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Queen’s will welcome this fall the first group of students from South China Normal University (SCNU) participating in a dual-degree program offered by Queen’s Faculty of Education and SCNU’s School of Foreign Studies.

The dual degree is a three-year program that gives SCNU and Queen’s Master of Education students the chance to study at both institutions, gaining valuable international experience and diverse teaching and learning opportunities.

“We are excited to be embarking on this partnership with SCNU, one of the most highly ranked teacher education programs in China. The dual-degree program builds on the strengths from each existing graduate program,” says Rebecca Luce-Kapler, Dean, Faculty of Education. “Bringing international students to our campus and sending our students abroad supports the goals of our international strategic plan to enhance our international mobility through the development of new international academic programs and diversifying our student mobility programming. This partnership also opens up the possibility for research collaborations.”

Students spend their first year focusing on course work at their home institution, second year doing course work at the partner institution, and third year, which includes thesis and internship completion, at the institution of their choice, either SCNU or Queen’s. The first group of Queen’s M.Ed. students enrolled in the dual degree will begin their second year at SCNU in September 2018.

South China Normal University, located in Guangzhou, China, was founded in 1933 and is now one of the three top teacher education universities in China. A university with comprehensive programming in fields such as economics, business management, law, literature, philosophy, history, science and engineering, SCNU is particularly strong in education, pedagogy, and psychology, making it an excellent partner for the dual-degree program.

The Queen’s-SCNU dual degree program was initiated in 2016. Dr. Luce-Kapler, along with Brenda Brouwer, Vice-Provost and Dean, School of Graduate Studies, visited SCNU last fall, and a delegation from SCNU visited Queen’s to discuss the partnership further in both December 2016 and May 2017.

Queen’s Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Benoit-Antoine Bacon will visit SCNU next week during travels to Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Qingdao. The provost will also travel to Hong Kong this weekend, along with Principal Daniel Woolf and other senior leaders, for a 175th anniversary celebration and re-convocation ceremony for alumni in the Asia-Pacific region.

Internationalization is one of the four pillars of the Queen’s University Strategic Framework 2014–2019. The  was launched in August 2015 to help the university build on its international strengths and direct future internationalization efforts. The plan’s goals include strengthening Queen’s international research engagement and creating more opportunities for student mobility through academic exchange and study-abroad programs. The plan also aims to attract high-quality international students to Queen’s and to increase international educational opportunities on Queen’s campus. Learn more on the .