As a response to the increasing number of Chinese students seeking higher education in Western countries, joint programmes have been set up between universities in these destination countries and China. The unfamiliar host academic cultures can pose challenges for international students. Using the 'acculturation model' to frame the study, we interviewed 22 Chinese students on Sino-Australian 2 + 2 joint tertiary study programmes to examine their pre-departure academic acculturation at Chinese home institutions. By comparing and contrasting academic cultures in their home and host universities, the participants reported major differences in academic cultures, particularly in the lecture-tutorial model, learning and teaching approaches, and assessment methods. The findings suggest that these 2 + 2 students were not well prepared at their home institutions for the Australian academic culture. Based on the findings, the acculturation model was extended, with the outcome being a new model constructed towards developing students' pre-departure academic acculturation on joint programmes.