On Aug. 21, Westlake University officially welcomed 352 new doctoral students. Our community has grown a lot since our first class of doctoral students back in 2017. So what does this sixth cohort look like?

Well, first of all, our sixth cohort is much bigger. Over 18 times larger to be more specific. As Westlake has grown in these short six years, so has our capacity to host a larger and talented community!

And it’s not just graduates joining us this year either. In 2022 Westlake University also welcomed our first class of undergraduates. Sixty talented young students make up this class of 2026.

Students majoring in computer science bookend the sixth cohort, in terms of age at least. One, born in January 2002, is our youngest freshman; the other, born in December 1979, is a fresh new doctoral student “with a story”.

Westlake University employs an “application-assessment” system for graduate admissions, so applicants with a bachelor’s degree or above can apply, regardless of their current degree, graduation year or age.

This year, the number of new students who came to study for a doctorate right after completion of an undergraduate program increased by 2% compared with last year.

Our sixth cohort also reflects a better gender balance, with approximately 55% men and 45% women represented in the student body. Some 6% of our sixth cohort is also made up of non-Han ethnic minority members, including Manchus, Mongols, Hui, and others.

Seventy-one of the new students joined the School of Science, 116 the School of Engineering, and 165 the School of Life Sciences. Sixty of these students graduated from a leading international university overseas, choosing to return to China to further their studies at Westlake University.

A huge welcome to our diverse and talented sixth cohort!