History
Since American Secretary of State John Hay suggested that the US $30 million plus Boxer indemnity paid to the United States was excessive, in 1909, President Roosevelt then obtained congressional approval to reduce the Qing Dynasty indemnity payment by US$10.8 million, on the condition that the said fund was to be used as scholarship for Chinese students to study in the United States. Using this fund, the Tsinghua College Chinese (Qnghu Xutng) was established in Beijing, China, on 29 April 1911 on the site of a former royal garden belonging to a prince. It was first a preparatory school for students later sent by the government to study in the United States. The faculty members for sciences were recruited by the YMCA from the United States and its graduates transferred directly to American schools as juniors upon graduation. In 1925, the school established its College Department and started its research institute on Chinese Study. In 1928, the authority officially changed its name to National Tsing Hua University (NTHU).
Present
Most national and international university rankings place Tsinghua amongst the best universities in mainland China. Admission to Tsinghua is extremely competitive. Every year, many applicants scoring the highest in the National College Entrance Exams choose Tsinghua. According to a report in 2008, 215 out of 300 students who scored the top 10 in the 30 tested provinces and regions chose Tsinghua and 21 out of the 30 top scorers in each province and region chose the university. A majority of selected students are among the brightest high school graduates in the country. Admissions to its graduate schools are also daunting by any measure; for instance, only about 16% of MBA applicants are admitted each year. A recent study shows that Tsinghua University is the undergraduate alma mater that produces the most PhDs in U.S. universities.
Tsinghua has a reputation for hosting some of the most distinguished guest speakers of any university in the world, with international leaders such as Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Henry Kissinger, Carlos Ghosn, and Henry Paulson, all recently giving lectures to the university community.
The university is a member of LAOTSE, an international network of leading universities in Europe and Asia. Each year, the University celebrates the Intellectual Property Summer Institute in cooperation with Franklin Pierce Law Center of Concord, New Hampshire.
