{"id":16792,"date":"2021-08-18T14:24:01","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T18:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=16792"},"modified":"2021-09-08T18:02:06","modified_gmt":"2021-09-08T22:02:06","slug":"universities-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/universities-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Universities in China"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that China has the largest higher education system in the world? China has around 3,000 universities<\/strong> (\u5927\u5b66 d\u00e0 xu\u00e9) and colleges, with a total student body population around 30 million (including foreign students). Between 2002 and 2008 alone, the number of higher education students in China quadrupled. The enrollment in tertiary education in China went from less than 10% in the late 90s to around 50% in 2019.\u00a0In Beijing alone, there are over 90 institutions of higher education \u2013 a list that includes a police academy, a sports college, a dance academy, political colleges, and everything in between. In this post, I’ll talk a bit about universities in China, starting with the all important college entrance exam.<\/p>\n

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Image by ken19991210<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The Gao Kao<\/h2>\n

With more students hoping to enter a college or university than there are open spaces, the admissions process is quite intense and incredibly competitive. The\u00a0National Higher Education Entrance Exam\u00a0<\/strong>(\u666e\u901a\u9ad8\u7b49\u5b66\u6821\u62db\u751f\u5168\u56fd\u7edf\u4e00\u8003\u8bd5 p\u01d4 t\u014dng g\u0101o d\u011bng xu\u00e9 xi\u00e0o zh\u0101o sh\u0113ng qu\u00e1n gu\u00f3 t\u01d2ng y\u012b k\u01ceo sh\u00ec), or Gao Kao<\/strong><\/em> (\u9ad8\u8003 g\u0101o k\u01ceo) for short. This exam lasts for a grueling 9 hours a day over 2-3 days, and varies in different provinces.<\/p>\n

Just as American high school students stress out about the ACT or SAT exam, Chinese high school students feel an immense amount of pressure to succeed on the Gao Kao<\/em>, as their admission into a university or college rides almost entirely on their performance. Some students who fail the exam even repeat their senior year of high school to take it again; others who can afford it simply choose to study abroad, which can cost up to 15-30 times more than in China.<\/p>\n

Standard Chinese<\/strong> (\u666e\u901a\u8bdd p\u01d4 t\u014dng hu\u00e0) and mathematics<\/strong> (\u6570\u5b66 sh\u00f9 xu\u00e9) are the two biggest subjects on the Gao Kao<\/em> exam. Students can also choose one of six foreign languages<\/strong> (\u5916\u8bed w\u00e0i y\u01d4) – English, French, Japanese, Russian, German or Spanish – although most choose English as they study it throughout their early school years. Students need to choose between a liberal arts tendency<\/strong> (\u6587\u79d1\u503e\u5411 w\u00e9n k\u0113 q\u012bng xi\u00e0ng) or a science tendency<\/strong> (\u7406\u79d1\u503e\u5411 l\u01d0 k\u0113 q\u012bng xi\u00e0ng) for the final portion of their exam.<\/p>\n

The Gao Kao <\/em>causes a tremendous amount of stress for students, parents, and teachers. The exam basically dominates the lives of teenagers in China. A high score is their ticket to a prestigious university, while failing it causes one to “lose face<\/strong>” (\u4e22\u9762\u5b50 di\u016b mi\u00e0n zi). It’s so stressful that many schools even block off traffic in front of the building on test day to decrease the distractions. Despite the pressure, around 10 million students still took the Gao Kao<\/em> in China last year.<\/p>\n

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Image by \u6587 \u90b5<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Higher Learning in China<\/h2>\n

For those students who study hard enough and have the smarts to actually make it beyond high school, there are many options for higher learning. There are national universities, as administered by the\u00a0Chinese Ministry of Education\u00a0<\/strong>(\u4e2d\u534e\u4eba\u6c11\u5171\u548c\u56fd\u6559\u80b2\u90e8 zh\u014dng hu\u00e1 r\u00e9n m\u00edn g\u00f2ng h\u00e9 gu\u00f3 ji\u00e0o y\u00f9 b\u00f9). These schools are known as \u201cUniversities directly under the MOE<\/strong>\u201d (\u6559\u80b2\u90e8\u76f4\u5c5e\u9ad8\u6821 ji\u00e0o y\u00f9 b\u00f9 zh\u00ed sh\u01d4 g\u0101o xi\u00e0o).<\/p>\n

In addition, there are provincial universities that are administered by the particular province along with other public universities administered by the municipality. Finally, there has been an influx of privately owned and funded higher learning institutions in the last decade. With so many options to choose from, which institutions are regarded as the best in the land? Here are the top 10 universities in China for 2021:<\/p>\n

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  1. Tsinghua University\u00a0<\/strong>(\u6e05\u534e\u5927\u5b66 q\u012bng hu\u00e1 d\u00e0 xu\u00e9)<\/li>\n
  2. Peking University<\/strong> (\u5317\u4eac\u5927\u5b66 b\u011bi j\u012bng d\u00e0 xu\u00e9)<\/li>\n
  3. Zhejiang University\u00a0<\/strong>(\u6d59\u6c5f\u5927\u5b66 zh\u00e8 ji\u0101ng d\u00e0 xu\u00e9)<\/li>\n
  4. Shanghai Jiaotang University\u00a0<\/strong>(\u4e0a\u6d77\u4ea4\u901a\u5927\u5b66 sh\u00e0ng h\u01cei ji\u0101o t\u014dng d\u00e0 xu\u00e9)<\/li>\n
  5. Nanjing University<\/strong> (\u5357\u4eac\u5927\u5b66 n\u00e1n j\u012bng d\u00e0 xu\u00e9)<\/li>\n
  6. Fudan University\u00a0<\/strong>(\u590d\u65e6\u5927\u5b66 f\u00f9 d\u00e0n d\u00e0 xu\u00e9)<\/li>\n
  7. University of Science and Technology of China<\/strong> (\u4e2d\u56fd\u79d1\u5b66\u6280\u672f\u5927\u5b66 zh\u014dng gu\u00f3 k\u0113 xu\u00e9 j\u00ec sh\u00f9 d\u00e0 xu\u00e9)<\/li>\n
  8. Huazhong University of Science and Technology<\/strong> (\u534e\u4e2d\u79d1\u6280\u5927\u5b66 hu\u00e1 zh\u014dng k\u0113 j\u00ec d\u00e0 xu\u00e9)<\/li>\n
  9. Wuhan University\u00a0<\/strong>(\u6b66\u6c49\u5927\u5b66 w\u01d4 h\u00e0n d\u00e0 xu\u00e9)<\/li>\n
  10. Xi’an Jiaotong University<\/strong> (\u897f\u5b89\u4ea4\u901a\u5927\u5b66 x\u012b’\u0101n ji\u0101o t\u014dng d\u00e0 xu\u00e9)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Year after year, Tsinghua and Bei Da<\/em> (\u5317\u5927 b\u011bi d\u00e0) are at the top of the list. Students all across China dream of getting into one of these universities, but only those who ace the Gao Kao<\/em> can make it in. Students from Beijing definitely have the upper hand when it comes to admissions, which is a point of contention among students all over the country.<\/p>\n