nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com

cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/57099081

https://archive.is/ZY9rF

Today, Zhejiang is ranked first on that list, the Leiden Rankings, from the Centre for Science and Technology Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Seven other Chinese schools are in the top 10.

Rafael Reif, a former president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said on a podcast last year that “the number of papers and the quality of the papers coming from China are outstanding” and are “dwarfing what we’re doing in the U.S.”

The number of international students arriving in the U.S. in August 2025 was 19 percent lower than the year before, a trend that could further hurt the prestige and rankings of American schools if the world’s best minds choose to study and work elsewhere.

  • BrikoX@lemmy.zipMEnglish
    0·
    4 days ago

    It’s getting very close ~1.2m (US) vs ~1m (China). For the 2025 academic year, US enrollment dropped 17%, China’s grown 4.5%.

    • LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      0·
      3 days ago

      Well, shit, TIL, thanks. I should’ve read the article better.

      So why are all these people going there then, if they have no real promise of citizenship etc.? Or am I wrong there too? Is Chinese education that prestigious? Or are we talking PhDs and researchers and the likes?

      Wouldn’t mind some other sources as well.

      • BrikoX@lemmy.zipMEnglish
        0·
        3 days ago

        Education, research oppurtunities and cost. They are also heavily emphasizing open research for global good instead of many Western universities that try to patent everything for maximum profit. That appeals to many researchers who just want to make a world a better place.

        Also, citizenship is not a thing in US or UK universities either.

        Over the past decade the country has increased its spending on research and development by roughly 9% annually in real terms. In 2023, adjusting for purchasing power, China outspent both America and the European Union on combined government and higher-education R&D. The country has also drawn back many Chinese researchers who were once based abroad, a cohort known as haigui (sea turtles), a homophone for “returning from across the sea”.

        https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/06/18/are-chinas-universities-really-the-best-in-the-world

        As mentioned above, Chinese Government scholarships are a good idea to apply before choosing a certain university or program. The scholarships can cover all the expenses and free you of those issues in advance.

        Otherwise, expect to spend around 200-300$ on accommodation each month, and around 2.000-4.000$ on tuition fees.

        https://armacad.info/country/china

        What strikes me most about Chinese government’s approach to higher education investment is the principle of equality. Rather than concentrating resources solely in a handful of elite universities, funding has been strategically directed toward a broad range of universities, including those in remote and less developed regions. I’ve learned that over the past decade, about 1.98 million college teachers in western China have been trained on massive open online courses (MOOC). The substantial figure represents Chinese government’s resolve to bridge regional disparities and ensure wider access to high-quality educational resources across the country.

        https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202511/1348984.shtml

        • LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          1·
          1 day ago

          Also, citizenship is not a thing in US or UK universities eithe

          Huh? I was literally an international student in the UK at a UK university for a BSc and an MSc. It’s very obviously an incentive. I would say, the incentive. Of course the point of paying £14k a year for a degree was for well-off families of thirdworlders to give their children a better life in the west. My parents had the talk with me even as early as 10, saying that Russia is a politically unstable, backwards shithole, and that if one wants to live a life, one must go west.

          They were pretty much spot on of course, given recent events, any amount of money was worth spending to gtfo from there, a life outside the third world is priceless regardless of how bad things get in terms of housing, anti-piracy etc.

          In the third world people get treated like animals and so they treat each other like animals, but in the west you get a shot at something more.

          Otherwise unless you’re specifically going into research where degrees are cred, you’re just falling for a pyramid scheme.

          I can’t speak for everyone of course, but I knew a lot of “international students” since as early as year 9 of school all the way up to MSc and eventually work visas. Almost everyone had plans to settle, and anyone who claimed they weren’t doing it for eventual settlement and citizenship was lying to themselves big time lol, all who had it in them to not drop out are still here, counting the days.