Sias University (Sias, ), transliterated Zhengzhou Sias College, and formerly known as Sias International University (), is a privately owned, for-profit

post-secondary Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

school in

Central China Central China () is a List of regions of China, region in China. It mainly includes the provinces of China, provinces of Henan, Hubei and Hunan. Jiangxi is sometimes also regarded to be part of this region. Central China is now officially par ...

. Formerly affiliated with

Zhengzhou University Zhengzhou University (ZZU; ) is a provincial public university in Zhengzhou, Henan, China. It is affiliated with the Province of Henan. The university is part of Project 211 and the Double First-Class Construction. Zhengzhou University is rank ...

, it is now entirely operated by Sias group, a Chinese-based corporation who claims to have incorporated in Los Angeles. It is authorized by the State Council of China to grant both Chinese and American bachelor's degrees, with the latter bearing the name of

Fort Hays State University Fort Hays State University (FHSU) is a public university in Hays, Kansas, United States. It is the largest university in western Kansas, and the fourth largest of the six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents, with a total ...

and several other foreign institutions. It is fully accredited by the

Chinese Ministry of Education The Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China is a constituent department of the State Council, responsible for basic education, vocational education, higher education, and other educational affairs throughout the country. Th ...

. Sias is located in

Xinzheng Xinzheng () is a county-level city of Henan Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou, the provincial capital. The city has a population of 600,000 people and covers an area of , of which is urban. ...

, near Henan's capital,

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan, China. Located in northern Henan, it is one of the nine National central city, national central cities in China, and serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational center of the province. Th ...

.Sias International University About Page
/ref>

History

Sias was founded in 1998 by Chinese-American businessman and venture capitalist Shawn Chen who had the aim of bringing an American liberal arts styled education to China. Sias' enrolment has since grown from 300 to over 30,000.

About

Combining Chinese and Western educational philosophies, the participation of foreign faculty members and the use of English-language teaching materials also enhance bilingual communication skills and encourage all Sias students to explore global strategies to solve problems and develop innovative thinking. The rate of foreign faculty to students ranks first in China. It offers 35 undergraduate degree programs, 14 associate degree programs, and 6 dual degree programs with Fort Hays State University from

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, USA. It also has 5 graduate programs. The fields of study offering degrees include

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

, and the

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

American/Chinese fusion

Sias University has an east–west focus, as seen in its architecture, funding, and ownership. The Sias campus was designed by Peter Weiss, an associate professor at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

and his partner Charles Martin. They have designed over 80 buildings and are the only Americans to design a college campus in China. The administration building is designed to look like the U.S. capitol building on one side (facing the campus) and traditional Chinese design on the other side (facing the city of Xinzheng).

Foreign faculty

The school employs over 1,750 full-time faculty. As of 2016, there are 138 foreign faculty from 10 countries teaching at Sias. The majority of the foreign faculty are

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...

, although

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

, Filipino,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, Indian,

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

, and

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

educators are also represented. Sias' foreign faculty also are involved outside of the classroom by planning the International Culture Week, culture trips, holiday parties, and bake sales for charity.

Academics

The nine discipline areas offering degrees include

and the

. Sias is one of the first schools in China to offer students American bachelor's degrees in partnership with

Hays, Kansas Hays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 21,116. Hays ...

. Students take credit hours of American college courses all taught in English, and they are able to transfer the remaining credit hours from their 200 hours of carefully articulated Chinese courses to earn degrees. About 10% of all Sias students study under the partnership of Fort Hays, theoretically allowing Chinese students to earn an American degree without setting foot in the United States.

International students

Sias offers international (non-Chinese) students the option of earning the American degree, in which the international student attends all-English, or English-Chinese, classes. The bulk of the international student body consist of aspiring

Chinese as a second language Chinese as a foreign or second language is when non-native speakers study Chinese varieties. The increased interest in China from those outside has led to a corresponding interest in the study of Standard Chinese (a type of Mandarin Chinese) as a ...

speakers either enriching their lives, or preparing for the HSK Chinese Proficiency Test. File:SIAS.jpg, Administration Building seen from People's Road File:Sias Student members of World Academy for the Future of Women.JPG, Sias Student members of World Academy for the Future of Women File:Sias students at Spring Sports Festivity.JPG, Sias students at Spring Sports Festivity File:Sias students at Dancing Routine.JPG, Sias students at Dancing Routine

Campus environment

File:Sias International University (20598492939).jpg, Sias International University File:Sias University 2019 Entrance to German Street (40931450883).jpg, Sias University 2019 Entrance to German Street File:Sias University European Street.jpg, Sias University European Street File:Sias University 2015- Classroom Building 14 & Performing Arts Center.jpg, Sias University 2015- Classroom Building 14 & Performing Arts Center File:View from Top of Sias University Library Looking South.jpg, View from Top of Sias University Library Looking South File:View from Top of Sias University Library Looking South at Administration Building.jpg, View from Top of Sias University Library Looking South at Administration Building File:Sias University Campus, Drone 4 (53818944860).jpg, Sias University Campus, Drone File:View from Top of Sias University Library Looking Southeast at Gym & Russian Square 2019.jpg, View from Top of Sias University Library Looking Southeast at Gym & Russian Square 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sias Universities and colleges in Zhengzhou Educational institutions established in 1998 Education in Zhengzhou 1998 establishments in China