Freeman Fellow Program Overview

Since the fall of 1996, the Freeman Fellows Program has awarded grants to scholars to do research at the University of Illinois and coordinated the activities of the scholars while they are on campus. The scholars are selected from applicants from the eleven key Chinese universities, which are partner universities of the Freeman Fellows Program.

The number of participating Chinese Universities has grown from three in 1996, to six in 1998, to eight in 2000. There are currently eleven participating universities. A list of the universities can be found under our Partner Universities section. Since the inception of the program, more than 185 Chinese scholars have resided for an academic year at the University of Illinois.

Freeman Fellow scholars are expected to perform research on a topic of interest in their field of research. We encourage the scholars to share the results of their research with members of the University of Illinois faculty.

The fellows are expected to audit and participate in classes of interest to them on the University of Illinois campus. Fellows should regularly participate in professional activities, including campus lectures, public meetings, campus activities, and activities hosted by the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies (CEAPS). As funds are provided for attending conferences, the Freeman Fellows have the opportunity to attend regional and/or national conferences in their discipline.

Each scholar is given a monthly stipend for living expenses. The program provides health insurance, office space with a computer, wireless internet access and funds for attending conferences in their research field.

In addition, the program provides support for UIUC scholars and students to visit the partner universities in China. More than 20 University of Illinois scholars and 170 students have been hosted at our partner universities for short or long-term stays.