More Chinese PhD’s in Tilburg

The University of Utrecht can be found on Chinese social media Weibo, Renren and Youku. The university hopes to interest Chinese students to come to Utrecht. It’s not the only Dutch university that aims at Chinese students. Exactly a year ago, Tilburg University opened their own office in Beijing.

The aim is to attract more Chinese PhD students and top students and tighten the bonds with Chinese top universities and institutes. Tilburg University has made an agreement with the Chinese Acadamy for Social Sciences (CASS) to join forces when it comes to Finance and Sustainability.  Tilburg also offers double degree programs with eight Chinese universities, which means students study both at China and at Tilburg for one year and receive a degree from both universities.

Results
With the opening of the China office, the number of Chinese PhDs has increased. Untill 2012 Tilburg hardly welcomed any Chinese students with scholarships from the Chinese Scholarship Councill (CSC). Suddenly, in 2012 there were twelve PhD’s, making Tilburg the fourth university of the Netherlands when it comes to Chinese PhD’s. A CSC-scholarship means the Chinese government pays the first 48 months, the rest of the program must be payed for by TiU.

The number of students coming to TiU do not look as promising. In 2012/2013 311 Chinese students applied at TiU, in 2011/2012 322 and in 2010/2011 331. The students chose for economic studies. “The number of Chinese students has declined throughout Europe because of the economic crisis and social unrest. There is a lot of attention for these things at Chinese television. Tilburg is doing a relatively good job,” states Jacques van Vliet, Academic Liaison Officer for TiU in China.

Scholarships
Chines students who come to Tilburg must be prepared to take their wallets out. Students of non-EU countries pay the institutional rate, which means 6000 euros for a bachelor’s degree and 10.500 for a master’s degree.  Students can also apply for a scholarship. In 2012 35 scholarships were given out as part of the TiU Scholarship for Academic Excellence. Four of those scholarships were for Chinese students. Faculties can also grant scholarships, ten to fifteen Chinese students received such a scholarship. The majority of Chinese students pays around 20.000 euros each year for the studies, including housing and living costs.

After Dutch students, the Chinese students have the majority. International bachelor students are often from China, but also often from Germany,  followed by students from Indonesia, Bulgaria and Belgium. When it comes to international master students, the majority comes from China, followed by students from Bulgaria, Greece, Germany, Poland and Indonesia.

Integration
One of the problems with the arrival of Chinese students is integration. Chinese students tend to go around together. They live in the same houses and don’t become members of sport clubs or student associations, according to the complaints of Dutch students.  Guido van Leerzem, Policy Officer Internationalization, says that the university is putting a lot of effort to make sure the integration of international students will be improved. Two years ago the Welcome Week was combined with the TIK-week and the name was changed to the TOP-week. Also when it comes to housing, the university aims at a mix of nationalities. ” Students who look for a room via our reservation system, can never end up in a house with people only of the same nationality. The system doesn’t allow more than 10 percent to 15 percent of the same nationality per accommodation. Of course, there are also students who look for housing elsewhere, we do not know their housing situation.”