SURVEY: Would you recommend a foreign student to attend University in Thailand?

[Scott]

Recently there was an article that states Thailand may become a higher-education hub.   Would you recommend a foreign student to attend University in Thailand?

 

Please feel free to leave a comment.

 

Here is a link to the thread:  

 

[Credo]

I would not recommend a foreign student to study in Thailand at the undergraduate level, but at the graduate level, I think it might be a positive option.   

 

Foreign students who are residing in their home country are really not grounded all that well to study overseas and Thailand's educational institutions are of such a high standard that the positives outweigh the negatives.   

[gavinreynolds]

2 hours ago, Credo said:

I would not recommend a foreign student to study in Thailand at the undergraduate level, but at the graduate level, I think it might be a positive option.   

 

Agreed - many staff qualified to supervise postgraduate students have studied in the UK, US or Europe, and there is some internationally competitive research in Thai universities in health sciences, agriculture, sustainable technologies etc

[dcpo]

As it stands this question is too vague. Where is the foreign student from? What other choices do they have? The universities in Thailand have problems but they're much better than the universities in Cambodia, Myanmar etc. The best universities in Thailand are better than the not so good universities in India, Malaysia, China and so on.  Thailand is also a nicer place to live than some of these places too. Even the best universities in Thailand don't compare academically with the higher end of universities in the US, UK, Singapore etc. but most young people don't have the option to study in one of these places anyway.

 

Also, most people posting on Thai Visa don't know anything about higher education, but I guess that's true for most subjects.

[Suradit69]

24 minutes ago, dcpo said:

As it stands this question is too vague.

 

Agree. There are too many conditions that might make the decision go one way or the other. 

[12DrinkMore]

28 minutes ago, dcpo said:

Also, most people posting on Thai Visa don't know anything about higher education, but I guess that's true for most subjects.

 

That is a bit of a sweeping statement.

 

Everybody knows about Thai higher education, it goes in line with higher hemlines.

[ksamuiguy]

Same for medical tourism, India has Thailand beat to hell. At the local medical facilities it is cheaper in the west. There are a few exceptions, Eye Surgery for one.

 

[notmyself]

I wouldn't even recommend a Thai student go to university over here but that may be the only option for some so therefore the question is too vague. A degree obtained here would for the most part be worthless in a western country but could be good elsewhere.

[atyclb]

for any foreign student with means, thailand is not a first, second, or even alternate choice.

[BlindMagician]

I do have insider knowledge, 15 years of it.

Already commented on the "hub" post.

Wouldn't touch UG level with a barge pole.

Would be extremely cautious about PG too.

Masters level still has classroom content, and similar problems as UG level. Thesis quality is very poor, but can be ok if the supervisor is carefully selected, but high risk as chance of the student getting to negotiate who that is, are low.

PhD 100% research with a carefully selected supervisor is then suffering from under resourced facilities, budgets etc, so there's a critical problem at that level.

Thai Unis rank in the swamp range, 300-600 ++, where an increase of budget by a few % can make you jump a lot of places. Gets exponentially tougher to move up the ranking the higher you go.

So consider jumping over to, eg, Singapore, such as NUS. Much higher rank, much better global recognition.

[harrry]

I disagree. if the person we are talking aout is living in Thailand it can be a good option for a first degree.  Not that the degree is great (though some are OK) but because almost all western universities accept a Batchelor Degree from here as entry qualification to Masters degrees.  That said it would be wise for a person to spend some time studying in the other country after finishing the degree dong say a grad Diploma to get used to the very different way universities work.

[snowbak]

Thailand's education is a joke. they send most of their PhD students out of the country to schools abroad.

[ironbark]

Like so many apparently simple questions the answer is complex and "depends".

It depends on which institution you choose to study in, the course you chose, the supervisor you study under and finally the examination  and assessment procedure.

Many higher education institutions in Thailand do not meet international standards but there are several that do. 

Many courses in Thailand are run in conjunction with highly respected international institutions and jointly assessed

I would have no hesitation in studying in these places.

[Grubster]

2 hours ago, dcpo said:

As it stands this question is too vague. Where is the foreign student from? What other choices do they have? The universities in Thailand have problems but they're much better than the universities in Cambodia, Myanmar etc. The best universities in Thailand are better than the not so good universities in India, Malaysia, China and so on.  Thailand is also a nicer place to live than some of these places too. Even the best universities in Thailand don't compare academically with the higher end of universities in the US, UK, Singapore etc. but most young people don't have the option to study in one of these places anyway.

 

Also, most people posting on Thai Visa don't know anything about higher education, but I guess that's true for most subjects.

We noticed.

[Grubster]

1 hour ago, ksamuiguy said:

Same for medical tourism, India has Thailand beat to hell. At the local medical facilities it is cheaper in the west. There are a few exceptions, Eye Surgery for one.

 

Where in the west is medical cheaper than here? Are you talking about National health care plans heavily paid for by the taxpayer. Surely you aren't talking about the US which is probably at least five times more on average.

[akentryan]

12 minutes ago, Grubster said:

Where in the west is medical cheaper than here? Are you talking about National health care plans heavily paid for by the taxpayer. Surely you aren't talking about the US which is probably at least five times more on average.

Five times sounds about right, Six months ago I was quoted at BHP the sum of 400,000 baht to replace my Pacemaker, Opted instead to get it done in the USA where total cost of the procedure ran $62,000.

 

 

[richard10365]

Yes

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[Mitker]

Unfortunately, the academic circles are suffering the same flaws as most institutions here: merit comes second to preserving the structures and the positions.

I have been explained some selection processes that I wouldn't describe here since I would instantly be labelled as a Thai basher; but it was hardly believable (although from a reliable source) and totally antinomic with the very purpose of an academic institution.

 

No. It's not the kind of environment I would recommend for a serious learning experience.

[Roota]

Thailand was the best place in the world to do post-grad work in my old field (Tai-Kadai studies), and while the uni itself was the epitome of hidebound Thai ways, I'd still recommend it. But as others have noted above, there's no way to generalize. And this 'survey' really needs one more question attached: have you actually studied at/graduated from a Thai university? Or at least taught at one? Otherwise half the responses are going to be the usual sort of ignorant barstool banter.

 

 

[Mr0Yallow]

My ex wife was Thai, had a bachelors degree in accounting from a university in Bangkok. She went to the USA originally on a student visa, she could find NO accredited university in the US to accept her degree. (a jestive comment) Perhaps the University of Phoenix or Trump University may have accepted it... Trumpalumpa loves to steal anyone's money

[koolkarl]

Most of the international schools in Thailand are of poor quality too and graduating from them poses many problems when trying to attend college in a western country.  And these international schools have now priced themselves out of existence and simply  not worth the money or time.

[dcpo]

3 hours ago, notmyself said:

I wouldn't even recommend a Thai student go to university over here but that may be the only option for some so therefore the question is too vague. A degree obtained here would for the most part be worthless in a western country but could be good elsewhere.

 

It's just not true that a degree from a Thai university is worthless in the West. For one thing you can use a Thai university degree (from the better universities) to get admission onto a Western grad program. Try doing that without a degree.

[dcpo]

3 hours ago, snowbak said:

Thailand's education is a joke. they send most of their PhD students out of the country to schools abroad.

 

So providing an education that gets people onto PhD programs in the US and equivalent makes you a joke? I guess Western PhD programs are a joke too., since they accept such poorly educated students.

[SaintLouisBlues]

I wouldn't recommend a Thai student to attend university  in Thailand

[Krataiboy]

The business world outside of Thailand takes a pretty sceptical view of qualifications earned at any of Thailand's private universities, which explains why only five of the Kingdom's universities have made QS World University Rankings for 2015-6 -  none of them in the top 250 places.

 

Those seriously worth considering for an investment in your child's education are Chulalongkorn, Mahidol Thammasat, Kasetsart and King Mongkul's University of Technology. 

[Rubbertree Duck]

7 hours ago, dcpo said:

 

 

Also, most people posting on Thai Visa don't know anything about higher education, but I guess that's true for most subjects.

 

Amen to that

[Essaybloke]

Despite the expense, I will send my daughter (currently at high school in Thailand) to a university in a western liberal democracy. After 4 years I hope she will bring good, liberal, secular ideas back to the country we love.

[harrry]

7 hours ago, Roota said:

Thailand was the best place in the world to do post-grad work in my old field (Tai-Kadai studies), and while the uni itself was the epitome of hidebound Thai ways, I'd still recommend it. But as others have noted above, there's no way to generalize. And this 'survey' really needs one more question attached: have you actually studied at/graduated from a Thai university? Or at least taught at one? Otherwise half the responses are going to be the usual sort of ignorant barstool banter.

 

 

I would think Hawaii would be a better choice for that.   Here you are getting a rather filtered view of Tai History and movement and hence rather difficult to see the wood for the trees with the language changes and development..

[notmyself]

6 hours ago, dcpo said:

 

It's just not true that a degree from a Thai university is worthless in the West. For one thing you can use a Thai university degree (from the better universities) to get admission onto a Western grad program. Try doing that without a degree.

 

I agree which is why I said 'for the most part'

[Rhys]

In certain programs for the MA, then Thailand would be an option for a Western Student.

 

Reasons:

1. IF you need an MA to continue teaching in Thailand only, OK

2. Certainly is cheaper than studying in the west, OK

3. Many of the Grad instructors (of certain programs) speaking English very well, and graduated from western universities, (Some have major nose problems) FUN

4.  Those instructors teach like they have been taught in Western universities, OK

5.  You may be the only one to understand the English lecture, and the English readings and to engage the teacher one on one, who at times perceives as a threat.

6. Writing the thesis becomes an Ego confrontation with the Thesis adviser who does not have the complete command of English usage, but is great in methods and research writing... a learning for the Grad student....OK