Previous studies of "the Chinese learner" have confounded the effects of culture and context or have used heterogeneous samples of students. In this study, 134 British students and 207 students from mainland China following 1-year postgraduate programmes at six British business schools completed the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) and the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (RASI). The two groups yielded the same factor structure on both instruments. There were no significant differences in their scores on the CEQ. On the RASI, the British students produced higher scores on deep approach and strategic approach. These differences could not be attributed to differences in response style. In short, when British and mainland Chinese students were compared within the same educational context, their perceptions and approaches to studying showed the same underlying constructs, but in the present context Chinese students were less likely to exhibit deep or strategic approaches to studying.