Questions about studying in Beijing/China

[Kike]

Hey Chinese-forums!

This is my first post here, and hopefully it's now a wasted post (repeating old questions).

I've been following this forum for a while now, trying to dig up as much info as I can, but I think it would be overall more helpful and fun to just ask questions directly!

Perhaps I'm a little early with this, but I have been seriously been considering the idea of doing my masters in Beijing/Xiamen in 2012. Right now I'm a bachelor student in the Netherlands, studying cultural anthropology and development studies. I hope to do my masters in International Relations, or atleast something a little more politics based.

I saw that Tsinghua University, Peking University and Xiamen university were offering English master courses in that area (I only know 300 Chinese characters, lol), but I also read that those universities are the highest ranked in China. So my question is, and what I really can't seem to find answers to, is if there is any chance to actually get into those three schools?

My grades are ok here in the Netherlands. I think if you were to convert my grade average to American standards I would be somwhere round a 3,7-3,8 GPA, which I'm guessing is okay. But I'm wondering if that is enough for Tsinghua or Peking standards (or as I mentioned, I am interested in Xiamen university too).

Another question is whether it is actually worth getting a diploma in China, were I to be accepted to any of these unis. I'm not sure if these master diplomas will be recognized here in Europe... if they are recognized academically anywhere for that matter.

Third question... would I want to stay in China for longer, would there be any career options for me? I realize that Mandarin is a very difficult language, but I am doing my best to learn a bit in my spare time. So would there be any hope for me in having a career that is China based/China oriented?

The only thing that really scares me about studying so far away from home, is the loneliness factor. So I'm wondering if someone could tell me their first experiences about making contact with fellow students. Lol, it would probably be ok, but this is just a fear of the unknown ;).

Oh and one last question (sorry!)... I read about Chinese government scholarships. Are they really difficult to obtain? Cos that would be pretty awesome receiving one of those!

Thanks in advance!

[amandagmu]

I'm only speaking on what I know about Peking University graduate students I have met who come from abroad and study IR/Politics. They all needed to be able to more or less be advanced level of Chinese to get into the program, and they all had already studied for a year or two in Beijing (or somewhere else in China) before applying. This may not be true at Xiamen or perhaps a smaller uni; those places may accept you under the assumption you learn Chinese as you go.

[Kike]

Hey Amandagmu,

Thanks for your reply! I just looked at Peking University's site, and it says that you don't need to take a Chinese proficiency test when applying for the international programs. The IR graduate program also says it's taught in English.

I guess I should email them to check for sure. I might need to do that anyway since the site isn't very clear on the tuition fee. On one page it says it's approxamitely 30 000 rmb per year, while somewhere else it says it's 60 000 per year. I'm hoping the second is just a typo, lol.

Thanks tho !

[Freek]

Hey Kike,

Im from netherlands too, obtained Trade Management Asia Bachelor degree in Amsterdam

Had an exchange period in Guangzhou, Lingnan university and was enrolled in several master classes.

Lingnan university is also amongst the top universities in China (well, thats what they say themselves)

Obtaining a degree there seems fairly easy, compared to the Netherlands

I think the master level is equal to the bachelor level here.

Here's what i think

*If u want to obtain the degree to better your CV then simply pick a master in the Netherlands or elsewhere in europe.

*If u want to stay in an other place, get to know culture and people and looking for a job in China later than this is a serious option.

Cheers

[Kike]

Hey Freek!

Thanks for your reply-- and nice to see a fellow Dutchy !

Cool that you did your exchange in Guangzhou. How long did you stay there? Did you enjoy it?

*If u want to obtain the degree to better your CV then simply pick a master in the Netherlands or elsewhere in europe.

*If u want to stay in an other place, get to know culture and people and looking for a job in China later than this is a serious option.

Yeah, see that's what I'm worried about since I'm not sure where I'll end up. Staying in China is always a possibility, but then again it's nice to know if your diploma is still recognized academically back home in case China isn't all that great afterall ;).

Perhaps the level is the same as bachelor levels in the Netherlands, but then again perhaps the fact that most masters in China take two years will make up for that difference. Anyway, did you experience that yourself that the level was about the same? And could you also compare the level of your master classes in China with any master classes you took in NL?

I have also been looking at world rankings of universities, and I was quiet suprized to see that Peking and Tsinghua were both higher up the rankings that any Dutch university (haha, Radboud was around the 150th place). Peking and Tsinghua were both around the 50th places.

So perhaps acedemically it wouldn't matter... but the question still remains if a Chinese diploma will actually get recognized here.

Hmmm so many questions... :S.

[amandagmu]

Well, the people I know are PhD students, not master's students, so perhaps you're right. Be careful. It might be a "cash cow" scheme -- they take your money and you get little out of it aside from a piece of paper that says you have a degree. (FYI, this is obviously not just a China thing as I have plenty of friends who went to Columbia or Yale for an MA in whatever, paid full tuition for a year or two, and have a piece of paper but got little out of their respective, overcrowded programs. Given the economy it was not the brightest decision as they've now got years of loans to pay off.)

[Lu]

Have you contacted the Nuffic yet? They will have information on whether your diploma would be valid in Europe, and they also have a lot of information on scholarships.

And have you considered getting a master's from a Dutch (or European) university with an exchange program with China? That way, you can be sure that your time in China will be recognized back home.

Veel succes!

[Freek]

I stayed in Guangzhou for about 6-7 Months.

Also picked the place because its conveinient for travelling. (Bangkok, Hong kong, Hanoi, Sanya were all quite close and therefore quite cheap) dont forget to do that when you are abroad.

Had an awesome time, met a lot of people and made a lot of friends!

The master degree you get in beijing depends on what you are going to study there i think.

Qinghua is a quite technical based university, therefore those masters are rated quite good I believe.

However, obtained degree's in states, europe are usually rated higher.

Therefore i like Lu's post. There are some master degree's in europe/netherlands that have an exchange program, some of them also recommend abroad internships.

For instance, you could be on an exchange program to beijing and have your internship in shanghai. In this way you can be a year abroad in China, and get to know two cities!

I would recommend that.

(I kind of did the same, having my exchange in guangzhou and my internship in Kunming)

[Kike]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the replies you gave a while back!

Just wanted to say that I was accepted to the MIR program at Tsinghua University.

After much contemplating, I realized that it´s simply what I want to do.

I looked into the value of the diploma, and according to Nuffic (Dutch organisation) a two year master at a Chinese key university, has the same value as a Dutch diploma. I couldn´t imagine it being any less of value than a master diploma at the university I´m now studying at anyway, since Tsinghua is ranked much higher- even in the social science departments.

I also can´t imagine two years of foreign experience being a waste of time anyway... there´s so much to be learnt from that.

So in August (I think!) of this year I'll be moving to Beijing... hurray!

[kaylib]

Heyah Kike,

Congrats on being admitted!!.

When in August do you wish to arrive? I hope to arrive end of August and I also wanted a MA in IR but was a little late to apply for this years intake (long story) but I was fortunate enough to get into the Chinese language programme for one semester. Truth is i wasn't sure myself about Peking or Tsinghua OR Geneva Institute for my MA (plus any scholarships they might offer) and where I come from, you hardly hear about these universities. I got my bachelors degree from England in Sociology with International relations but i'm originally from Africa.

Anyway, my query is; if you arrive, would you kindly let me know how the programme's like?? and are you also booked in the Zijing dorms??

until then

hope to meet you sometime at Tsinghua

best,

kaylib