Every year, several hundred young adults head to the steppes of northern China to learn about rare earths at schools like the Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology.
China has created an ecosystem of more than 40 specialist rare earth laboratories that produce cutting-edge research, supplemented by at least 11 universities and technical colleges that collectively enroll more than 500 students annually in rare earths degree programs, a Reuters examination has found.
Several US institutions have begun incorporating more of a focus on rare earths in their curriculum, though Reuters could not identify a school outside China that offers a specific undergraduate degree.
