Student or customer? Mainland Chinese students’ self-identification and reflexivity in Hong Kong’s self-financed taught postgraduate programmes

Hong Kong’s self-financed taught postgraduate (TPg) programmes have experienced significant growth, primarily driven by mainland Chinese students. The marketisation orientation of these programmes may gradually change these students’ self-identification of seeing themselves as ‘customers’ or ‘students’. This study aims to explore how mainland Chinese students perceive their identities based on their learning experiences in these self-financed TPg programmes. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study collected 303 responses, and 17 of them joined the follow-up semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that mainland Chinese students are generally satisfied with the self-financed TPg programmes in Hong Kong for their cost-effectiveness compared to similar degrees from Western universities and for receiving internationally competitive higher degrees. In their studies, most mainland students view themselves primarily as students pursuing qualifications for career development, but some have transitioned to seeing themselves as customers due to unsatisfactory experiences and influences from teachers and peers. The study aims to contribute to understanding mainland Chinese students’ learning experiences when studying abroad and provide practical insights for self-financed TPg programme providers in Hong Kong to enhance the programme quality. Copyright © 2025 The Author(s).