China – Academia

PhD

Structure of doctoral programme

Students at most universities are required to study for 3 years; at some universities such as East China Normal University they are required to study for 4 years. The number of years spent on the PhD also depends on how well students meet their supervisors’ requirements.

Politics and English are the two common required courses at all Chinese universities. By the PhD stage, the main task is to research and publish papers; therefore, both research achievements and academic papers are obligatory.

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Nearly all Chinese universities require students to publish some papers before attending the final thesis viva; teaching experience and exams are not required.

For example, Changjiang University requires that:

1. Students publish at least three professional papers in domestic core journals or in international professional journals (as the first author).
2. At least one of the papers must be included in the SCI or EI index.
3. Students complete all required courses.
4. Students pass the final thesis viva.

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TIP: Nearly all Chinese universities require students to publish some papers before the degree can be awarded.

PhD support

PhD students meet their supervisors at least once a month; meeting twice or three times a month is quite common. Supervisor input is similar to that in the UK. Supervisors provide guidance, recommend books/articles, set assignments, discuss papers, provide information on conferences and funding, etc. Chinese universities implement the Supervisor Responsibility System: one PhD student has only one supervisor.

PhD students enrolled on a 3-year programme need to attend research training modules in their first year; PhD students enrolled on a 4-year programme need to attend research training modules in the first two years. Students can also apply for different training modules in other universities or for summer training modules.

Progress is monitored in two ways. First, it is monitored by the student’s supervisor; however, due to other work commitments, some supervisors cannot monitor every aspect of their student’s research. A second way of monitoring progress is the university monitoring system. There are three stages that a PhD student must go through before handing in his/her dissertation and attending the final viva:

1. Thesis proposal (in the first term of year 2, students introduce their topics; supervisors and professors judge the value of the topics and give advice)
2. Mid-term exam (in the first term of year 3 when students are halfway through their research. Students need to report their progress and any problems; supervisors and professors give advice)
3. Pre-viva (about 2 months before the final viva, students have a mock viva with their supervisors and professors)

PhD thesis

The length of a PhD thesis is typically from 50,000 to 150,000 words (Chinese characters). For example, Fudan University suggests the length should be no less than 100,000 words; Shanghai Jiaotong University requires 80,000 to 100,000 words; Xiamen University only requires no less than 50,000 words.

Presentations are not as common at Chinese universities as at UK universities. Students are advised to wear formal clothes to presentations; casual clothes are also fine, but teachers and other students prefer the presenter to be dressed “professionally”.

A certain number of theses are required to be printed before they are submitted. Theses should also be submitted online as a WORD or PDF file. Visit the Fujian Normal University and Lanzhou University websites for further details.

Viva

In China, almost all the universities have the same viva procedures, although there are some subtle differences with regard to the date and length of the examination. At Tsinghua University for example the PhD student must submit all the necessary documents, signed by his/her supervisor together with the supervisor’s detailed review, approximately 2 months before the viva. The thesis should also be submitted in electronic form so that it can be kept in the archives.

The institution sets up an oral thesis defense committee of 5 or 7 experts. The chair must be a doctoral supervisor and active in a related academic field. S/he must not be the PhD student’s supervisor. The committee must include two or three suitably qualified experts from other academic institutions, and the committee members need to have been examined and approved by the academic degrees committee of the university.

Approximately one month before the official thesis defense, the home institution will hold a mock viva. Examiners at the mock viva are usually from the home institution. The academic leader is the chair of the committee. The PhD student’s supervisor is a member of the committee. If the PhD student does not pass the mock viva, his/her period of study is extended.

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There is no unified set time for a viva at Chinese universities. The personal statement lasts about 30 minutes. Then members of the examiner group ask questions about the PhD student’s thesis, achievements, academic treatises and other matters relating to the student’s research. The whole process takes between one and two hours.

In the formal viva, the committee must include two or three suitably qualified experts from other academic institutions. Examiners at the mock viva are from the home institution.

A few days before the viva, an announcement will be released on university bulletin boards and the university’s website. Teachers and students are welcome to attend the viva at most universities. For example, Shanghai Jiao Tong University announces forthcoming vivas about a week before they take place.

Employment

PhD students can work as teaching or research assistants. For example, Captial Normal University in Beijing allows PhD students to teach or assist for up to 4 hours per week. The university pays PhD students RMB 1,000 (about £100) a month for this role. The University of Science and Technology of China allows PhD students to teach for up to 10 hours per week; the university pays them RMB 1,000 plus teaching hours wage. PhD students who work as research assistants can earn between RMB 1,150 and 1,650 (GBP £115 – £165) per month depending on their subjects. PhD students can also do other part-time jobs outside universities; for example, they may work as private tutors, private training school teachers or language training school teachers.

Visiting other institutions, exchange programmes and placements

In China, all Project 985 and Project 211 universities (an initiative implemented by the Chinese government with the aim of building and establishing a set of elite and world-leading universities) and some other universities have student exchange programmes. Such programmes are mostly of three types: courses of study for one or two years, summer programmes and short-term programmes. In general, there are two kinds of exchange programme: government-supported and self-supported. Universities bear the total or part cost of tuition, accommodation, books, overseas medical and insurance, international travel, meals, and some other personal expenses for government-supported students. Self-supported students pay all relevant costs themselves. Students can find relevant information from their parent university’s website or the international office of the university.

For example, Sun Yat-sun University has implemented several favourable policies to encourage high-achieving students at different levels to study at other national or international institutions. High-achieving students from Fudan University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Zhejiang University, Southeast University, Zhejiang Industrial University, and Zhejiang Sci-Tech University can choose to take an exchange programme at any of the six universities. See also the International Office of The North University of China.

Procedures for arranging placements can be found in the exchange programs. According to the regulations of the Ministry of Education of China, after studying outside or abroad, all government-sponsored students in China must return and fulfill their obligation to work for a period of two years in China or they must pay for the breach of contract. Self-funded students have to seek employment on their own.