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 Toronto

Website: http://utcssa.ca

CSSA at University of Toronto Mississauga

Website: http://utmcssa.com

CSSA at University of British Columbia

Website: http://www.ubccssa.org

CSSA at Simon Fraser University

Website: http://www.sfu.ca/~cssa/

CSSA at Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Website: http://kpucssa.com/

CSSA at McGill University

Website: http://cssamu.ca

CSSA at University of Waterloo

Website: http://www.uwcssa.com

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