Investing in Higher Education Abroad: The Experience of Chinese Postgraduate Students in Britain

This paper presents the results of an examination of the value of business postgraduate courses undertaken by Chinese students at UK universities: such courses cost many thousands of pounds in tuition fees alone. It seemed worthwhile to attempt to assess the benefits that might accrue to such students, especially in terms of their subsequent experience in the labour market. The results suggest that it is the non-financial rather than the financial rewards of postgraduate study that are considered important by Chinese students. Moreover, there is a mismatch between the expectations of these students and their subsequent experience in the Chinese labour market. This issue has become particularly important following the announcement by the present UK coalition government of its intention to reduce central funding subsidies to university teaching by 40% and to reduce the number of students who would be permitted to enter the country. As a result, UK universities are now in an increasingly competitive market for international students; for strategic purposes, it is important to understand the perceptions that such students have formed of the benefits that have accrued as a result of their time spent studying in the UK.