Fudan U. Goes after overseas graduates

SHANGHAI'S Fudan University will enroll more overseas graduate students and fewer undergrads this year as it attempts to strengthen it's post-graduate programs.

The university has admitted 623 overseas undergraduate students, a drop of 21 percent from last year, and 230 graduate students, a 40-percent increase, Fudan officials said yesterday.

"Compared with other world-class universities, Fudan has fewer postgraduates," said Wu Huizhen, director of the school's Foreign Students Office. "Though we have large quantities of undergraduates, the educational quality of those students still needs to be improved."

To attract better-quality undergraduate students, Fudan launched its first promotional tour to key overseas high schools in April.

It held meetings with targeted students at the best high schools in Singapore, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Japan.

Fudan is attempting to attract the top overseas undergraduates by providing them with scholarships and exempting them from entrance examinations. And for students who aren't targeted by enrollment officers, it has toughened entrance tests.