New agreement to bring Taiwanese pre-veterinary students to Kansas State University
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Tammy Beckham, center left, dean of Kansas State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, shakes hands with Fuh-Sheng Shieu, president of National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan after signing an agreement for a cooperative degree program with the College of Veterinary Medicine. They are joined by Jane Lu, left, dean of the Office International Affairs, and Chi-Chung Chous, right, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, both at National Chung Hsing University. | Download this photo.
MANHATTAN — The U.S.-China Center for Animal Health in the College of Veterinary Medicine has signed an agreement with National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan for a pre-veterinary studies program that will bring Taiwanese students to Kansas State University.
The agreement was signed recently in conjunction with the 8th Joint Symposium of Veterinary Research among Universities of Veterinary Medicine in East Asia and Pacific, which was at the National Chung Hsing campus in Taichung.
Tammy Beckham, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, was invited as the keynote speaker for the symposium.
"This was a tremendous honor to speak at the symposium," Beckham said. "Students, young scholars and faculty from approximately 20 different universities and 10 different Asian countries attended. We are extremely grateful for the relationships we have built with our partners in China, and now in Taiwan. We look forward to being able to bring new students to Kansas State University, enriching our academic environment and helping to build animal health leaders for a new global community."
The pre-veterinary studies program with Taiwan is modeled after the U.S.-China Joint Doctor of Veterinary Medicine that is already underway at Kansas State University. The main difference is that selected Taiwanese students will attend Kansas State University for two years of pre-veterinary studies, instead of the one year for Chinese students, after which the students may apply for admission into the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree program at the university.
During the meeting in Taiwan, representatives in the Joint Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program interviewed and selected four prospective students. The selected students, who will start attending Kansas State University this fall, must maintain a 3.4 grade point average to remain in the program.
"We are very excited for this opportunity to expand our educational program to include students from Taiwan," said Peggy Schmidt, associate dean for academic programs and student affairs for the College of Veterinary Medicine. "Veterinary medicine is rapidly becoming a global community. These students will enhance our learning environment by connecting individuals from different cultures and countries around the common goal of learning how to improve the health and welfare of animals."
Each student interview lasts about 45 minutes, giving each member of the interview team a chance to ask questions designed to help identify the students who will have the best chance of succeeding in one of the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree programs at Kansas State University. The interview team was led by Beckham and Jishu Shi, director of the U.S.-China Center for Animal Health, who were joined by Schmidt and Lei Wang, manager of education programs for the U.S.-China center.
