What Schwarzman Scholars does

Schwarzman Scholars is a private, fully funded one-year Master of Global Affairs scholarship program operated at Schwarzman College on the Tsinghua University campus in Beijing. Founded in 2015 by Stephen A. Schwarzman (co-founder of Blackstone) in partnership with Tsinghua University and inspired by the Rhodes Scholarship, the program selects up to 200 scholars per year from a global applicant pool through a highly selective admissions process with interviews held in New York, London, and Beijing. Since inception it has trained more than 1,300 alumni from 107 countries, 490 universities, and 25 industries, and celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2025.

The program is delivered as an integrated residential experience comprising a Core Curriculum in global affairs, China studies, and leadership; elective courses; the Deep Dive (a one-week themed field trip across China); a Capstone research project; a personalized mentorship program with Beijing-based leaders; mandatory Chinese language instruction for international students; and an ongoing Guest Speaker Series featuring heads of state and Fortune 500 leaders. The LEED Gold-certified residential campus was designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects. The program does not sell a product; scholars receive full scholarships covering tuition, room and board, travel, health insurance, and a personal stipend.

The funding model is philanthropic rather than commercial. Operations are underwritten by a $600 million campaign — described as the single largest philanthropic initiative to date for Chinese higher education — structured across Cornerstone Partners (BP, CFLD, China Oceanwide, Dalio Foundation, Masayoshi Son Foundation, The Starr Foundation), Founding Partners (Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation, China Resources, Delta Air Lines, JD.com), Partners (Tencent Foundation, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Boeing, Citi, GE, Volkswagen Group China, Walt Disney), Funders (Bloomberg Philanthropies, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, HSBC, Mastercard, Visa Foundation), and Supporters, with the Stephen A. Schwarzman Foundation as lead donor. The program is administered by Executive Director Amy Celico and academically led by Executive Dean David Q. Pan; Amy Stursberg is CEO of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Foundation, with Melissa Román Burch appointed as its incoming Executive Director effective January 2026.

Name

Schwarzman Scholars

Legal name

Schwarzman Scholars

Website

https://schwarzmanscholars.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Schwarzman Scholars is a fully funded one-year Master of Global Affairs program at Tsinghua University in Beijing, selecting up to 200 graduate scholars annually from 107+ countries and underwriting their studies through a $600 million global philanthropic campaign.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Fellowship

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

akta.pro primary industry

Research Grants, Fellowships & Stipends (International) (EDAIAOAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

International & Global Research Universities (Multi-Campus/International Footprint) (EDAHABAI)

Keywords

• Graduate fellowship program
• Global affairs education
• Leadership development program
• Fully funded scholarship
• China studies curriculum

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donor Funding: Schwarzman Scholars is a fully funded scholarship program supported by a $600 million campaign from global donors including corporations, foundations, and individual philanthropists. The program covers tuition, room & board, travel, and provides stipends for students.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Schwarzman Scholars is a one-year, fully funded Master of Global Affairs degree program hosted at Schwarzman College within Tsinghua University in Beijing. It admits up to 200 scholars annually through a highly selective global application and interview process, delivering an immersive leadership curriculum focused on China's role in global affairs, complete with tuition, accommodation, travel, stipends, and experiential learning (Deep Dive field trips, Capstone research, mentorship, and guest speaker engagements).

Product overview

Schwarzman Scholars is a single educational program offering a one-year, fully funded Master of Global Affairs degree at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The program consists of integrated components: a core curriculum covering global affairs, China studies, and leadership; elective courses for specialization; the Deep Dive immersive field trip experience; a Capstone research project; a personalized mentorship program; and mandatory/optional language instruction. The program also features a distinguished guest speaker series. All components work together to prepare future global leaders with deep understanding of China's role in international affairs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Master of Global Affairs Degree Program A prestigious one-year, fully funded master's degree program in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing, designed to build a global community of future leaders with deep understanding of China's role in global affairs. Open to exceptional graduate-level applicants from around the world, with full coverage of tuition, room and board, travel, health insurance, and personal stipends.
• Core Curriculum The foundational academic curriculum that all Schwarzman Scholars complete together, covering international relations, governance, Chinese institutional transformation, and leadership development, delivered by leading academics at Tsinghua University.
• Deep Dive Experiential Learning Program An intensive one-week, two-credit graded field trip to regions throughout China, providing immersive experiential learning through visits to leading companies, government agencies, and cultural sites as a graded component of the Master of Global Affairs program.
• Capstone Research Project A required culminating research project serving as the final presentation of classroom and experiential learning, completed individually or in groups as a research paper, case study, or policy analysis on global affairs topics at the end of the one-year program.
• Schwarzman Mentorship Program A personalized mentorship experience where each scholar selects a mentor from a pool of senior leaders in business, academic, government, and NGO communities primarily based in Beijing, exposing scholars to varied leadership styles and perspectives on China.
• Distinguished Guest Speaker Series An ongoing series of high-profile lectures at Schwarzman College by distinguished leaders in politics, business, arts, and civil society, featuring notable speakers including former heads of state, Secretaries of State, and Fortune 500 industry leaders.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,300+ young leaders trained from 100+ countries
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Tsinghua UniversityflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for Schwarzman Scholars program. Schwarzman College at Tsinghua is a residential college within the university campus designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects. Tsinghua is ranked first in Asia and is an indispensable base for China's political, business, and technological leadership.
• The Rhodes TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchwarzman Scholars was inspired by the Rhodes Scholarship and partners with The Rhodes Trust for leadership training workshops including Orientation programs.
• Robert A.M. Stern ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture firm that designed Schwarzman College campus at Tsinghua University.

Scale indicators8 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB): China-based graduate business school offering MBA, EMBA, and executive programs with strong China-focus and executive-leader audience. Comparable in its China-anchored graduate leadership education, though targeting more senior executives and a commercial model.
• Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (NUS): Asia-based graduate public policy school offering MPP and PhD programs with a strong Asia governance focus. Comparable in its Asia-anchored graduate policy education aimed at developing-region leaders, with scholarships for emerging-economy students.

Broad incumbents

• Harvard Kennedy School: Harvard's leading graduate school of public policy and international affairs, offering MPA, MPP, and MC/MPA programs. Comparable as a destination for future global affairs leaders, with much broader portfolio, larger faculty, and longer history.
• Blavatnik School of Government (University of Oxford): Oxford's graduate school of public policy offering MPP and related degrees for future public-sector leaders. Comparable in mission of training global leaders and policy professionals, with substantially broader degree portfolio and longer institutional history.

Direct peers

• Yale World Fellows: Yale's mid-career global leadership fellowship, bringing accomplished professionals to campus for a semester of study and network building. Comparable in mission (developing cross-border leaders), selectivity, and a residential learning model, though shorter-duration and US-based.
• Knight-Hennessy Scholars: Stanford's flagship fully-funded multi-year graduate fellowship cultivating global leaders across disciplines. Closely comparable in mission, fully-funded model, selectivity, and emphasis on cross-disciplinary leadership and a growing global alumni community.
• Marshall Scholarship: A British government-funded graduate scholarship for US citizens to study in the UK. Comparable as a fully-funded, prestige-driven graduate scholarship for future leaders with strong brand recognition and global alumni network.
• Fulbright Program: The flagship US-government-funded international exchange and scholarship program. Comparable in scale, global footprint, mission of cross-cultural understanding, and brand-driven applicant pipeline, though broader in scope and not a master's program.
• Rhodes Scholarship: The Rhodes Trust is the explicit model partner for Schwarzman Scholars — both are fully funded, highly selective, one-year graduate fellowships for future global leaders, with joint leadership-training programming. Schwarzman Scholars was directly inspired by the Rhodes model and the two organizations are formally partnered.

Others

• Schwarman Centre for Analysis (SIPA / Columbia): Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs offers graduate degrees in global affairs with strong East Asia focus. Comparable as a global affairs graduate program feeding the same talent pool Schwarzman Scholars targets, though not a scholarship program and not China-anchored.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/schwarzmanscholars
• Xx.com/SchwarzmanOrg
• Facebookfacebook.com/schwarzmanscholars
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/schwarzman-scholars

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Schwarzman Scholars