Approved by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China in December 2025 (Approval No. MOE61NA02DNR20252597N), Palmerston North College of Xi'an University is an undergraduate-level Sino-foreign cooperative education institution jointly established by Xi'an University (XAU) and the Universal College of Learning (UCOL) in New Zealand. As a century-old public institute of technology, UCOL is affiliated with Te Pūkenga,New Zealand's national network of polytechnics and institutes, holding international higher education accreditation. Boasting strong expertise in information technology, UCOL delivers curriculum systems aligned with global industrial standards and globally recognized degrees, providing solid and high-quality international teaching resources for the college.
Centering on the core positioning of"serving national strategies, integrating industry with education, and cultivating international talents", the college focuses on the core track of"AI + digital innovation". It commits itself to building a high-quality international education system featured by in-depth integration of industry and education and international talent training. The college aims to foster high-quality applied digital talents with solid technical capabilities, global vision and cross-cultural communication competence, contributing to the upgrading of regional digital industries and cross-cultural development under the Belt and Road Initiative.
The college adopts a mature"4+0"training mode, where students complete all four years of undergraduate studies at the campus of Xi'an University without the need for overseas study. One-third of the core teaching resources are introduced from UCOL, including original overseas courses, foreign teachers, international textbooks and standardized overseas practical training systems. With immersive bilingual teaching, students can access authentic and high-standard international undergraduate education without going abroad. Integrating the disciplinary strengths of both Chinese and foreign universities, the college's curriculum keeps pace with the global frontiers of information technology, covering artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, digital innovation, cross-border project management and other cutting-edge fields. It balances theoretical teaching and practical engineering training to fully meet the employment standards of international enterprises.
The college's undergraduate majors are closely aligned with national strategic emerging industries, featuring strong market demand and competitive salary packages. Graduates with bilingual proficiency and global vision possess outstanding comprehensive competitiveness in employment, domestic postgraduate admission and overseas further study. The college offers two undergraduate majors: Software Engineering (AI + Software Innovation) and Data Science and Big Data Technology (Big Data Intelligent Innovation). Graduates of Software Engineering will be awarded a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Xi'an University and a Bachelor of Information and Communication Technology degree from UCOL. Graduates of Data Science and Big Data Technology will be awarded a Bachelor of Science degree from Xi'an University and a Bachelor of Information and Communication Technology degree from UCOL.
