About Overseas Education College

Overseas Education College (OEC) is the institution of higher learning in Xiamen University specialized in overseas education. Founded in 1956 and formerly known as Overseas Correspondent College and other names, it is one of the oldest institutions in China offering teaching programs for overseas students. OEC got its present name in 1991 with the approval from the Ministry of Education. OEC includes the Department of Chinese, Distance Education Center, Office of Overseas Students, Research Institute of Overseas Chinese Education, etc. It is one of the four national Southeast-Asia-oriented Chinese teaching bases in China and one of the key institutions designated by the Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs of the State Council to support China’s neighboring countries in teaching Chinese.

Since its establishment, the Overseas Education College has enrolled more than 20,000 overseas correspondence students and over 6,500 overseas students from more than 90 countries and regions. Therefore, the Overseas Education College has been praised for "imparting knowledge all over the world and thus gaining a good reputation throughout the five continents".