Songrant "Mickey" Sanglimsuwan, a senior double majoring in film production and digital media, is spending this semester at Peking University taking intensive Chinese language courses. He plans to spend next semester auditing Chinese film theory courses.

"It is quite a honor for our students to receive these scholarships year after year," said Zhixin "Justine" Su, director of Northridge's China Institute. "Altogether, seven CSUN students have received such prestigious awards to study in China in the past five years, and several are still studying and working in China."

Su said the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles has recommended that Northridge students be awarded the scholarships over students at other Southern California institutions of higher education "because of our excellent ties and collaborative relationships with China during the past 20 years."

Su said Sanglimsuwan's study goals for China are to learn more about the art of filmmaking and about Asian aesthetics.

"He believes that Chinese cinema is producing films that are competitive in the world market," she said, pointing to such movies as Hero, The Road Home and Raise the Red Lantern. "These films, with strong Eastern philosophy, are being accepted on the global level. Being able to engage in Chinese film theory courses will help him develop as a filmmaker."

Sanglimsuwan also plans to work with foreign students studying at the Beijing Film Academy. He is also hoping to find an internship related to filmmaking while in China, Su said.

Sanglimsuwan is fluent in English and Thai and is proficient in Chinese. He has studied at Chiangmai University in Thailand.

He was one of the California State University's first recipients of the Wang Family Scholarships, which allowed him to study at Peking University last year. However, the outbreak of the SARS epidemic last spring forced him to return to Los Angeles early.

"The Chinese Government Scholarship Council award has enabled Mickey to return to the campus of Peking University late in August to begin a new year of study and research," Su said.

Cal State Northridge established the China Institute in 1982. The institute aims to promote better understanding of the Chinese culture and to strengthen friendship between the American and Chinese people. In more than 20 years it has played host to hundreds of Chinese scholars and has been influential in arranging dozens of education and cultural exchange programs between China and the United States. For more information about the institute, visit its Web site at www.csunchinainstitute.org.

California State University, Northridge has 33,000 full- and part-time students and offers 61 bachelor's and 42 master's degrees as well as 28 education credential programs. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley and the fourth largest in the 23-campus CSU system. The university serves as the intellectual, economic and cultural heart of the Valley and beyond.