Duke Kunshan University ushers in new semester

Duke Kunshan University, located in the county-level city of Kunshan in Suzhou, welcomed recently its new semester and the largest cohort of first-year students from 38 countries.

The campus hailed approximately 500 students from 38 countries including China, the United States, Germany, New Zealand, Morocco, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Mongolia, and a number of other countries across five continents. For the first time, students from the Czech Republic, Israel, Latvia, and Trinidad and Tobago have joined the DKU student body.

Sunny, a freshman of Duke Kunshan University, said that he is looking forward to learning more Chinese and making new friends.

Chancellor Yaolin Liu encouraged students to adopt a lifelong learning mindset at the convocation. Executive Vice Chancellor John Quelch delivered a speech to welcome the new semester and the students.

Quelch also shared information about DKU and the graduate students.

DKU was established in 2013 as a joint venture between Duke University, Wuhan University, and the City of Kunshan. In May 2024, DKU graduated its third undergraduate class. More than 80% of DKU's undergraduate students went on to graduate school, many at world-renowned universities, supported by prestigious scholarships such as the Rhodes at Oxford University, the Schwarzman at Tsinghua University, the National Science Foundation, and the European Union's Erasmus Mundus program.