Chinese Students and Scholars Association

The Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) (Chinese: 中国学生学者联合(谊)会; pinyin: zhōngguó xuéshēng xuézhě liánhé (liányí) huì) is the official organization for overseas Chinese students and scholars registered in most colleges, universities, and institutions outside of China. CSSA is mostly responsible for helping away-from-home Chinese in their life, study, work, and other issues. CSSA also serves as a bridge between the Chinese and other communities, spreading Chinese culture.

CSSA chapters

Here is the basic information of some example CSSA chapters at various universities.

United States of America

CSSA at University of Minnesota Twin Cities

• Goal: To create opportunities and connections for all the Chinese students and scholars in Minnesota area

CSSA at University of California, Irvine

• Organization: There is an active and responsible executive committee serves as the organizer. CSSA right now covers around 700 people.
• Main activities: Celebration for Grand Moon Festival and Chinese Lunar New Year, Welcome party and BBQ for new members, Weekly Karaoke and 20 different Board Games, sports contests.The Southern Californian CSSAs badminton tournament final is hosted in UCIrvine. Hiking and tourism are hosted occasionally during the year.

CSSA at University of California, San Diego

• Organization: University of California, San Diego Chinese Students and Scholars Association (UCSD-CSSA) was established in 1985 as an officially recognized Chinese student group at University of California, San Diego.

CSSA at University of Pittsburgh

• Organization: There is a standing committee to serve as the major organizer. About 700 members are currently registered with this organization.
• Activities: There are five(5) clubs in the organization which are Table Tennis Club, Badminton Club, Volleyball Club, Karaoke Club, and Movie Club. Annual regular social events include: Spring Festival, Chinese Moon Festival, Karaoke Contest, Sports Contest, and so on, among which Spring Festival is the biggest event held by Pitt CSSA every year.

CSSA of WCMC, RU, MSKCC and HSS

• Organization: The Chinese Students and Scholars Association of Cornell University Medical College, The Rockefeller University, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Hospital for Special Surgery (CSSA) is a non-profit, non-political student organization registered on the Cornell medical campus and in the Rockefeller University. CSSA is the major organization that links the four academic institutions and the local Chinese community as well as China and Asia.
• Activities: Each year CSSA organizes many cultural and sport activities for members in WCMC, RU, MSKCC and HSS. Major activities include the annual Mid-autumn Festival party, Chinese New Year Celebration, spring outing, summer picnic, new student welcoming and orientation. CSSA also organizes regular seminars and exhibitions to introduce to the four-institution community Chinese culture and the potential academic and business opportunities in China.
• Members: > 0.

CSSA at University of Delaware

• Membership: Approximately 600 members.

CSSA at Columbia University

• Organization: Columbia University Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CUCSSA) was established in 1996 as an officially recognized student group at Columbia University. Now it is one of the biggest and most prominent overseas Chinese organizations on the east coast of the United States. Besides Columbia students, CUCSSA also has members of Columbia Chinese alumni and overseas Chinese who have joined the organization.
• Membership: Approximately 5000 members.

CSSA at New York University

• Organization: Chinese Students and Scholars Association @ NYU is the largest organization for Chinese student and alumni community at NYU. With over 2,000 registered members, it is also one of the largest Chinese student organizations in the US.

CSSA at Washington University in St. Louis

• Goal: The goal of WashU CSSA is to serve the needs of and voice opinions for its members, and to share Chinese culture with the Washington University community.

United Kingdom

CSSA at University of Oxford

Oxford Chinese Students and Scholars Association OXCSSA is an independent, non-profit, student-run organisation which reaches out to about 3,000 registered members in Oxford. While the majority of our membership is from China, we also have an increasing number of foreign members who are interested in Chinese language and culture.

OXCSSA aims to achieve two main objectives: to act as a support network for our extensive membership and to be a hub for informal contact between Oxford and China. To this end, we organise many regular events such as Spring Festival Gala, Speaker’s events, Career Month for our members and the Oxford community. Increasingly, we also reach out beyond Oxford to embrace the broader U.K. community within our outreach activities. Our sustained relationship with the British Council, the Education Section of the Chinese Embassy in London, the University of Oxford, City Council of Oxford, foundations, charities and businesses in the U.K. and China facilitates our role in promoting closer relations between these communities. We rely on our members and our network of friends and supporters in making possible what we do. Over the years, we have received generous contributions from individuals, corporate enterprises, foundations, and universities. We believe that we have also been able to offer them something in exchange to help foster long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.

CSSA at Lancaster University

• Organising students from China.
• Mutual and comprehensive help to all members.

Canada

CSSA at University of British Columbia

The UBC Chinese Students and Scholars Association (UBC CSSA) is a non-political, non-profit independent organization being composed of mainly the Chinese students and scholars studying and working at UBC.

The UBC Okanagan Chinese Students and Scholars Association (or Chinese Student Union) also represents the UBC-O CSSA. It was founded in 2011 by economics student William Wei.　Currently have approximately 200 in members.

CSSA at Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Website: http://kpucssa.com/

The KPU CSSA is a non-political, non-profit independent organization being composed of mainly the Chinese students and scholars studying and working at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. It is dedicated to the goals of providing assistance and service, safeguarding the rights, and promoting social, intellectual and cultural activities for Chinese students and scholars at to the Kwantlen Polytechnic University as well as other interested members in the Kwantlen Polytechnic University community. It also strives to provide good study and living environment for its members. All people are warmly welcomed to join in the KPU CSSA on the volunteering basis as long as they are studying and working at Kwantlen and recognize the Constitution of the KPU CSSA; no matter they are from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan or anywhere else in the world. Members are entitled to enjoy the privileges to attend all the events and activities organized and/or sponsored by the KPU CSSA, share and exchange the information via the KPU CSSA website and email-list, borrow various activity facilities for free or low fees from the KPU CSSA. Members are obliged to help with each other and have the right of elect and being elected to the governing body of the KPU CSSA. KPU CSSA organizational structure consists of an Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is the executive body, and it is leading, managing, organizing and maintaining the operation and all the activities of the KPU CSSA, including the specific work in external affairs, providing service, organizing events and activities, information management, financial management, website maintenance and so on. The KPU CSSA organizes events and activities on the regular or irregular bases, including those big events and celebrations of the traditional Chinese festivals such as the Spring Festival, the Mid-autumn Festival and the Chinese National Day. It also organizes seasonal tours and various healthy entertainments. All the events and activities are open to non-members and other friends.

CSSA at McGill University, Montreal

Website: http://cssamu.ca

CSSA（麦吉尔大学中国学生学者联谊会）是校内唯一一个中国大使馆注册备案，并主要面向中国大陆学生学者的学生组织。CSSA的管理团队由2位主席，9位副主席，以及约20位管理团队成员组成。如今已发展成为拥有1000名在校会员，以及超过4000名CSSA weekly newsletter接收者的大型非营利学生组织。数年来，CSSA以为中国留学生提供学习生活上切实可行的帮助为起点，致力于丰富海外学子校内外的留学体验，每年为其会员举办20个以上不同形式不同内容的精彩活动。为担负起时代赋予的社会责任，在提高校内知名度的同时CSSA亦把扩大其在社会领域的影响力设定为长远的发展目标，为会员搭建起与校外知名企业和福利组织的沟通桥梁。不局限于满足中国留学生在海外拓宽视野自主发展的需求，作为中国文化的继承者和传播者，CSSA更秉承着向世界展示中国文化其饱满丰富特性的宗旨，积极增进与他国留学生的文化交流和互通。

McGill University Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), is the only student community certified by the Chinese Embassy on campus, and it is the only cultural club dedicated mainly to students and scholars from Mainland China. The CSSA executive committee is composed of 2 presidents, 9 vice-presidents, and around 20 executive members. Currently, it has evolved into one of the most influential non-profit student communities at McGill University, which consists of over a thousand active members, and more than 4 thousand CSSA weekly newsletter subscribers. CSSA aims to provide Chinese students overseas with useful assistance to help them quickly adapt to the new learning and the living environment, as well as organize a variety of amazing events to enhance their overall experience both on and off campus. Visioning itself as a progressive student community, not only does CSSA seek to increase recognition within the university, but also to amplify broader influence through actively undertaking its social responsibilities. In order to attain this long-term objective, CSSA is devoted to bridge its members with multiple well-known enterprises, NPOs and local businesses. Nonetheless, as an inheritor of Chinese culture, CSSA is committed to make the world aware of the richness and uniqueness of the thriving Chinese cultural heritage and innovation by fostering better cultural connection, interaction, and exchange with students from other countries.

CSSA at Sheridan College

Website: https://www.facebook.com/sheridanCSSA

CSSA at University of Western Ontario

Website: http://www.cssauwo.com

Other countries

CSSA at the Tampere, Finland

• Organization: CSSA-Tampere Ry is an officially registered organization in Finland. It is a combination of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association at Tampere University of Technology(TUT), University of Tampere(UTA) and Tampere University of Applied Sciences(TAMK). Our history can be trace back to 1990s.
• Members: > 200.

CSSA at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

Norwegian University of Science and Technology( Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet) Chinese Students and Scholars Association (NTNUCSSA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to serve students and scholars within Norway. NTNUCSSA has over 400 registered members, and most of whom are mandarin-speaking students. NTNUCSSA maintains a close relationship with the Chinese community in the Nordic region, and is also open to the friends from different cultures.

External links

• Official Website for CSSA at Chinese Students and Scholars Association, UK
• CSSA at Washington University in St. Louis