Two CSUN students, Oliver May and James Lo, were awarded this honor by the China Scholarship Council of the Ministry of Education in China.

"This is a great honor for our students and a very clear recognition of our excellent exchange program with China," said Justine Su, director of CSUN's China Institute, which has played a key role in the university's long history of educational interaction with China.

"We have received and trained more than 100 visiting scholars and students from China in the past few years," Su said, "and we are happy that more of our students are now going to China for study and research."

May, a music student, will spend his senior year studying Mandarin and Chinese cultures in China as a visiting student at Nanjing Normal University. His goal is to become fluent in the Chinese language.

May became interested in China and its culture during a 10-day tour of Beijing and Shanghai two years ago with the CSUN Jazz 'A' Band. He promised to revisit the country some day.

While in China, May will continue to study music and engage in jazz activities.

Lo, a grad student in CSUN's Cinema and Television Arts Department, will attend China's prestigious film school, the Beijing Film Academy. He will study film and receive hands-on experience in film production.

Under the guidance of such prominent Chinese film directors as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, Lo will have the opportunity to implement some of his ideas and themes onto film while pursuing other interests in cinematography, editing and art direction.

Since its founding in 1982, the China Institute has hosted hundreds of Chinese scholars at CSUN, and has been influential in arranging many education and cultural exchange programs between China and the United States.

California State University, Northridge has more than 30,000 full- and part-time students and offers 63 bachelor's and 51 master's degrees. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley and the third largest in the 23-campus CSU system. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges recently said CSUN "stands as a model to other public urban institutions of higher education."