International students’ choice to study in China: an exploratory study

Abstract

International higher education is a major source of revenue in many developed countries. Historically the top destination countries for international students have included USA, UK, France and Australia. The key countries where most international students are recruited from include China, India and other parts of Asia. The extant literature has mostly examined the factors influencing international students to study in Western countries. A new trend is now emerging with an accelerating growth of international students in countries such as China and other parts of Asia. This mixed-methods study addresses the gap in the literature by exploring the factors that influence international students’ choice to study undergraduate or postgraduate courses in China. The study found that China is becoming an important destination choice for international students due to the distinctiveness of the Chinese language, the rise of its universities in global rankings and the country’s economic growth.

Keywords:

• International students
• Chinese universities
• student choice
• academic standards

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Balen HamaKareem Aziz, Sakar Hasan Hamza and Zhang Yanbo for their excellent assistance during the data collection.