New Chinese university offers degrees in making China’s ‘national liquor’, mao-tai

Drinking will not only be encouraged at a new university in the southern province of Guizhou – it’s part of the curriculum.

While other schools on the mainland offer training in how to craft a variety of alcohol, Moutai University in Renhuai will be the first conventional school dedicated to the fiery spirit. The company behind it is Kweichow Moutai Company – which makes the tipple often referred to as the “national liquor”.

The private university will enrol 600 students for study in five majors – including wine-making and food quality and safety – beginning this year after the Ministry of Education approves certification. The university will be led and managed by the provincial government, which also owns the Kweichow Moutai Company.

The university did not specify the duration of the degree.

The first class will be made up entirely of Guizhou natives but the school will take students from across the country beginning next year. It has capacity for 5,000 full-time students.