A Comparison of the Scholarship Policy for International Students between China and the UK

Abstract: The policy space about international students’ scholarship is comparatively unoccupied. A documentary analysis will be used as the research methodology to achieve an understanding of the scholarship policy for international students in China and the UK.

摘 要：對國際學生獎學金的政策尚有研究的空間可以挖掘。本文應用文獻分析法這一研究方法旨在對中英國際學生講學金政策有一個更清晰的理解。

Key words: scholarship policy， international students， China， UK

關鍵詞：獎學金政策；國際學生；中國；英國

[中圖分類號]：G648.9 [文獻標識碼]：A

[文章編號]：1002-2139(2011)-24-0339-02

In the new global economy， there are more and more international students in some countries. For international students， it can be said that scholarship is very important because it provides them financial support. The purpose of this report is to make a comparison of scholarship policy for international students between China and the UK， and the two main objectives are as following: to explore policy intentions between China and the UK from national to institutional level， and to compare the content of policy between two countries.

1.The intentions of scholarshop policy

When referring to the intentions of scholarship policy in China and the UK， the intentions from national level and institutional level will be examined in the following part. For China at the national level， China Scholarship council (2010) states that the establishment of the scholarship programmes is aimed at;

promoting the mutual understanding and friendship between Chinese people and the people from the whole world， developing the exchange and cooperation in education， science， technology， culture， economy and trade between China and other countries.

Moreover， another intention is the economic factor， because the increasing number of international students can be thought as one way to increase government revenue to some extent. There is a possibility that meeting the trend of globalization is the third intention. Chinese government wants to catch up progress because more and more other countries have set up formal international scholarship policy to meet the needs.

For the UK at the national level， the government has the similar basic intentions with China such as strengthening the understanding and improving cooperation and exchange between UK and other countries. Whereas， building education as a brand is an important intention for the UK government. It can be said that UK is famous for its long history and high quality education. In recent years， many universities have been depended on international students as Guardian (2004) mentions that British universities need earnings from international students to balance their books and teach home students.

It is difficult to find out the Chinese scholarship policy at the institutional level. However， it is highly likely that the institution will follow basic intentions from government. Article 22 (2002) from Rules on foreign students’ enrollment in China’s Colleges and Universities claims that higher-learning institution have the right to solely or jointly establish scholarships for foreign students in accordance with real needs.

As to the institutions in the UK， there are two main intentions for them to establish scholarship policy. The first intention is to improve the teaching and research level in the field of education. ARSAS (2011) states that they are aiming to attract high quality international students to the United Kingdom to undertake research. Another possible intention is the improvement of reputation. It is a competitive advantage for some institutions if they have established this kind of policy，

2. The content of scholarship policy

A look at the content of scholarship policy in China and the UK， there are some evident differences between two countries. Eligibility and types of scholarship are the two main areas that will be discussed in this part. As to the eligibility， Chinese government emphasizes on the educational background and age limit. China Scholarship Council (2010) shows that different applicants should meet different requirements to apply Chinese Government Scholarships. For example， applicants for undergraduate studies must have completed senior high school with good grade and under the age of 25. The scholarship policy in the UK， in the contrary， tends to be more detailed and different types of scholarship have different requirements of eligibility. At the national level， taking British Chevening Scholarships as an example， it is available more than 160 countries and different candidates in different countries have different requirements. Candidates from China should have minimum IELTS 6.5 and 3-5 years relevant work experience. At the institutional level， the ARSAS (2011) does not require any age limit like Chinese Scholarships policy but put stress on the level of students. All candidates must be the postgraduates.

Then， as to the types of scholarships in these two countries， it seems that UK covers more comprehensive and diverse types of scholarships policy than those in China. The Chinese government offers China/UNESCO-the Great Wall Fellowship， Distinguished International Students Scholarship， HSK Winner Scholarship， Short-term Scholarship for Foreign Teachers of Chinese Language， and Chinese Culture Research Fellowship these five types scholarships for different level students. On the other hand， UK government provides British Chevening Scholarships， British Council Awards， Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan these types of Scholarship at the national level， and Clarendon Bursaries， DFID Shared Scholarship Scheme， The Rhodes Scholarships these types of scholarships at the institutional level.

3. Conclusion

This paper has made a comparison of the scholarship policy for international students between China and the UK. As to the implications for policy development， the most important thing for China is to make policy more comprehensive and perfect. This may need to develop some potential areas of this policy. For the UK， it is better to minimize the gap between the scholarship policy between national level and institutional level. Above all， it is hoped that this paper can enhance some understanding of the field of policy.

References

[1]ARSAS， (2011) Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme， from www.UniversitiesUK.ac.uk

[2]Article 22， (2002) Rules on Foreign students’ Enrollment in China’s Colleges and Universities， from http://us.tom.com/english/270.htm

[3]China Scholarship Council， (2010) Chinese Government Scholarship， from http://en.csc.edu.cn/Laihua/

[4]Guardian， (2004) Universities Call for New Strategy on Overseas recruitment， from http://education.guardian.co.uk/students/overseasstudents/story/0，12743，1305264，00.html