future heads of state and government.^[17] In spring of 2013, the program was announced at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of the National People's Congress in Beijing, China, and began its fundraising campaign.

Fundraising

In 2013, Stephen A. Schwarzman announced a $100 million personal gift and $200 million fundraising campaign to build and endow Schwarzman Scholars, an elite international scholarship program at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Over $575 million has been raised to date, from a coterie of global donors.

In spring 2014, Peking University, Tsinghua's chief rival, announced its own global scholarship program, the Yenching Scholars at Yenching Academy, further increasing competition for funding. In summer 2014, Tsinghua University announced it had reached its original fundraising goal and that it would increase it to US$350 million. In 2014, when the program first launched its admissions process, Tsinghua's Schwarzman had already raised US$333 million for its endowment fund. Shortly after a third target of US$400 million, to be reached by the following year, was announced. Commenting on the fundraising competition, Charles Conn, former warden of Rhodes House at Oxford University remarked:

"The Rhodes scholarships and Schwarzman Scholars programs have similar endowments and fund-raising goals. Which one is ahead in any given week depends mainly on the exchange rate of the pound, which has weakened lately against the dollar."^[18]

Meanwhile, it became clear that the Yenching Academy at Peking University would be funded through Chinese private donations and government grants, which set off competition to further grow the two programs' endowments. As a result of the increased competition among full-scholarship leadership programs, there was a marked growth in fundraising, with the endowments moving towards a half billion USD each.^{[19][8][20][21][22][23]}

Program design and allocation

Schwarzman Scholars study for a one-year master's degree (Master of Management Science; Chinese: 管理科学硕士^[24]) in Global Affairs^[25] (Chinese: 全球领导力^[26]) at Tsinghua University. The required core curriculum centers on three pillars: Leadership Global Affairs and China. The scholars live and study at the Schwarzman College, a purpose-built residential college inside Tsinghua University designed by Robert A.M. Stern, former Dean of the Yale School of Architecture.^[7] Scholars live in Beijing for a full year of study and cultural immersion, traveling the country, engaging with world leaders and developing a better understanding of China through first-hand experiences.

Approximately 40% of the participants come from the U.S., 20% from China and 40% from the rest of the world. Students apply directly to the program and are not required to obtain a nomination from their university. The Institute of International Education in the U.S., which administers the Fulbright Scholarships, was initially responsible for the international and American selection processes. This process is now managed by the program's Admissions team.^[27]

Prospective applicants with passports and permanent resident cards from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, are required to apply earlier than applicants from other countries using a different online application portal, regardless of where they may have attended university or reside.^[28]

Cohorts

The program is based on a cohort system, where admitted students live, dine and study together in a close environment, similar to the collegiate system in British Universities. In 2014, Schwarzman Scholars held four recruitment launch events in New York City (at the Morgan Library & Museum), Singapore (introduced by National University of Singapore President Tan Chor Chuan), London (at the Tower Bridge, introduced by Oxford University Vice-Chancellor Andrew D. Hamilton), and Palo Alto in the San Francisco Bay Area (at Stanford University).^{[29][30][31][32]}

The inaugural cohort of 111 scholars was announced on 10 January 2016, and selected from a group of roughly 3,050 applicants.^[33] With an acceptance rate comparable to the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships, the founding class included five graduates of Princeton,^[34] five students from Yale,^[35] and six alumni of Harvard.^[36] The eighth cohort of 151 candidates, selected from 36 countries and 121 universities around the world, was announced on December 7, 2022.

Leadership and governance

International Advisory board

• The Right Honorable Tony Blair, former prime minister of the United Kingdom (honorary)
• The Right Honorable Brian Mulroney, former prime minister of Canada (honorary)
• The Honorable Kevin Rudd, former prime minister of Australia (honorary)
• Henry Kissinger, 56th United States Secretary of State (honorary)
• Henry "Hank" Paulson, 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury (honorary)
• John L. Thornton, chairman of the Brookings Institution, professor and director of Global Leadership at Tsinghua University (honorary)
• Condoleezza Rice, 66th United States Secretary of State (honorary)
• Richard Haass, president, Council on Foreign Relations (honorary)
• Yo-Yo Ma, American cellist (honorary)
• Graham Allison, Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
• Norman Chan, former chief executive, Hong Kong Monetary Authority
• Chen Ning Yang, Albert Einstein Professor Emeritus at SUNY Stony Brook; Nobel Laureate in Physics, honorary director Institute of Advanced Study, Tsinghua University
• Tung Chee Hwa ("CH Tung"), former chief executive and president of the executive council of Hong Kong and current vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference^[37]

In Emeritus:

• Nicolas Sarkozy, former president of the French Republic (honorary)
• Robert "Bob" Rubin, 70th United States Secretary of the Treasury, co-chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations (honorary)
• Richard "Rick" Levin, former president of Yale University (honorary)
• Sir Colin Lucas, former Vice-Chancellor, University of Oxford, Former Warden Rhodes Trust
• Richard Brodhead, president emeritus, Duke University (honorary)
• Robert Dudley, Group Chief Executive, BP

In Memoriam:

• Colin Powell – In Memoriam, 65th United States Secretary of State (honorary)
• Sir James "Jim" Wolfensohn – In Memoriam, 9th president of the World Bank Group (honorary)

Academic advisory council

Schwarzman Scholars has an advisory board whose members include former leaders in government and affiliates of institutions such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Duke and Oxford.

• Michael Cappello, Professor of Pediatrics, Epidemiology, and Microbial Pathogenesis; Yale Program in International Child Health; Director, Yale World Fellows Program, Yale University
• Jane Edwards, Associate Dean of Yale College, Dean of International and Professional Experience, Yale University
• William C. Kirby, Spangler Family Professor of Business Administration; T.M. Chang Professor of China Studies, Harvard
• Qian Yingyi, Distinguished Professor of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Tsinghua University; Former Dean, School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University
• Yinuo Li, Senior Advisor, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation China Program

See also

• Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University
• Gates Cambridge Scholarship and Churchill Scholarship at Cambridge University
• Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford University
• Yenching Scholarship at Peking University
• Harry S. Truman Scholarship
• Marshall Scholarship

References

1. 清华大学章程 [Tsinghua University Regulations] (in Chinese). from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
2. 清华大学百年校庆组织委员会办公室 (2010). 校标、校徽、校色. 清华大学百年校庆网 (in Chinese). Tsinghua University. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
3. "Program". Schwarzman Scholars. from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
4. "Steve Schwarzman Explains Why He Counsels Trump". www.bloomberg.com. 8 February 2017. from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
5. "Asia University Rankings". Times Higher Education (THE). 28 May 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
6. "Admissions". Schwarzman Scholars. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
7. Bradsher, Keith (20 April 2013). "$300 Million Scholarship for Study in China Signals a New Focus". The New York Times. from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
8. . Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
9. "College". Schwarzman Scholars. from the original on 30 November 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
10. "Beating the Odds to Become SMU's First Schwarzman Scholar". SMU Newsroom. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
11. "Dartmouth students named Marshall, Schwarzman scholars". The Dartmouth. from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
12. . 5 May 2014. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
13. Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany (11 January 2020). "The Moral Hazard of Dealing With China". The Atlantic. from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
14. "Beijing welcomes scholars funded by U.S. tycoon". Associated Press. 10 September 2016. from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
15. Chen, George (7 May 2013). "Schwarzman Scholars plan raises doubts over Beijing interference". South China Morning Post. from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
16. Osnos, Evan (26 April 2013). "Rhodes East: Why Is the Schwarzman Scholarship in China?". The New Yorker. from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
17. "Rhodes East: Why Is the Schwarzman Scholarship in China?". The New Yorker. 26 April 2013. from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
18. Bradsher, Keith (15 April 2015). "During G.E. Deal, Blackstone's Schwarzman Focused on a Scholarship Fund". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
19. . Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
20. . Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
21. "Schwarzman Scholars". from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
22. "During G.E. Deal, Blackstone's Schwarzman Focused on a Scholarship Fund". from the original on 19 July 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
23. "Academic competition results" (PDF). www.ioe.tsinghua.edu.cn. (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
24. "人民日报 | 清华有个苏世民书院". from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
25. "FAQ". from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
26. "清华大学苏世民书院如何培养未来世界领导者？". from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
27. "Schwarzman Scholars". from the original on 31 January 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
28. "Schwarzman Scholars". Schwarzman Scholars. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
29. "Schwarzman Scholars". from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
30. "Schwarzman Scholars". from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
31. "Schwarzman Scholars". from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
32. "Schwarzman Scholars » Blackstone CEO stumps at Stanford for his scholarship program". Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
33. "Schwarzman Scholars Announces Inaugural Class to Study in China". from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
34. "2 undergraduates, 3 alumni selected as Schwarzman Scholars". from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
35. "Five Yale students named Schwarzman Scholars". 16 January 2016. from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
36. "6 named Schwarzman fellows". 12 January 2016. from the original on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
37. "Schwarzman Scholars". from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.

External links

• Official website