America's Cornell University has become the first Ivy League university to offer an MBA degree in China.
Under the dual degree program launched in partnership with Tsinghua University on Tuesday, the inaugural class of 63 students will get degrees from both universities once they finish their two-year part-time study.
"We would like Cornell to be part of China's development story and China to be part of our global development story," said Soumitra Dutta, dean of Cornell's graduate school of management.
China is the only foreign country where Cornell gives MBA degrees, and this precedent is a sign of Cornell recognizing China's growing importance in business, according to Dutta.
Wu Xiaoling, dean of Tsinghua's school of finance, said that the goal of the program is to cultivate financial leaders with global vision who can have an impact on the Chinese economy.
The average age of the 63 students, who had to pass separate admission tests by both universities, is 30. They come from a variety of backgrounds including finance, law, journalism and business. Roughly one third have an entrepreneurial background, according to Tian Xuan, assistant dean of Tsinghua's school of finance.
