The first two students from the Akron Master’s Program have graduated
Xueyang Yu and Junyao Yao are the first students who have graduated from UA’s Akron Master’s Program, an accelerated program where senior undergraduate students from partner schools around the globe receive their master’s degree from The University of Akron’s College of Engineering.
Students studying engineering relocate to Ohio and take their fourth and fifth year of classes at UA. Their first year at UA completes their bachelor’s degree program and counts towards their master’s degree. Their second year results in a Master of Science (M.S.) degree.
Xueyang Yu came to UA in 2018 from Shanghai Ocean University to participate in UA’s mechanical engineering program. She embraced campus life, noting UA’s “friendly school atmosphere, where you never feel like a foreigner.”
Xueyang Yu received her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering this spring.
According to Xueyang, the quality of higher education engineering programs is exceptionally high in China, and even though she knew she would receive a great education at UA, that wasn’t all she was looking for. She wanted to experience what it was like to live in America and improve her English.
“I was nervous that the pace would be challenging as an international student. Faculty and students made the transition from studying in China to studying in the US a breeze. I kept up with my classmates, and dramatically improved my English speaking and writing skills.”
Her biggest surprise in coming to UA? “All the little squirrels,” says Xueyang.
Xueyang has returned to her hometown of Shanghai, China and will start her engineering career very soon.
Junyao Yao is originally from Foshan, China, a place famously known as Bruce Lee’s hometown. He was studying mechanical engineering at Fuzhou University when he moved to America to participate in the Akron Master's Program. Like Xueyang, wanted to develop his language skills as well as pursue his master’s degree at an accelerated pace.
Junyao Yao received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering this spring.
“It is not an easy task for foreigners with a different language and different culture to get used to a completely new environment,” says Junyao. “My advisor, Dr. Francis Loth, helped me so much. He even invited me to Thanksgiving to have dinner with his family.”
Graduate students choose a research area to explore, and Junyao chose fluid mechanics, an area he was interested in but did not have much experience. This summer, he will be heading home to China to start his career in engineering.
“Xueyang and Junyao were great students with extremely positive attitudes,” says Dr. John Zhe and Dr. Francis Loth, their advisors, respectively. “I wish them the best of luck as they return home and start their engineering careers. I look forward to working with more AMP students – they brought so much to the program.”
Related content:
- Learn more about the Akron Master's Program.