The Internationalization of Higher Education in China

Shin, Eui Hang

Korean Journal of General Education 2013;7(1):169-212.
Published online February 28, 2013.

Eui Hang Shin

중국 고등교육의 국제화

신의항

Abstract

Since the liberalization on international migration of students by the Chinese government in the 1980s the volume of outflows increased sharply. For example, the number of outbound students from China to the other countries increased from 118,515 in 2005 to 339,700 in 2011. The United States has been the top destination of the international migration of Chinese students and the number of Chinese students studying in the United States increased from 33,537 in 1994/1995 to 155,558 in 2010/2011, comprising nearly 22% of the total number of international students in the United States in 2011. It has been estimated that more than two million Chinese students went abroad for their undergraduate and graduate studies over the past thirty years. The number of international students studying in China has also increased in the recent years and the estimated total number of international students as of 2011 was 292,611. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the patterns of international migration of student population to and from China. I will examine the current conditions of the international branch campuses of the American and British universities in China. In addition, I will discuss the implications of the rapid expansion of the Confucius Institute at the major universities in the United States that have been financed by the government of China.

Key Words: internationalization of higher education, international migration of students, international branch campus, Confucius Institute, soft power