Pursuing masters degree or PhD in China - is it too hard?

[stapler]

I've been grinding away on my own thesis for many years in my native language. With all the pain and suffering involved in a PhD (it seems very few people realise how awful it is until they're well into it) I can't fathom even the possibility of doing something like this in a foreign language....

 

My advice is: if you want to study at a Chinese university as a way to somehow exercise your Chinese skills, do something much easier like a bachelor or coursework masters. If you want to do research, stick to a Western university.

 

As with others, I agree that doing a PhD in China is career suicide IF your goal is to have an academic career outside of China. But even for people who might want to work in China (Chinese students) they also seem loath to do their PhD's in China not just for reputational reasons, but because of lack of resources and expertise. I can't tell you how many stories I've heard about endemic nepotism and incompetence (something that does of course also affects Western universities) in the Chinese university system, and the generally poor outcomes for students. What I mean by this last statement is I've met many Chinese PhD's and visiting researchers who have told me that when they first started their research here the local bachelor degree students had vastly more experience doing actual experiments, writing papers, etc. and they had to work really hard to catch up with their Western peers.

[Angelina]

If you want to do research, stick to a Western university.

And if you are not from a Western country? (google Edward Said in case you are curious about the very concept)

Why should a Western university be the default option for everyone, especially for people who are not particularly loyal to a certain brand, if a Chinese university can offer the same quality of education?

not just for reputational reasons, but because of lack of resources and expertise

I think the second part is more important. If you can find a Chinese university where you are happy with the resources and expertise available, you should go for it.

Look at faculty, do I want to work with these people? If the answer is yes, self-doubt is unneccesary. If the answer is, wow, I can't believe I will be given the chance to learn X from Professor Y, do it.

As with others, I agree that doing a PhD in China is career suicide IF your goal is to have an academic career outside of China.

My personal goal is to have an academic career. I am not partial to any specific parts of the world, China seems fine.

I can't fathom even the possibility of doing something like this in a foreign language....

Because your mother tongue is English. Have you ever tried to understand that for most people English is a foreign language?

[stapler]

If you're not from a Western country? Then your goal should be to try to get there. Or at least that would be my goal.

 

I know who Edward Said is. But this isn't a case of orientalism. For very obvious historical reasons the quality of education in China is on the whole inferior to Western education. And as such I recognise this is the case not because of some kind of essential Chinese backwardness. Indeed I predict China will be a research power house at some point in the future. Just probably not in our immediate lifetimes.

 

Yes, there may be some cases where there are resources and expertise available in China that are good and outweigh the benefits of doing your research somewhere else. If that is the case I agree that you should go for it. - And on a more pragmatic sidepoint: famous professors can be awful supervisors. Indeed, dare I say more often than not they are. I think the most important thing would be to speak to other students who have worked under him or her.

 

Of course I understand. Indeed most people doing PhD's in Australia (probably the US too) are not native English speakers. And I admire them all the more for that. But I don't believe for a moment that they are doing their PhD's here rather than India, China, Iran, etc. because they wanted the challenge of writing their theses in English or would not, without hesitation, do the PhD in their own countries if the resources, reputation, expertise, and academic environment were comparable to what is available here.

[imron]

if a Chinese university can offer the same quality of education?

Everyone here would agree with this statement.

 

The point of contention is that it's quite a big if.  And outside of a small handful of fields in a small handful institutions, it's unlikely to be the case.  It's not 'orientalism' (if anything, most people who are here have an affinity and connection that biases them towards China), it's just a reflection on the sorry state of much of the education in China and no-one here is in any position to change that, however much we might want to.

[Angelina]

I agree that things such as ghostwriting, abusing research grants, nepotism, and so on, can happen anywhere, the chances of it happening in China are probably higher than Australia. Then again, it is also a highly realistic scenario for a Dean at some Chinese college to use the funds meant for a new students' dorm for funding his own son's education in Australia, paying for ghostwritten application documents or worse. This act is not only hurting Chinese education, also hurting Australian education.

That's why I think it is important to encourage research integrity, without blacklisting an entire country.

How does one apply for school in China? How to choose an appropriate program? How to avoid academic misconduct, how to deal with it if our studies are affected?
How to write a thesis in Chinese?