Chinese Universities Ditch Thesis-Only Model for Degrees

Chinese universities are fundamentally transforming graduate education by allowing students to earn degrees based on practical achievements rather than traditional academic theses, a reform enabled by the new Degree Law of the People’s Republic of China that took effect in January 2025. From engineering projects and agricultural innovations to creative writing portfolios, students across multiple disciplines are now graduating through alternative pathways that prioritize real-world impact over paper-based research.

A Legal Foundation for Change

The reform is rooted in the newly enacted Degree Law, passed in April 2024 and effective January 1, 2025, which explicitly grants practical achievements equal legal standing to thesis papers for degree applications. According to Luan Zongtao, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Education’s Degree Management Department, the first cohort of 67 engineering master’s students graduated using practical achievements in 2025, representing approximately 3% of the 2,100-plus pilot program graduates. “This changed the single form of traditional thesis papers,” Luan said, announcing plans to expand the mechanism to agriculture, medicine, and law professional degree categories.

From Fields to Factories: Real-World Achievements

At China Agricultural University, master’s graduate Liu Chuhao earned his degree by developing “Corn Green Intelligent Fertilizer,” which he demonstrated on thousands of acres in Quzhou, Hebei, increasing yield by 22% and nitrogen fertilizer efficiency by 30% while reducing emissions. His doctoral supervisor, Zhang Weifeng, noted: “I believe practical achievements are much harder than thesis papers. Students must both work in the factory and farm the land.”

At Nankai University, doctoral graduate Guo Xinyu developed an autonomous unmanned platform cooperative operation system capable of coordinating multi-vehicle clusters for maritime rescue, emergency firefighting, and remote power tower inspection. His achievement required not just theoretical modeling but full participation in design, production, testing, and deployment.

Creative Writing Joins the Revolution

The reform extends beyond engineering and agriculture. At East China Normal University, 36 creative writing master’s students graduated by submitting original literary works — novels, stories, and collections of at least 30,000 characters spanning science fiction, historical fiction, and other genres. Luo Gang, Director of the Chinese Language and Literature Department, explained: “For professional master’s students in Chinese creative writing, there is a significant difference from academic master’s students. We should cultivate students’ creative and expressive abilities.” The defense panels included not only university professors but also published authors from the industry.

Ensuring Quality and Fairness

Zhang Duanhong, Director of the Education Policy Research Center at Tongji University, outlined three pillars for maintaining standards: review panels must include both academic and industry experts; practical achievements must be accompanied by third-party testing reports and user certifications with stakeholder recusal; and evaluation criteria must vary by discipline rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach.

According to China Youth Daily, the 67 pilot graduates produced five types of practical achievements: 31 project designs, 20 product designs, 2 survey reports, 2 case analysis reports, and 12 other forms. Electronics and information technology accounted for 50.7% of all cases.

Challenges Ahead

Despite the early success, significant challenges remain. A Ministry of Education survey found that while 79.27% of academic advisors and 91.46% of industry advisors believed practical achievements were more appropriate for professional degree students, only 33% of junior and mid-level students expressed willingness to try this path. Liu Qingling, Director of the Degree Office at Tianjin University, cautioned: “Applying for a degree with practical achievements is a choice — you can choose a thesis or practical achievements. But currently, not all schools and not all engineering master’s and doctoral students are suitable for the latter.”

A Paradigm Shift in the Making

The reform represents more than an administrative change — it signals a fundamental rethinking of what graduate education should value. By legally empowering universities to recognize practical impact alongside academic research, China is attempting to bridge the long-standing gap between university training and industry needs. As Cao Qinghua, Executive Dean of Beihang University’s National Excellence Engineer Academy, put it: “The path of granting degrees based on practical achievements has never been walked before. Walking it means taking risks.”

With the Ministry of Education committed to expanding the reform to agriculture, medicine, and law, and with successful cases accumulating across the country, China’s experiment in redefining academic excellence is only just beginning.