The Adaptation Experiences of Chinese PhD Students in the UK

Chinese students make considerable contributions to Western countries both financially and academically. The increasing number of Chinese doctoral students in the UK highlights the importance of understanding their experience when faced with new and unfamiliar British social and educational contexts. Although research on the adaptation experiences of Chinese undergraduate and taught postgraduate students is relatively well-established, studies focused specifically on international Chinese doctoral students are still very rare. This study therefore aims to explore the adaptation experiences of Chinese PhD students in UK universities. 

Using Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, field and capitals as its theoretical base, the study begins by examining the challenging aspects of Chinese doctoral students’ experiences resulting from the mismatch in approach and norms between the students’ field of origin in China, and their new field in the UK. It also examines the coping strategies employed by individuals in order to adapt their habitus in ways to better ‘fit into’ British contexts. Based on qualitative interviews with staff and Chinese doctoral students at four different English universities,  supplemented with analysis of institutional documentation, this study concludes by arguing that there was ultimately more similarity than difference between the students in terms of experiences and adaptations. These students often encountered challenges in academic, sociocultural and well-being realms. The prevailing response among these students was to make fairly superficial adaptations to the academic demands of their programme, while leaving the core of their habitus and identity intact; thus operating a ‘cleft habitus’ and ‘playing the academic game’ in a more strategic way. Only a minority of the students made successful and more genuine adaptations both academically and socioculturally – thus experiencing a clearer shift in their habitus and achieving, in Bourdieu’s terms, ‘practical mastery’. The study also highlights some practical recommendations for HE practitioners, and reas ripe for further research.