BEIJING -- The number of Chinese studying master's degrees overseas continues to increase, according to a report.

Students who apply for master's degree or above overseas made up 68 percent of all students planning to study abroad, up 8 percentage points from 2017 and 11 percentage points from 2016, according to the Report on Chinese Students' Overseas Study released last week by New Oriental Vision Overseas and Kantar Millward Brown.

The rise in the number of applicants for the master's degree or above overseas indicates an increasing number of students willing to obtain a higher academic degree to elevate their competitiveness, the report read.

Students who apply for master's degree or above overseas accounted for 47 percent of all Chinese students already studying abroad, the report showed.

The interviewed students chose to study abroad for the purposes of expanding their horizons (64 percent), enriching life experience (64 percent), learning advanced knowledge (49 percent), and obtaining better jobs (44 percent).

The report was based on a survey of around 5,000 students who plan to go to school abroad or were previously overseas students, and their parents and some employers, in more than 40 cities across China in February and March.