His research interests include Chinese and East Asian higher education, global brain circulation, internationalization of higher education, globalization and education, differentiation and diversity in higher education, theories of organizational change, knowledge transfer and commercialization, and international migration and development. His most recent books include (with Ruth Hayhoe et al) Portraits of 21st Century Chinese Universities: In the Move to Mass Higher Education (2011), and two edited volumes Education and Global Cultural Dialogue (with Karen Mundy, 2012) and Education in China: Educational History, Models, and Initiatives (2013). In 2012-2013, Qiang Zha spent some time at Tsinghua University as a Wei Lun Scholar, and at Peking University as a visiting professor.