UNIVERSITY QUESTIONS

[Bighead]

Ok, being a total newbie and too lazy to do any real research I wanted to ask the people on this forum first. Actually I have tried researching but it seems very difficult to get simple, straight answers:

1) As a foreigner in China can I earn a BA from scratch in a Chinese university (of course I would study Chinese but I want to major in Media studies).

2) What is the approximate cost of 3-4 years tuition fees? (In Shanghai. Jiaotong for example)

3) Is the standard of teaching on par with that in the west?

(obviously a lot of Chinese students go abroad looking for a higher standard but I just want to know if studying say, English, in a Chinese university would be a total waste of time.)

4) Are there any other special conditions to consider?

Right now, I'm concerned mainly with the first two questions. The third and fourth I will consider more deeply later.

Any foreigner here studied subjects other than Chinese or Chinese culture in a Chinese uni?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Cheers.

[simonlaing]

Hey Big head,

Other than perhaps in Hong Kong(and even there it is 50 50 , no other cities have degrees taught in English. (though there are some MBA english programs I think) This means that you will have to pass an HSK at level 4 (about 2 years of chinese study give or take) .

I knew several Koreans in Nanjing doing a 4 year Chinese degree. some programs let you transfer into the 4 year program after 2 years. A Canadian guy did that that I knew, but then your major choices are also limited.

A french guy I knew did a science degree but even he said that is didn't feel is Chinese was up to scratch and people gave him a pass to be nice I think.

Most cost amount the same as a semester as a language course , about $1000-1400 USD But once you start your classes of your major you don't take many classes outside your major unless you audit the classes.

My canadian friend taught english for too long and some of it was monetary issue. In China you can teach english and earn enough to pay for tuition.

Jiaotong is a good choice as it is closer to the city and nearer metro stops , whereas fudan which has a better reputation for business and academics but is outside the city a bit and hard to come in for socializing.

The teaching quality is not always so great. And a lot of Universities work on the system if you passed the test to get in you will graduate. Also foreign students usually pay double the chinese students fees.

I would visit and sit in on some classes before enrolling .though it is possible it is not always so good.

Good luck,

Simon

P.S. I think Nanjing is cool city for studying.

[Bighead]

Thanks for the info. That's all I really needed to know. Disappointing but not really surprising.

New question: If I study Chinese in China can I then transfer course credits towards earning a degree back in the west? It's so hard to get this sort of info...

Cheers

[simonlaing]

Hey Big Head,

Although many US universities have exchange programs in CHina for 6 -10 months they usually only pass on credit back to their home country. In many cases this is just completion pass fail credit and doesn't affect your GPA , at other times it does affect your GPA. I think I had a Kansas State Student whose grade was affected.

There are some Masters programs like Nanjing- John Hopkins Center (a famous one) Which can give you a masters or provide a one year certificate . However these can be more difficult to get into than the Chinese universities. Also I remembered something about CHinese Uni's . MAny chinese unis will let you study there even if you are not able to get the required HSK score.

There are British UNIs starting up programs in CHina that might deserve a look, Like nottingham University. But having just finished a British MA degree I must say they are not as intensive as US MA programs. And the BAs look just average.

Good luck with your search. (If you can afford hong kong Unis they may be a worth a look as well).

Have fun,

Simon:)