EDITORS' CORNER
Key Takeaways
- The University of Arizona is closing its four microcampuses in China due to a government report highlighting security threats posed by U.S. branch campuses abroad.
- Over 2,200 students enrolled at these campuses will receive support for continuing their education, including an option to transfer to the main campus in Tucson under an extended program.
- The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party identified U of A's partnerships as high-risk, citing concerns about technology transfer and national security related to the Chinese military.
The University of Arizona is closing its four microcampuses in China this semester, following a government report released this month that states U.S. branch campuses abroad pose security threats.
“Acknowledging a congressional directive, the University of Arizona immediately terminated its China-based microcampus agreements,” U of A spokesperson Mitch Zak said in a statement, according to AZ Central.
“We have communicated directly with those affected and are working with enrolled students to help them continue their education,” he said.
Over 2,200 students are enrolled at U of A’s four campuses in China, where it offers dual degree partnerships with institutions in Beijing, Qingdao, Tianjin, and Xi’an.
These students received an email from the school stating that maintaining the partnership “would run counter to current U.S. government expectations.”
“The U of A is committed to supporting you in the completion of your degree. We welcome you to join us at our main campus, in Tucson, Arizona, under an extended Study Arizona Program for up to 4 semesters (usually during the junior and senior years),” the email read.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the Committee on Education and the Workforce report specifically names the U of A’s partnership as one of 13 “high-risk joint institutes.”
The September 2025 report states that “the Chinese Communist Party exploits U.S. university partnerships to empower China’s military and repression.”
These partnerships can “facilitate technology transfer and pose national security risks,” the report states.
The Committee on Education and the Workforce praised the school for ending the partnership in a post on X.
U of A “is making the right decision to end its China-based campus agreements. The CCP uses these programs to steal cutting-edge research for its own military buildup and promote communist ideology,” the post reads.
“These programs are a direct threat to U.S. national security. Every American school should follow suit and end agreements with the CCP,” it reads.
Ken Smith, the director of the environmental science dual-degree program at one of the U of A’s microcampuses in China, also responded to the joint venture’s termination.
“Things were really going super well, and, boom, we shut down,” Smith told Inside Higher Ed. He was notified just last week that the program would be closing.
Smith said the program, which is now in its fifth year, has achieved remarkable success. It recently passed a yearlong federal and provincial review with outstanding evaluations.
Other universities listed in the committee report include Duke, University of Delaware, University of Houston, University of Miami, New York University, and University of North Alabama, among others.
The report states “the Committees identified more than a hundred additional academic partnerships that involve PRC entities that pose a national security risk.”
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