Updated September 8, 2021. This list, originally published in March 2018, will be updated periodically. If you know of additional Confucius Institutes that have opened or closed, please let us know at [email protected]
Since 2004, the Chinese government has sponsored Confucius Institutes on college and university campuses around the world, providing teachers, textbooks, and operating funds. Until recently, an agency of the Chinese Ministry of Education, the Hanban, oversaw Confucius Institutes. In the wake of widespread criticism, the Chinese government has reorganized Confucius Institutes under a new organization, the Chinese International Education Foundation.
In April 2017, the National Association of Scholars released Outsourced to China: Confucius Institutes and Soft Power in American Higher Education, a comprehensive report on the way the Chinese government infiltrates American colleges and universities to enhance its own image. At that time, we counted 103 Confucius Institutes in the United States.
As of September 9, 2021, NAS counts a total of 36 Confucius Institutes in the United States. This includes eight that are scheduled to close: Tufts University (September 2021), Cleveland State University (September 2021), Emory University (November 2021), Michigan State University (end of 2021), University at Buffalo (end of 2021), Valparaiso University (March 1, 2022), Bryant University (date unclear), and Alabama A&M University (date unclear). It also includes one, St. Cloud State University, that is "paused" while the university conducts a review. We identify 30 Confucius Institutes at American colleges and universities. We also identify one Confucius Institute at a private educational organization, the China Institute, and 5 Confucius Institutes at K-12 public school districts.*
Several colleges and universities have deactivated their Confucius Institute websites, though other evidence suggests these Confucius Institutes may still be open. We consider these Confucius Institutes open until the university provides an official statement otherwise.
We also list separately 89 Confucius Institutes in the United States that have closed or are in the process of closing, along with the stated reason for the closure.
Download our PDF chart of the current Confucius Institutes in the United States.
Download an Excel chart of the current Confucius Institutes in the United States.
Download our PDF chart of US-based Confucius Institutes that closed.
Download an Excel chart of US-based Confucius Institutes that closed.
*Most K-12 schools that partner with the Hanban have “Confucius Classrooms,” of which there were at one time about 500 in the United States.
Image Credit: Kreeder13 CC BY-SA 4.0
