UT Knoxville ends deal after Congress flags China-linked scholarship program

The University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) has terminated a scholarship partnership with the China Scholarship Council (CSC) following a congressional probe into the program’s national security risks.

On July 10, UTK Provost John Zomchick sent a letter to CSC officials ending the agreement, stating that the memorandum of understanding was “not an enforceable legal document.” The termination came two days after the university received a letter from the U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), warning that the CSC “exploits U.S. institutions” and directly contributes to China’s military and scientific advances.

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The letter, signed by committee chair Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), was addressed to UT System President Randy Boyd. It demanded information by July 22 on student participation, research funding, and university oversight of the agreement. UTK spokesperson Kerry Gardner told Knox News the university is “assessing the potential impact” on the three students from China enrolled through the program, though further details were withheld due to federal student privacy laws.

The CSC, founded in 1996, funds overseas study for Chinese students. The 2024 UTK-CSC agreement aimed to enroll up to 10 doctoral students and 10 master’s students from China annually. Under the program, the CSC would pay travel costs and in-state tuition, while UTK would cover the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition, stipends, and health insurance.

The now-canceled partnership was described in the agreement as fostering “long-term research collaboration” between UTK and Chinese entities, an arrangement Congress now views as a potential avenue for foreign influence and data exploitation.

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UTK is one of seven universities to receive such warnings. Others include Dartmouth College, the University of Notre Dame, Temple University, and the University of California campuses in Davis, Irvine, and Riverside. The University of North Texas terminated its CSC partnership in 2020.

The latest scrutiny follows broader federal actions targeting Chinese educational influence. In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new visa restrictions for students from China and Hong Kong. Earlier this year, the Trump administration briefly canceled the immigration status of nine UTK international students, a decision that was later reversed.

Campus Reform has reached out to the University of Tennessee System and the House Select Committee on the CCP for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.