In an extension of online learning into the Far East, WebCampus, the online unit of Stevens Institute of Technology, will deliver a "hybrid" master's to 32 new graduate students enrolled in a special Stevens degree program in China.

Stevens Master's of Science in Telecommunications Management is being offered to Chinese students – partly online and partly in conventional classrooms – at Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), one of China's premier engineering universities. The first 32 students start classes in November.

"It's exciting to participate directly in the growth of telecommunications in China," said Audrey Curtis, head of Stevens' telecom program. "Chinese students are very enthusiastic about getting a US degree, with courses conducted in English, while remaining in their home country."

Curtis visited Beijing last month. Instruction will be delivered one-third online by Stevens' faculty, one-third by Chinese instructors in Beijing, and one-third by Stevens faculty in intensive courses in China. Students in Beijing will earn their master's from Stevens – no different from degrees the school confers in Hoboken.

"BIT faculty teaching with us are highly qualified," continued Curtis. "Stevens' China program is a giant step in extending Stevens' graduate education to students outside the US."

The Stevens-BIT program, approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education and other government bodies, is the first such "hybrid" degree from a US university in China. Established in 1870, Stevens Institute offers baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science, management and technology management, as well as a baccalaureate in business and technology, and in the humanities and liberal arts. The university, located directly across the Hudson from Manhattan, has a total enrollment of about 1,740 undergraduates and 2,600 graduate students.