Chinese degrees not valid in home countries: What to do?

[Anna_dawn]

Hello! I have a question of utmost importance.

In June I am graduating from BLCU's Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language Master (yay!). But I cannot fully enjoy my success, because I've found out that the diploma will not be recognized in my country (Romania) and that I will have to take it to the Romanian embassy and start a process of attestation/legalization, which will cost a lot of money. Otherwise, I will not be able to use it when I go back to my country. Is this true? Has anyone undergone this kind of process? It seems this problem is encountered in all the European countries.

 

Thank you! 

[prateeksha]

From India's case, I know that Masters degrees awarded by Chinese universities are not "valid", at least in the following cases: 

• For those who did Masters at Chinese universities and want to enroll in higher degrees (M. Phil, Ph. D)
• For those trying to appear for University Grants Commissions National Eligibility Test to be eligible to teach in universities or trying to get a Junior Research Fellowship.

I personally know some people who spent 3 years studying in China (at universities of Chinese repute) and could not advance further in India because their degrees were not considered valid. I have heard the same happening in some other countries too. Does anyone have any personal narratives? Is there a solution to this problem (except for doing your homework before applying in China for Masters)?

[Angelina]

Yes, you should legalize your degree in Romania if you want to use it there. I am not sure about the money, as in I don't know how much it would cost exactly, but it is common practice.

If you don't have the money right now, which would make sense since no one told you about it before, maybe you can legalize it after you go back home.

At least when it comes to the country I am citizen of, we can legalize it at the Ministry of Education. You should send them an email now and ask if you can do it in a few months.

[Silent]

A bit different, but I had my degree validated by a councel of Engineers with a declaration that my degree was equal to a BSc. It took only filling out an application form.

 

Sometimes degree's are not recognised in general, but may be recognised on a personal basis based on documentation/declarations/tests. In the Netherlands they've EVC (formerly acquired competences) where based on previous studies and working experience a diploma can be granted or, mostly, with limited study such diploma could be reached as you are considered to already have the knowledge/skills. I think some universities have a comparable programs, so you might enroll in a degree comparable to what you did in China then, depending on the university you might be excempt from a lot of the work and get the degree in a relatively short time.

[roddy]

Moved Anna and Angelina's posts in here, as requested by Prateeksha

[889]

Don't confuse the two separate issues discussed in this now combined thread.

When you head to your embassy to legalise a diploma or other official document, you're simply getting recognition by your home country that it is indeed an official document from the other country, not something you whipped up with Photoshop. You often get a certified translation of the document legalised as well.

But when you take that certified-not-to-be-a-fake foreign diploma home, the extent to which local universities, licensing bodies and such will treat the foreign degree as if it were earned locally is a different question entirely.
 

[prateeksha]

General disclosure: Anna_dawn is my 老闺蜜 who recently joined the forums and could not post a new topic for her query. I created the topic to address her problem, and in general to discuss the problem of non-recognition of Chinese degrees in some countries. Despite of details offered about India's situation, the question essentially is the same: what to do if a degree earned at Chinese university is not recognized in one's home country?

 

I hope there is no doubt anymore, 889.

[Lu]

To my knowledge this is a problem not specific to China, but encountered by foreign students all over the world. The only solution, as I know it, comes in two steps:

 

- Check (preferably before starting a course) whether the university and the course are recognised by the relevant authorities in your home country (or the country you want to use the degree in).

- After completing the course, get the degree recognised. I think a good starting point is usually your local ministry of education.

 

Beyond that there's not much you can do. Many migrants and refugees run into this too: experts back home, years of experience, and they find when abroad that all they're considered qualified for is cleaning floors. On a larger scale the problem can only be solved on international level: countries deciding what exactly kind of courses they recognise, courses getting the necessary paperwork in order, lots of lobbying and consulting back and forth. I think within the EU it's usually taken care of, but this took some time and it's still not great everywhere.

 

As to the OP: if your ministry of education tells you that you can get your diploma validated by getting it attested/legalised, then that is probably the best course of action. It's unfortunate that it's so expensive. Are there guarantees that at the end of the process it's really valid? Because if not, before spending the money and effort perhaps see if you can find others who have been in the same situation in your country and ask how they resolved it.

[anonymoose]

It seems this problem is encountered in all the European countries.

 

I think it probably depends on the degree and what it's used for.

 

I did a degree in medicine in China, and it is recognised in the UK, for employment if not academia (as for the latter, I have no idea as I have not looked into that), without the need for any authentication or validation.

[Anna_dawn]

Thank you so much, Prateeksha, for your help!   And thank you all for your answers 

[Silent]

 

Don't confuse the two separate issues discussed in this now combined thread.

Exactly, legalisation is only a verification that you have a valid diploma/certificate. Something different then vouching for the value/level of the degree. Oftentimes legalisation is needed, but generally this will be the easy half of the problem.

 

Vouching for the level of the degree is often the hard part. If it's a degree that many people follow abroad/has many foreign students something may be arranged. Also for political reasons such as in the EU something may be arranged. Otherwise unlikely. Ministry of education but also professional counsels may be able to help.

 

Specially when you want to study for a higher level degree or when entering into a regulated profession lack of recognition can be problematic. If you can't manage to get the level recognised I think the only viable solution is to retake the course but at an institution that can provide recognised certificates. Provided the levels are equal this could, in theory, be done relatively fast.

 

When not in a regulated profession the diploma is strictly taken not relevant, but you still have to convince the prospective employer.  The problems of migrants Lu refers to do exist, but apart from diploma recognition, there are other factors too such as language issue's, long term unemployment while in asylum procedures, differences in regulations and thus best practices and of course discrimination.