Postgraduate Transition

Providing support for postgraduates’ transition into XJTLU is very important at LIFE. As a Sino-British joint venture, XJTLU is not a traditional university. However, most new postgraduate students come to XJTLU from traditional universities, which means they need to conquer a multitude of barriers – ranging from language barriers to academic barriers and the challenges of life.

There is a dearth of research on postgraduate transition, but in the limited number of studies available, researchers suggest that students’ transition into postgraduate study is often complicated, frustrating, and stressful.

The costs associated with a negative experience of educational transition for students can be high, including students’ loss of confidence, lowered self-esteem, and, ultimately, non-completion. If institutions fail to provide specific support to facilitate postgraduates’ transition, there will be consequences for student and staff dissatisfaction. These may, in turn, negatively affect the further development of postgraduate programmes at XJTLU.

In response to such needs, the Graduate School at XJTLU has developed the postgraduate pre-arrival course and Degree Plus course, both designed to help students complete their transition to postgraduate education. In collaboration with the Graduate School, Dr Yingchun Li helps the development of these courses in the hope that a full-scale support system for postgraduate transition will be created in future at XJTLU.