Manipal Univ offers Chinese US passage

Manipal University has a four-year bachelor's degree in computer sciences that involves part-study in India and part in the US.

For Chinese students, like Indians, the US remains the Mecca of higher education. Studying there, though, can be expensive and difficult to access because of the need for fluency in English. So what better way to bridge the gap between demand and capability than to offer a course that achieves both.

Sensing an opportunity, Manipal University is offering Chinese students a four-year bachelor's degree in computer sciences, the most coveted of disciplines, that involves part-study in India and part in the US.

The programme kicks off this year on the university's new special campus in Bangalore that will cater to the special needs of these students""from cuisine to language. Students opting for it have to study for two years in India and two years in mid-ranking US universities with which Manipal has tied up.

The list of universities includes the Michigan Technological University, Russ College of Engineering and Technology and the University of Missouri, among others.

The degree is an American one, but the cost is 30 to 60 per cent less. For the two-year programme in India, student pay a lump sum of around Rs 6,00,000. For the two years in US, the costs vary between $15,000 (Rs 6,00,000) and $30,000 (Rs 12,00,000) annually, depending on the university they attend.

"The important thing is that the US universities with which we have tied up give full credit to our system of education, so you do not need to repeat, classes. Also ,we will give Chinese students specialised English language training in India which will help them in the US," said B N Manohar, chief executive, educational services of Manipal Universal Learning which is piloting the project The university has 100 students for the first programme this year and expects 500 next year if the course is successful.