New legislation changing minimum period of study from 2 years to 3 years

[LinZhenPu]

I've been hatching a plan for a while now to go to China, improve my Chinese to the point of passing the HSK5 exam, and enrolling in a 2-year undergraduate program to get a bachelor degree in 2 years.

 

But from what I've heard, this is no longer possible. They have changed the legislation which now means you must study for a minimum of 3 years to get a Bachelor degree.

 

Can anybody confirm this?

 

I spoke on the phone with a lady from Zhejiang University *of Science and Technology* asking about their Bachelor of Chinese Language and Literature, which according to information on their website and elsewhere, can be completed in as little as 2 years: http://ies.zust.edu.cn/en/Content.asp?BigCategoryID=2&SmallCategoryID=80 (scroll down to find the program)

 

I said I'm looking at starting from the third year, and she said you can start from the second year, but it's not possible to start from the third year, because in China, to get a Bachelor degree you must study for at least 3 years. I said but on the website, it says students with HSK4 240 or HSK5 180 or above, and pass the entrance examination... and she said, yeah, we are updating the information on the website, because they just changed the legislation.

 

I'm refusing to believe this for now, and am going to phone the other universities that say you can graduate in two years in the hope that the legislation is not applicable everywhere.

[Angelina]

Are you talking about Chinese-taught programs? Because I am attending a Chinese-taught master's and I had to 延期. If you want to attend a normal program alongside Chinese students (students who not only did well on the infamous 高考, also, they are grading the 高考!!!), you might actually need more time. Not sure about special programs aimed at international students. 

 

BTW The link you provided is not from  浙江大学; this is 浙江科技学院. 

[roddy]

It's entirely possible - two years for a bachelors was always a bit cheeky. I had a look at DUFE, which I know listed this possibility on their website and they now have:

"To enter the second year in fall semester: HSK 4 (220) or BCT3, with at least one year’s study experience in a university;

﹒To enter the third year in fall semester, HSK 5 (220) or BCT4, with at least two year’s study experience in a university;"

So in that case, at least, you can't save any time at all. You might still save some money by doing your first two years somewhere cheaper. 

 

It could be they've tightened up on these degrees specifically, it could also apply to all degrees in China. Also, it won't be legislation, but more likely MofE regulations, and it could be implemented differently in different places, so do check around. 

[LinZhenPu]

 

 

Are you talking about Chinese-taught programs?

I'm talking specifically about Chinese-taught 4 year Chinese degrees for international students only that can be started from the first year with 0 Chinese proficiency, which can be completed in 3 years or possibly 2 years if you already have Chinese language proficiency and are thus exempted from completing lower level units in Chinese language.

BTW The link you provided is not from  浙江大学; this is 浙江科技学院. 

A screw up on my part. I edited the post.

at least one year’s study experience in a university;

That's rather broad. I wonder if a one-year Hanban Scholarship program would count. And if another one-year non-degree program at a university would count also.

If you apply for the fall semester with HSK5, you can enter the third year. If you apply for the spring semester with HSK5, you can enter the second year. Sounds like they are phasing out the enter the third year option too.

It could be they've tightened up on these degrees specifically, it could also apply to all degrees in China. Also, it won't be legislation, but more likely MofE regulations, and it could be implemented differently in different places, so do check around. 

It's a shame, I really wanted to get a Sun Yat-Sen University testamur with my name on it but not worth it for me now.

I checked with Xiamen university and they said they haven't changed. HSK5 and you can start from the third year. But... Xiamen University... Xiang'an campus... ew. I would be tempted to go there if the tuition was much cheaper, but it seems to be the same, 20,000 RMB a year.

[roddy]

If you can get them to tell you (or find) the actual regulation, you can have a read and see how much flexibility there is. I'd also be slightly wary of universities saying they haven't changed how they do things - it's possible that's fine, it's also possible they haven't noticed the change, the change hasn't filtered down to the people who answer the phones, etc. 

[LinZhenPu]

 

 

If you can get them to tell you (or find) the actual regulation, you can have a read and see how much flexibility there is. 

I'd love to read the actual regulation.

 

 

I'd also be slightly wary of universities saying they haven't changed how they do things - it's possible that's fine, it's also possible they haven't noticed the change, the change hasn't filtered down to the people who answer the phones, etc. 

Yes that is definitely another thing I am concerned about. I can imagine deciding to go to Xiamen university, investing money in studying at a private language school, passing HSK5 only to find out that I would have to start from freshman year because I don't have any record of studying at a Chinese university.

[Angelina]

I'd love to read the actual regulation.

 

 

It used to be like this:

There were some students who studied Chinese language in China, non-degree, for a year or two. Some of them straight after high-school, some of them had studied Chinese at a university outside of China, but wanted to stay in China after the language course instead of going back to finish their degrees. In order to accommodate their demands, some universities used to offer the option to start their bachelor's in Chinese language and literature at year two or three and thus, technically speaking, obtain a BA in two or three years.

 

Here is an example. A student spent three years studying Chinese language at a university outside of China. Decided that she should go to China because her Chinese was not as good as it should be. Got a scholarship and then spent two years studying Chinese in China, a non-degree course. Became fluent in the language. Then realized that she does not really want to go back (to Italy or Korea or wherever she went to school originally) to finish her degree. Then tried to see if she can get some of her credits transferred and get a BA in Chinese language and literature from a Chinese university.

 

There must have been thousands of students like this, so universities have come up with certain regulations. 

 

Not sure what is going to happen in the future. Maybe this is being phased out, maybe not; maybe it is only one university changing the regulations, maybe all of them. I have heard that it is no longer that easy to get the CSC scholarship to cover a non-degree language course because degree-seeking applicants are preferred nowadays. I am glad you talked to the school, seems like their website has not been updated, students can't see that things have changed. Still, not sure if more universities have changed their policy regarding this. One thing we know is that people who have failed to get the CSC scholarship have been explicitly told that students applying for a BA or MA are preferred over non-degree language programs. Still possible to do it, but if every country gets a certain quota, and there are many students going for full BAs, they will have higher chances of being awarded the scholarship than language students. Maybe things are going in this direction. 

 

You are not in the target group, but if you dig deep enough, you might find a loophole. 

 

What precisely are you interested in? Do you want to live in China? Study in China? 

[Chris Two Times]

Quote

I would be tempted to go there if the tuition was much cheaper, but it seems to be the same, 20,000 RMB a year.

 

While the current tuition costs are 26,000RMB/year at XiaDa (Overseas Education College), a double dorm room (if you would be up for such a thing) would only be 2,000RMB/year, so total tuition + room would only be 28,000RMB/year. That beats many other locale's university tuition + room annual costs.

 

You could go cheap on daily food and incidentals spending to make this happen.

 

http://english.xmuoec.com/programview.ashx?website_id=51

[studychinese]

My friend started a 2 year degree course at the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies as a 3rd year student this September. Unless we both hallucinated this when I was in Guangzhou with him last month, you can still do a degree in 2 years providing you have HSK5.

[LinZhenPu]

That's good news. Must be policy changes which only apply to certain upper tier universities.

[roddy]

Or regional. Or a misunderstanding. Unless there's something you've seen, I wouldn't assume it's about upper tier universities.

[LinZhenPu]

Well, I've noticed that with DUFL, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, and Sun Yat-Sen University, they all now have a policy that you must already have experience in learning Chinese for 2 years in a University before you can enter 3rd year, and 1 year experience for entering 2nd year. But these lower-tier universities seem not to care.