Summary

China’s Ministry of Education recently released a list of new Sino-foreign joint degree programmes approved in the first half of 2018. A total of 22 new programmes were approved at bachelor’s degree level and above, which represents a slowdown compared to the 61 new joint programmes and 13 new joint institutes approved in the whole of 2017. A large majority of new partnerships are in the broad field of Engineering.

The 22 new approved programmes included two involving UK universities, both in aerospace-related fields. However the US had the largest number of programmes, with nine in total.

In terms of subject area, engineering is by far the most popular field, accounting for 15 programmes or more than two thirds of the total. Other programmes were in art and design, education, nursing and logistics management.

By region, the largest number of newly approved programmes were in Central and North East China. There were also several new programmes in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces in the East of the country, and one new programme in Chongqing in the West. However, no new programmes were approved in the country’s largest “tier 1” cities.

Analysis by Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst, International Education Services

The decline in the number of new joint programmes, combined with the subject breakdown of successful applications, shows that the Chinese authorities continue to strictly regulate new transnational education (TNE). The Ministry of Education wishes to develop new cooperative programmes in fields that meet national development priorities but restrict TNE partnerships in fields such as business that it sees as oversupplied. This trend has continued for several years and it is common for engineering to represent more than half of all programme approvals, but the most recent batch of programmes is even more engineering-focused than in previous years.

Sources

Official list of newly approved Sino-foreign joint programmes in the first half of 2018 (in Chinese): http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A20/moe_862/201809/t20180903_347081.html