Tsinghua University, China

The Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) at Exeter is proud to sustain a long-standing and close partnership in research and education with Tsinghua University. Widely recognised as a world-leading research institution, Tsinghua consistently ranks among the top universities in Asia and globally, with excellence across disciplines including the arts and humanities.

HASS formalised its collaboration with Tsinghua in 2018 through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Institute of International and Area Studies (IIAS), establishing a framework to foster new academic initiatives. This agreement led to the appointment of a Joint Chair in Area Studies and continues to support active academic exchange and cooperation. Through this partnership, the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies (IAIS) at Exeter and IIAS at Tsinghua jointly established the landmark Digital Archive of the Middle East project and developed a Joint PhD in Area Studies.

The partnership is further strengthened through Exeter’s membership in the UK-China Humanities Alliance (UKCHA), a consortium of leading universities in the UK and China dedicated to advancing humanities research and collaboration. Led by Tsinghua University, the University of Exeter served as the lead coordinating institution for the UK membership of the Alliance between 2020 and 2025. UKCHA is a vibrant multilateral partnership with Tsinghua and Exeter cooperating closely at the heart of its activities.

In 2024, HASS and the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures (DFLL) at Tsinghua launched the Institute for Global Humanities, a major new bilateral initiative designed to convene world-leading research and foster international collaboration across the arts and humanities. The Institute supports conferences and symposia, research collaboration and faculty and student mobility across arts and humanities disciplines.

Exeter and Tsinghua enjoy a comprehensive and productive partnership spanning humanities and social sciences disciplines across HASS and also the University’s three faculties. Further information about our broader international collaborations are available on our Global Partnerships pages.