The scholarships fund a one-year master’s degree in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
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Class of 2026 graduate Rachel Ou has been named a Schwarzman Scholar.
University of Pennsylvania fourth-year Rachel Ou has received a Schwarzman Scholarship, which funds a one-year master’s degree in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing. She is part of the 11th class of Schwarzman Scholars and will enroll at Tsinghua in August.
Her selection brings the number of Penn students and alumni who have accepted places as Schwarzman Scholars to 28 since the program’s launch in 2016. This year, 137 scholars from 40 countries and 83 universities were selected from more than 5,800 candidates worldwide.
The Schwarzman program core curriculum focuses on leadership, China, and global affairs. The coursework, cultural immersion, and personal and professional development opportunities are designed to prepare students with an understanding of China’s changing role in the world.
Ou, from Bridgewater, New Jersey, is a pre-medical student majoring in biology with minors in chemistry and design in the College of Arts & Sciences. At Penn, she researches targeted nanoparticle drug delivery in the Tsourkas Lab and serves as a patient navigator for the Center for Surgical Health at Penn Medicine, where she helps uninsured patients navigate the surgical process. She is captain of the Penn Table Tennis co-ed and women’s teams and president of Penn Chinese Calligraphy, where she organized an exhibition with the SNF Paideia Program and the Philomathean Society, fostering cross-cultural dialogue through art. As a Schwarzman Scholar, Ou aims to strengthen U.S.-China biotechnology and healthcare collaboration and plans to explore China's healthcare system reform, particularly how artificial intelligence is reshaping patient care.
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