Transnational students more likely to do postgrad study in UK, HEFCE finds

International students who start their undergraduate degree abroad and then finish it in the UK are more likely to study for a postgraduate degree in the UK than international students who undertake all of their undergraduate studies here, a report from the Higher Education Funding Council for England has found.

The report, published on 8 June, says that Chinese students made up an estimated 83 per cent of the transnational students who began the UK portion of their studies in the UK in 2011-12 and then progressed to postgraduate study here. Among Chinese transnational students, 65 per cent progressed to postgraduate study in the UK, compared with just 45 per cent of Chinese students who undertook undergraduate study in the UK by other routes. 

The proportions of all transnational students who began their studies in the UK and progressed to postgraduate study in the UK were 30 per cent in 2009-10, 36 per cent in 2010-11 and 40 per cent in 2011-12. The report says that one interpretation of the data is that transnational pathways are increasingly being used by students seeking postgraduate education.