China’s PhD market is growing with higher demand from local students to study at home, as well as abroad. Statistics show that the new enrolment of PhD candidates in China has grown steadily from 59,764 in 2008 to 63,762 in 2010, a 6.7 per cent increase. However, with increasing competition between overseas PhD holders and local PhD holders in China’s job market, a growing number of students are considering to study abroad for their doctorate degrees. This brings opportunities for UK universities to attract high-quality PhD candidates from China. 1

As one of China’s education internationalisation strategies, the government has been supportive to local students to pursue their PhD studies at overseas universities by offering a variety of scholarships. China Scholarship Council, an organisation under the China Ministry of Education, states it will sponsor 2,500 PhD candidates to study overseas in 2012. 2 

According to the National Mid to Long Term Talent Development Outline 2020, the following subjects are given priority by the Chinese government: renewable energy sources, water and mineral resources, environmental management, agriculture, traffic and transportation, demography and health, urbanization and urban development, public security, cutting-edge technology including biotechnology, information technology, new materials technology, advanced manufacturing technology, advanced energy technology, ocean technology, aerospace technology, as well as basic research involving discipline development, cutting-edge scientific issues, humanities, applied social science, research and development with strategic significance for China and plans for major scientific research. 3

Each year, around 6,000 post-graduate students graduate from State 985 and 211 Project Institutions from various disciplines and they form the major pool of high quality PhD candidates for both local and overseas institutes. 4

If you are interested in China’s PhD market, you may find the opportunities outlined below helpful for the promotion of your PhD courses and programmes in China:

1 www.stats.gov.cn 
2 www.csc.edu.cn  
3 www.most.govt.cn
4 www.phdchina.org 

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Opportunities in China's PhD Market.pdf