Chinese students' social experiences at a university in the United Kingdom

In UK universities, Chinese students make up the largest proportion of the international student population: Despite this, few qualitative studies have explored the socialization experiences of Chinese students; with research on Chinese students on one-year taught masters programmes being particularly scarce (Zhang, 2020). This paper explores how Chinese students on one-year taught master's programmes at UK universities experience socialization and what influences shape and affect their experiences. Two focus group interviews were conducted and thematic analysis was used to explore their experiences in depth. The two most important themes reported here are "Environmental factors influencing social experiences" and "Personal factors influencing the social experience‘’. Evidence from the focus group interviews suggests that environmental and personal factors shape the social experiences of Chinese students and that there is specificity, complexity and diversity in their experiences. This study contributes to helping Chinese students on one-year taught master's programmes in UK universities to have a better social experience and informs support measures in UK universities.