October 12, 2005 |Durham, NC -- Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and Tsinghua University's School of Economics and Management (SEM) in Beijing, China, have signed an agreement for an exchange program for a period of three academic years.

Under the agreement, a maximum of three students from the MBA program of SEM will take courses at Duke's Fuqua School for one semester and an equal number of Fuqua students will take MBA courses at SEM for one semester. Students will be allowed to enroll in any elective course offered by the host institution for which they are qualified.

The exchange program is designed to establish and maintain education interactions between the two schools, Fuqua Dean Douglas T. Breeden said. Tsinghua SEM has become the largest MBA program in China, and in 2003 and 2004 was named the most valuable MBA program in China byFortune(China Edition).

Asia , and China in particular, are important areas of the world for us as we spread the word about Duke worldwide, Breeden said w e welcome this exchange program with Tsinghua School of Economics and Management, which is truly an outstanding school.This latest agreement further strengthens Fuqua's global reach and expands the exchange opportunities for students. Fuqua currently offers international exchange programs through reciprocal agreements with 29 leading business schools in 20 countries, including China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Each year about 15 percent of Fuqua's second-year students study abroad.

Constantin Wolf, a member of the Class of 2006 and the first student who will participate in the program, remarked that Fuqua's exchange program with SEM is yet another sign of the school's ongoing commitment to provide a culturally rich and diverse educational experience to students.?Robin Zhang, Class of 2006, noted that participating in this exchange program is the best way to learn first-hand about the Chinese economy, culture and business opportunities.Tsinghua SEM Associate Dean Tong Yunhuan said he is very excited about the MBA exchange pogram. The School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University is one of the best business schools in China , and is now striving to expand its well-known cross-cultural perspectives in terms of both the diversified backgrounds of students and the knowledge base of faculty members. I firmly believe that the connection between the two schools will be mutually beneficial and rewarding.

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Duke's Fuqua School of Business was founded in 1969 and offers four MBA programs: the flagship daytime program and three executive MBA programs: The Duke MBA - Global Executive, The Duke MBA - Weekend Executive and The Duke MBA - Cross Continent. It also offers a dual-degree program -- Duke Goethe Executive MBA. The school has a highly ranked Ph.D. program and is a leading provider of non-degree executive education.