Cal State Long Beach will partner with Taiwan’s Ming Chuan University to launch dual-degree graduate programs, offering a global education to students in Long Beach.
Beginning in fall 2027, the institutions will offer two programs. In one program, students can earn a master’s in business administration from CSULB and a degree in international business and trade from Ming Chuan University.
The other program will allow students to earn degrees in Asian studies from CSULB and teaching Chinese as a foreign language from MCU.
“One tuition, two degrees,” said Pei-Fang Hung, who oversees international education as CSULB’s vice provost for academic programs.
Each dual-degree program will bring students from Taiwan and California into the same classrooms, Hung said. The programs will start with about 15 to 20 students per cohort, Hung said, and the partnership is intended to grow.
In the business dual-degree program, for example, students can partner with the Port of Long Beach — applying their knowledge of business management, international trade and logistics to one of the largest ports in the world.
It’s the next phase of a longstanding partnership between the universities. For two decades, the institutions have facilitated study abroad programs between their campuses, said LeAnn Eyerman, a faculty member at MCU who will now direct its U.S. arm.
MCU has had a U.S. location in Michigan since 2014, but faculty members had been exploring a move to California because it’s easier for Taiwanese students to access, Eyerman said. Given the existing relationship with CSULB, it made sense to bring academic programs to Long Beach, she said.
The dual-degree programs build on a conversation already underway at CSULB, Hung said. During the Covid-19 pandemic, many students were not able to travel, and CSULB faculty began brainstorming ways to help them build cultural competency at home, she said.
MCU has a presence in many countries, including Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Thailand. CSULB is hoping to attract students at those campuses by creating a path for them to finish their bachelor’s degrees in Long Beach, Hung said.
While students remain the focus, the partnership also provides opportunities for faculty, Hung said. Researchers at both universities are interested in collaborating on semiconductors and artificial intelligence, Hung said. That comes as Taiwan dominates global manufacturing of semiconductors and California is a hub of AI development.