International Education in China?

[Hippo]

Hello I am a student from the States and currently studying Undergraduate Degree in EE. I also planned on doing my Masters in EE here also but for some reason I am interested in Double Major in Material Science. The thing is, I just want to learn, everything for the fun of it without breaking the bank because dual Masters Degree can be quite costly. Here are my questions.

Do you think it would be a wise decision to study Material Science in a foreign Chinese University? I know some of you guys would obviously say why not just do it in America. One thing in mind the tuition here for Graduate school is around $30-50k while over there is between $8-12k in a 2 yr program.

How would it effect me if I were to return to the U.S. after finishing my education in China and continuing my education again here to apply for Graduate school as part of my goal of Double Major in EE and Material Science?

And lastly will it effect me in any way somehow in getting a job here in U.S. again? I can understand that some Employers do look down on you if you've obtained an Education in a third world country but since China now leads in Physics and Science journal publication I'm not losing a step at all in terms of education whether I am studying Material Science in the States or in the middle of China.

Call me crazy but is this a stupid goal of mine or a gamble that can be worth while. I have plenty of time to think this over.

A few selections:
-Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
-Dalian Polytechnic University
-Tsinghua University
-Shenzen University
-Harbin Institute of Technology

 

[iacephysics]

So I have a question for you, why do you think there are so many Chinese grad students in the engineering and science departments in the U.S? In fact in many places, there are more Chinese grad students than American students.

Going to grad schools in the U.S is more affordable than you think. If you get a fellowship or become a TA, your tuitions will be covered.

 

[Vanadium 50]

but since China now leads in Physics and Science journal publication I'm not losing a step at all in terms of education whether I am studying Material Science in the States or in the middle of China.

First, it sounds like your mind is already made up.

Second, I don't know where you got that statistic. It may be true in terms of total publications, but it's clearly untrue if you are talking about articles in high impact journals.

Third, if you want a job as an engineer, you better go to an accredited institution. ABET has a mutual recognition agreement with the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) and Institute of Engineering Education, Taiwan (IEET) but not with anything in the bulk of China. I note that the one institution you mention in Hong Kong is not accredited with HKIE.

 

[ZapperZ]

I agree with Vanadium in questioning where you got your statistics. For example, if we look at the Physical Review journals alone, this is http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...ZfTmw5RIFGnKFkAg&sig2=G2u5wpVxSIQ4JULCtBqtkw".

China constitutes 12.3% of the submitted manuscript, while the US doubled that. While there certainly is a trend that the number of publication coming from the US is dropping, the US still dominates as the country with the largest number of publication in the Physical Review journals. I don't doubt that this observation doesn't vary that much in many other disciplines.

It is OK if you decide you want to do something based on personal preference. However, if you base it on some "fact", you better make sure your information is correct, or you would be doing something based on a false premise. And doing something based on a false premise can mislead you into doing something stupid, such as invading a country. :)

Zz.

 

[Hippo]

Thank You all for the intelligent advice you've given me. I guess we can say I am one of many American people that got caught up with the whole Beijing Olympics with how China is rapidly getting big and better than the everyone else. If I really want to be a credible Engineer and or Scientist I should just stay put.

One last question I have guys. For Japanese Universities and Singapore Universities, are they internationally recognize for its Education and credibility? This is just a random question my roommate wants to know of in advance.

 

[jhicks]

One thing in mind the tuition here for Graduate school is around $30-50k while over there is between $8-12k in a 2 yr program.

Assistantships are quite common in engineering even at the master's level. As an MS student in EE, I actually make a couple thousand per semester after cost of living, tuition and books with my assistantship.

Also, I would be wary about the hype surrounding China. The U.S. may only double it in amount of manuscripts submitted to APS publications, but China lags far more than double behind the U.S. in terms of innovation, which is a nice way of putting "they steal a lot of other peoples' ideas". I don't actively do this, but I have yet to cite one paper from a Chinese university.

As an aside though, I am throwing around the idea of learning mandarin and taking kungfu :P