On May 18 and September 6, CFLC doctoral student Wang Ronghua successfully defended her dissertation at Xiamen University and VU University Amsterdam, respectively, under a double-degree program.

Ms. Wang enrolled at CFLC at a doctoral student in Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics under the supervision of Professor Jiang Guiying. In 2014-15, with a scholarship from the China Scholarship Council, she researched gestures and language at VU University Amsterdam under the supervision of Professor Alan Cienki.

Impressed by her research, which carried much theoretical value and practical implications, Professor Michel ter Hark, dean of the School of the Humanities at VU University Amsterdam, recommended her for a double-doctorate program.

Under the agreement signed by the presidents of both universities, Ms. Wang enrolled at the VU University Amsterdam as a PhD candidate in Language, Cognition and Communications. After fulfilling both universities’ academic requirements, she received a doctorate from each university. Her success in obtaining double doctorates marks a major milestone in CFLC’s international collaborative education program.