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Wei Dongyi is an assistant professor at Peking University who recently appeared in an interview that went viral.

South China Morning Post writes:

His high school teacher Zhang Yonghua told Shandong Business News that Wei once refused an offer from Harvard to study as a Ph.D. candidate even after the American university said he did not need to take an English entrance test and that they would provide an interpreter.

(A similar claim, in Simplified Chinese: Baidu Baike)

This seems suspect because I cannot understand how Wei can study at Harvard if he cannot understand what the teachers are saying.

Will Harvard enroll someone who is not fluent in English?

If you do not know- just GIS
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Lerner Zhang
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    Is your question can anyone skip the test or is it possible for exceptions to be made? – Joe W Jun 03 '21 at 13:39
  • Exceptions to be made – Lerner Zhang Jun 03 '21 at 13:46
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    Since you are asking about exceptions I don't see why not. Sure they may not understand all the professors but that doesn't mean exceptions can't be made in what languages he gets taught it. I don't have enough information to make an answer but that is my thought. – Joe W Jun 03 '21 at 13:50
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    I'll mention that there have been deafblind graduates of Harvard, so it's certainly possible to earn a degree even if one is unable to communicate with professors by the usual methods. – Nuclear Hoagie Jun 03 '21 at 14:05
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    It would also be possible to waive the English test but require English classes. – DJClayworth Jun 03 '21 at 14:15
  • If Harvard sees a benefit for admitting someone they are sure to allow for exceptions – Joe W Jun 03 '21 at 14:36
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    In what capacity was he going to "go" to Harvard? If he already has a PhD, it doesn't make sense that he would enroll as a student; there is no higher degree they could award him. Were they proposing to hire him as a faculty member? Or is he talking about an earlier time, before he earned his current degrees? If so, what level of degree program would he have enrolled in? They have different admissions rules for different degrees (though presumably all of them allow for exceptions). – Nate Eldredge Jun 03 '21 at 14:36
  • His high school teacher claimed this, that Harvard would give him an interpreter and let him skip the English test to do a PhD there. https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3135766/china-peking-universitys-ugliest-maths – Laurel Jun 03 '21 at 14:41
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    [He got perfect marks](https://www.imo-official.org/participant_r.aspx?id=17511) in the 2008 International Mathematical Olympiad (one of only three in the world that year) and again in the 2009 IMO (one of only two). No doubt he achieved other things as well. It is totally credible that somebody senior at Harvard might have made the offer for him to study there, guaranteeing there would be no barriers or fees. – Henry Jun 04 '21 at 00:12
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    What is the claim being questioned here, and who is the notable person making it? I see the OP asking a question, but no notable claim being referenced. In fact, I'm not sure I see a claim at all, other than the OPs question.... In fact, the question as asked is actually refuted by the reference itself. "Will Harvard enroll someone who is not fluent in English?" and the reference says, explicitly, "he American university said he did not need to take an English entrance test and that they would provide an interpreter". So, what is the (notable) claim? Perhaps this can be asked on [academia.se]? – CGCampbell Jun 04 '21 at 12:35
  • Note that I do not have enough rep to VtC or even D/V... – CGCampbell Jun 04 '21 at 12:41
  • Are PhD's at Harvard even taught? Lots of places just expect PhD candidates to research, and possibly teach other people, but don't require them to take any classes themselves. – Clumsy cat Jun 04 '21 at 15:16
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    @Clumsycat yes, most if not all US/Canadian PhD programs have a coursework requirement (including Harvard) https://www.math.harvard.edu/graduate/graduate-program-timeline/ – llama Jun 04 '21 at 16:09
  • @llama Although usually you are refereed to as a *PhD Student* while doing coursework requirements and are advanced to a *PhD Candidate* once the only thing left is the research. – rjzii Jun 04 '21 at 22:59
  • @rjzii that distinction did not exist at my university, and, even if it does at Harvard (which I doubt), that doesn't imply that the Chinese journalist/translator/editor would observe it. – phoog Jun 06 '21 at 12:13

2 Answers2

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Maybe, but it seems unlikely and more details are needed to say for sure since policies change over time.

Since the article mentions a PhD, they would be subject to the policies of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) (not Harvard College) since they would presumably be studying for a PhD in Mathematics. As of 2021, GSAS requires a minimum score of 80 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and admissions for scores below 90 are "not common" (see FAQ, minimum TOEFL/IELTS score).

One thing that is unclear is if the article is referring to Wei Dongyi enrolling at Harvard as a degree seeking student, or attending as a visiting student while enrolled elsewhere. The phrase "Ph.D. candidate" in the article might support this since PhD seeking students start as "PhD Students" and then are advanced to candidacy later on in their studies (nomenclature note). If that is the case then they would have been subject to the policies for Non-Degree Programs, Special Students (likely necessary for visa purposes), but as of 2021 TOEFL scores are still a requirement.

However, it is also worth noting that it is their high school teacher that is reporting this, so it is entirely possible that someone might be mistaken as to the exact situation.

rjzii
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  • Are the regulations binding? Binding to the school, I mean? The way I see it they are simply a first filter against unqualified applications and an official reason to deny them if made anyway (instead of saying "we don't want you period"). The situation here is entirely different: Harvard was *actively pursuing him.* I don't think the school's own regulations are relevant at all with respect to the school's sovereign decisions: They are only restricting active *applicants,* and only when the school *wants* them to be restricting. – Peter - Reinstate Monica Jun 04 '21 at 15:16
  • @Peter-ReinstateMonica Harvard was *allegedly* actively pursing them, all we really have to go off of is some hearsay that they reached out and incomplete details about that as well. To the best of my knowledge, and from what I was able to find on their sites, Harvard doesn't seem to admit degree seeking students who don't have a degree of English competency, but things tend to be more vague for non-degree Special Students. – rjzii Jun 04 '21 at 16:52
  • In particular, he wasn't seeking. *They* were seeking ;-). But of course modern math is very collaborative; was it Terence Tao who wrote an essay about how he can recognize quacks? The telltale sign: No collaboration. Arriving at interesting results alone simply does not happen except to Gregori Perelman ;-). – Peter - Reinstate Monica Jun 04 '21 at 17:07
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    Also worth noting that this is a puff piece produced in China, and appears to be moderately heavy on the propaganda. It's certainly possible that every word of it is true... but it's also possible that some of it is not. – Ben Barden Jun 04 '21 at 17:36
  • A citation is needed for the claim about the distinction between Ph.D. students vs. Ph.D. candidates. There is no evidence for it on Harvard's website. – phoog Jun 06 '21 at 12:08
  • @phoog I added a quick link on the nomenclature, but advancement to candidacy is typically handled at the department level (e.g., [advancement to candidacy](https://afvs.fas.harvard.edu/advancement-candidacy)) and Harvard departments can be notoriously hard to navigate when trying to find something. The progress from student to candidate is typical of US PhD programs as noted by the Department of Education ([link (doc)](https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/doctorate.doc)). – rjzii Jun 06 '21 at 18:39
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According to a Harvard official website:

First-year and transfer applicants are not required to take an English proficiency exam, but you may submit scores if you wish to do so.

(boldface in original)

DavePhD
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  • Right above, it says you need a strong knowledge of English. It would seem that the guy in question didn't have that, since otherwise there wouldn't be a mention of an interpreter in the question – Laurel Jun 03 '21 at 19:28
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    This quote is for Harvard College, which is for undergraduate education. We do not know whether the OP refers to that, or perhaps to GSAS (for graduate education). – GEdgar Jun 03 '21 at 21:07
  • @GEdgar we know it's not undergraduate because it says "as a Ph.D. candidate." – phoog Jun 06 '21 at 12:15