Graduate School in China

[agimcomas]

Good day to you all,

I am looking for opinions and views over studying in China. I would like to pursue graduate studies in journalism, and to conjugate that with my interest in Chinese by studying in China.

I found an English-language (my Mandarin is not fluent... yet) Master's in International Journalism in Tsinghua University. Of course, I am aware of Tsinghua's prestige, but I would like to hear opinion's on this program, if you know anything about it.

And opinions on the quality of higher education in China in general would also be appreciated. I have only studied there as an exchange student for two months, so I do have an idea but I would like some feedback.

Thank you!

Regards,

Agustin

[yonglin]

Not sure how to put this, but let me make a try: I would think that the skills required to be a journalist in China (the Mainland) are quite different from those required elsewhere... ... So, your qualifications would be hard to transfer to the west, at the same time as it would be hard to get a job in China unless your Chinese skills are splendid. Hong Kong, or even Taiwan, are probably better options.

In general, I would think that the quality of science education in China (e.g., hard sciences, engineering, medicine) is not bad overall. Not on par with Europe or North America (naturally, given the resource constraint), but very decent relative to other developing countries with a similar GDP per capita. Serious scholarship in the social sciences and humanities has been quite de-emphasized in the past five or six decades, so most things there are lagging a bit behind. Also, Chinese education is not exactly famous for fostering creativity or critical thinking, which I would think are key skills for journalists-to-be.

[kdavid]

University degrees in China are not "earned", they're given. If you get accepted to any university program, you're going to get the degree, regardless of whether or not you actually attend class. This applies to Chinese students as well.

As such, Chinese university degrees are largely worthless in the States, and any good employer will know this.

I plan on doing a Master's here, but only for the purpose of saying, "Look, I can do all this coursework in Chinese" (I'm going to study Chinese history), which will hopefully help my chances of getting into a good Master's program when I return home, so I can then move on to a PhD later on.

Don't come here for school if you want a serious education, or a credential you'd like to use in the West with a reputable company. You'll get much better back home in the West.

[agimcomas]

Thankyou Yonglin, and Kdavid for each of your responses. They are very helpful.

I will also considering studying in North America (I live in Canada), but China still has some appeal to me.

Regards,

Agustin

[Sarpedon]

I was recently accepted at Indiana University for a Master's Program in Education, which fortunately is one that can be completed on campus or completely online.

You might look for a degree program like that where you can work online, and then just get a job or study Chinese language at a university in China at the same time.

I'm stuck in Korea for a year, but next year I'll be in China studying Mandarin while finishing up my Master's.

[Scoobyqueen]

can you find out more about the course itself such as will it be taught by English natives and/or writing corrected by English natives? That should be a key criteria. If so, I believe it is a good choice. You will have an international edge (which many media folks dont have) and will be getting an exlusive insight into how Chinese media works. You should be able to get a job as a foreign correspondent in China for a broadsheet for example or in an English speaking country covering China and other regions, or failing that as a media relations person for an internatonal company in almost any country requiring english media relations. I work in the field of international media relations and I especially welcome graduates with an international journalism background. There are just too few of them.

[Lu]

Studying journalism, of all subjects, in China doesn't sound like the best of ideas. It'll be good for your Chinese, but it won't do much for your journalism skills. Perhaps you could study Chinese in China for a year and then study journalism back home?

But there is another possibility. I worked for a while for an English-language newspaper in Taiwan, and noticed that they tended to hire pretty much anyone who had good written English, and enough common sense to be able to learn journalism by just being thrown into the news. (Ok, they didn't hire absolutely everybody, but I don't think many people there had an actual journalism degree.) So another option is just going to Taiwan, or China, offer yourself as a native speaker and aspiring journalist (write a few articles about local news to show them what you can do), and just get started.

Either way, good luck!

[agimcomas]

Wow! All your answers are very helpful.

I looked for opinions about the Tsinghua program, and I have found some pretty positive articles and reviews. In fact, the program is concentrated in Business Journalism, and I guess I could have a chance of being admitted (I was told there are 30 seats each year), since I have a business background (I am about to finish a BComm). Of course, I could study journalism at home, Canada has very good JSchools, but I am more interested in living in China, improving my Chinese and being in contact with China. I guess that would pretty much give me the international edge I need if I ever want to be in international journalism. The truth is, I also want to go through some professional training, I don't think I can learn the profession by trial and error.

First, English is not my first language (it is Spanish), and second, as I am a business major, I haven't had any English and/or literature classes in college. I am naturally interested in languages and writing, but I believe jschool could help me polish my ability to write (and speak).

Anyway, there are of course other considerations, i.e. family, girlfriend, money, etc. So far, I'd like to do this thing. More opinions more than welcome! Thanks!

[gato]

First, English is not my first language (it is Spanish), and second, as I am a business major, I haven't had any English and/or literature classes in college. I am naturally interested in languages and writing, but I believe jschool could help me polish my ability to write (and speak).

Assuming that you are talking about improving your English writing skills, I recommend that you attend a journalism program in Canada to work on that, and then come to China to learn Chinese. Attending a journalism program in China taught in English by Chinese professors with the goal of improving your English writing skills probably won't get you where you want to go.