Despite a large number of Sino-foreign joint education programmes, little research has examined the pre-departure academic preparations of students on these programmes. This study aims to fill the research gap by interviewing 22 Chinese students on 2 + 2 programmes studying at an Australian host university. Findings show that while more than half of the participants acknowledged the preparing effort made by their home institutions, more participants pinpointed areas for improvements: little study pressure at home, the general and theoretical nature of the foundation disciplinary courses, and the disconnection between English and Chinese business terminologies. The implications of the findings are discussed.