Eastward Bound
The Rise of Singapore as a Preferred Study Destination for Chinese College Graduates Amid Geopolitical Shifts
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23311068 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Qian Huang (0000-0002-3447-5552, Singapore University of Technology and Design, corresponding author), Wenqin Shen (0000-0002-2121-4409, Peking University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Publication date | 2026-08-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Population Space and Place (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1544-8444 • E-ISSN: 1544-8452 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/psp.70346 |
| OpenAlex | W7171745879 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 22 |
Amid pandemic disruption and intensifying geopolitical tensions, Chinese college graduates are increasingly selecting Singapore as a study destination. This paper examines how and why this shift occurs by conceptualising place not as a container of destination attributes, but as an evaluative and relational construct assembled under conditions of uncertainty. Drawing on qualitative interviews with Chinese postgraduate students and faculty at Singaporean public universities, we develop a five‐dimensional geographical framework comprising physical, cultural, economic, linguistic, and symbolic dimensions to analyse how students bundle, rank, and recalibrate criteria such as safety, proximity, prestige, and future mobility. The findings show that certain dimensions, particularly geopolitical predictability and visa feasibility, function as hard constraints that delimit viable destinations. Within this narrowed field, Singapore is interpreted as simultaneously proximate and globally connected, culturally resonant yet English‐medium, and politically stable without demanding alignment. Its structured neutrality and governance predictability emerge as key mobility resources in students’ risk calculations. By foregrounding students as active geographical interpreters, the study extends place‐based approaches to international student mobility beyond descriptive push–pull models. It demonstrates how ‘good place’ is relationally produced and recalibrated across life trajectories and shifting geopolitical landscapes.
Centrality · China · Construct (python library) · Corporate governance · Foregrounding · Function (biology) · Geopolitics · Qualitative research · Higher Education Governance and Development · International Student and Expatriate Challenges · Place Attachment and Urban Studies
Singapore–China Relations
Emerging education hubs
“Push‐pull” factors influencing international student destination choice
The impact of geopolitics on international student mobility
A good university or a good city
Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis
Singapore-China relations in geopolitics, economics, domestic politics and public opinion
Understanding Sino-Singapore educational exchanges
Theorising the Spaces of Student Migration
Immigration, spatial inequality and place attractiveness
Meanings of place and aspects of the Self
Risk and the Securitisation of Student Migration to the United States
International student migration and social stratification in China
Navigating Geoeducational Dilemmas
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Migration governance and higher education during a pandemic
Shock Mobilities During Moments of Acute Uncertainty
Theory Construction in Qualitative Research
| Highly cited | No |
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