An Investigation of Chinese Master’s Students in Denmark and Sweden

Abstract: This paper investigates and compares Chinese master’s students in Denmark and Sweden, focusing on their motivation for choosing to study in Denmark and Sweden, their daily life and study acculturation experience, as well as their intentions of staying or returning after graduating.The paper provides information on the current student migration situation, and presents relevant motivational migration and acculturation theories. A semi-structured interview method is then used to gather qualitative data from six Chinese master’s students studying in Denmark and Sweden. In the analysis, the paper applies the theories on the interview data.This paper’s findings suggest that the main reasons for the Chinese master’s students to study abroad is to improve their competencies and experience foreign culture. When choosing the study destination, decisive factors include the quality of the program, the academic reputation of the universities, the use of English in teaching and cultural aspirations.The effects of cultural differences, study situation and finance are factors that affect their psychological well-being during the process of acculturation. Their psychological well-being generally follows a “U” curve with an initial high level followed by a lower level which eventually increases to a higher level once again. The students encounter challenges in their study related to the Danish and Swedish academia’s direct teacher-student and student-student communication, as well as the English language.Regarding the students’ intentions after graduating, some plan to return to China because of family, friends and personal relationship reasons, while others intend to stay mainly for career reasons, but with the intention of ultimately returning to China.