UK finance courses attract more applicants from China

At the Isma Centre at Reading University, 25% of MSc students are

already from China and the proportion is rising. Tim Hughes,

the centre's director, said: "The Chinese are very career-oriented and very

interested in business and finance."

MSc in finance courses are cheaper and more specialised than

alternatives such as an MBA. They also require minimal prior work experience,

making them ideal for students straight out of university in China.

To colleges in the UK, Chinese universities offer a seemingly limitless

source of fee-paying students. There are more than 1,000 universities in

China, with millions of undergraduates.

The rush to study postgraduate finance subjects in the UK is part of a wider

trend. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) says total undergraduate applications from students from China increased tenfold between 1999 and 2002, to reach nearly 5,000 last year.

Getting a place on a worthwhile postgraduate course course can be hard, however. Dylan Thomas, head of admissions at the Cass business school in London, said entry requirements for an MSc were rigorous.

"We are very demanding in terms of English language ability, and we (typically) demand a GMAT score of 680+", he said.

Thomas said Cass deliberately chose a multicultural intake, with students

from more than 40 countries.

Successful applicants often go back to China to work in Shanghai after their

course. Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and other international investment banks have a significant presence in China's fledgling financial centre.

Jing Chi, a postgraduate student from China at the Isma centre, said the UK

was seen there as a good place to take an MSc course. "London is a major

financial centre. But the US is better for MBAs," she said.

"The financial market is growing very fast in China. It

is a new industry and is promising. Young people want to grow with it."