On August 25, 24-year-old American Chris Campbell landed in Beijing, excited, looking forward to life as an international student here. But he was also well aware that he would face six to eight hours of classes each day, with another four to five hours of preparation as well.

Originally from a small town, he always had a clear career plan, so the senior student at University of South Carolina made the decision to come to one of China's top universities, Tsinghua University, to study Chinese law. "In America there are so many lawyers and I wanted to find a way to stand out from my peers. And, not so many people know about Chinese law."

China is seeing a growing number of international students who are convinced that this study experience will increase their value on the job market. According to statistics released by the Ministry of Education, there were more than 356,000 students in 2013 from 200 countries and regions studying at China's 746 universities, research institutions and other teaching institutions, 8.6 percent more than in 2012.

Driven by a knowledge-based economy and demand for highly skilled human resources, students choosing to study abroad increased from 1.3 million in 1990 to 4.3 million in 2011 around the world, according to UNESCO statistics. Traditional destinations for overseas education in East Asia and the Pacific like Australia and Japan are facing increased competition from newcomers including China. China has the largest number of students going abroad for study, and now it is also among the top destination countries. China ranks at ninth place with 2 percent of all mobile students worldwide studying there, with the top three being the US, UK and France.

Beyond language study

Campbell made decisions about his career according to the principle that "There's no business without law. No business without China."

"You have to be able to work with China. In order to be successful in business in the future, you have to include China." Upon graduation, Campbell intends to get a position in an American law firm, which will hopefully station him somewhere in China. "There are a lot of opportunities, a lot of money to be made and a lot of people to meet here."

Before and after he made the decision, Campbell did his research about other American lawyers who studied in China, and found that "many of them find good jobs and are paid well, aside from the fact that in general it's very hard for lawyers to find a job in America."

Another important factor that helped Campbell make up his mind was money. "Because of the living expenses, the tuition and the scholarship I got here, I am saving 10,000 dollars just by coming here."

"I think a lot of international students see China as a land of opportunity and potential," he concluded.

Thierry Titcheu, 26, came from Cameroon to the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Anhui Province, six years ago to study software engineering. He is now studying a Masters program at Tsinghua University and will graduate next July.

Drawn to China by its kung fu movies, Titcheu now has more practical things to think about. The hardest part was the fierce competition he went through trying to get the opportunity to come here and receive a scholarship, along with the language barrier - all his courses are in Chinese. But now he feels his efforts will pay off, because he has found that many Chinese companies are willing to hire foreigners.

He has just started an internship writing computer programs for Alipay, the online payment service of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. "Finding good jobs depends on the university. The experience is also important," he said.

Titcheu is feeling confident as graduation draws near, and is glad he chose a major that was not the Chinese language. "Tsinghua is the best in China, and among the top [in software engineering] in the world … Foreigners are here for all types of majors. I think Chinese language has maybe the most."

Compared to the past, more and more international students like Campbell and Titcheu have taken an interest in a wider variety of majors than language skills.

In 2013, there were 147,890 international students who received academic education, accounting for 41 percent of the total number. Xiong Bingqi, deputy director of the 21st Century Education Development Research Institute, said that compared to the past, there are more students from Western countries studying academic degrees.

In 2013, there was significant growth in the number of students coming from Africa, Europe and Oceania, with increases of 23 percent, 13 percent and 8 percent respectively.

Xiong pointed out that while both the number of foreign students and the variety of courses they are studying are increasing, the majority of them are still studying Chinese or Traditional Chinese Medicine. In addition, most come from Asian countries or attend short-term programs. "This tells us that the Chinese universities are not as competitive as we think in the international education market yet," he said.