1. The System of Degree-conferring

Authorization Strict examination system has been set up for the conferment of Chinese degrees, including the examinations of degree-conferring units, degree-conferring disciplines, degree-conferring specialties and also including authorizing degree-conferring units to award Master's and doctoral degree to persons with qualifications equivalent to postgraduates on graduation. Authorization approval must stick t0 the principles of "adherence to standards, strict requirement, guarantee of quality, and justice".

* The Examination of Degree-Conferring Units The authorized units must have certain schvoling quality and accord with the country's regulations. The main principle is to optimize the structure and rationalize the distribution in the sight of practical needs. Higher education institutions have been given priorities and reform of higher education management has been pushed forward in the process of degree-conferring authorization.

The examination of newly-established Master's and doctoral degree conferring units shall be conducted every four years. The procedures are as follows ?o

Higher education institutions or scientific research institutes shall advance their applications to the higher authorities and finally submit to the General Office of the Academic Degree Commission of the State Council for ratification if approved by the higher authorities. Higher education institutions or scientific research institutes should first go through the initial examination for the comprehensive conditions, and then their disciplines and specialties are subject to re-examination and approval by the Disciplines Appraising Groups organized by the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council??A new degree-conferring unit comes into being after the approval of the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council.

Bachelor's Degree conferring units Newly-established should be approved by the academic degree committees of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government or approved by the education committees, bureaus of provinces and autonomous regions if the academic degree committees have not been established.

*The Examination of Degree-Conferring Disciplines

The second grade disciplines in the Catalog are the basic ones for master's and doctoral degree conferring disciplines. Some of the first grade disciplines have been authorized to award degrees since l995. The principle is to adhere to standards and be strict in requirement, in the sight of the need of Chinese economy, scientific and technological education, social development and defense construction.

First grade disciplines and doctoral degree conferring disciplines are conducted in a unified way in the country. The examinations of Master's Degree conferring disciplines are: a) Higher education institutions that have graduate schools can approve the Master's Degree conferring disciplines independently within the scope of approved disciplines and specialties. b) Some provincial academic degree committees can examine the Master's Degree conferring disciplines advanced by the degree-conferring units with the approval of the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council. c) The Academic Degree Committee of the State Council will organize all the other examinations except the above-mentional two.

* The Establishment and Approval of Degree-Conferring Specialties

With the development of economy and society, and in view of the need of different kinds of high-level personnel, the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council has made decisions to add Master of Business Administration (MBA), Degrees of Architecture (Bachelor's and Master's Degree of Architecture), Master's of Law, Master's of Engineering, Degree's of Clinical Medicine (Doctor's and Master's Degree of Clinical Medicine), Master's of Public Administration (MPA), Master's of Agriculture Spreading provisional, Degree's of Veterinary Medicine (Master's and Doctor's of Veterinary Medicine). In accordance with the Provisional Measures on the Approval of Degree-conferring Specialties issued in 1996, the higher authorities or the higher education institutions together with the said authorities shall advance the applications first, then the General Office of the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council together with some of the related units organize the experts to evaluate, and the establishment of degree. conferring specialties shall finally go through the examination of the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council.

* Authorizing Parts of the Degree-conferring Units to Award Doctor's and Master's Degree to Persons with Qualifications Equivalent to Postgraduates on Graduation. The Academic Degree Committee of the State Council promulgated the Provisional Regulations Concerning Conferring Master's and Doctor's Degrees to In-the-service Persons with Qualifications Equivalent to Postgraduates on Graduation and its implementation measures in l990. It was for sake of training high-level personnel in more aspects and to provide some opportunities for in-the-service persons without receiving graduate education. In July, 1998, the Regulations Concerning Conferring Master's and Doctor's Degrees to Persons with Qualifications Equivalent to Postgraduates on Graduation was released by the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council after practice and ratification. Requirements for applicants, procedures to admit and confer degrees and approval of the units to implement such works have been further stipulated in the Regulations.

A few of the doctoral degree conferring units with high-level education and management for postgraduates have been authorized to confer doctoral degree to persons of the same educational level. Doctoral degree conferring units and some of the Master's Degree conferring units with good conditions and high-level management are authorized to confer Master's Degree to persons of the same educational level.

2. The System of Graduate Education

The Levels, Types, Goal and Requirements of Graduate

EducationChina's graduate education has two levels---master and doctor. At each academic level, two kinds of people are trained to meet the country's different needs.

The goal and requirements of the graduate education is regulated in accordance with the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Academic Degrees and some related education regulations.

---Applicants for doctoral degrees must be master-degree holders or those with an equivalent education. They must at the same time have the recommendations of at least two associate professors or professors who are specialists in the fields concerned. The length of study for doctoral degree varies form 3 to 5 years. The candidates should be patriotic, moral, ready to serve the country's construction and well-grounded in basic theory and have solid and systematic knowledge and related technique and methods of their respective fields, capable of going through independent research work?? In addition to the compulsory courses, they must finish a dissertation that must be approved and successfully defended.

--- Applicants for Master's Degrees must be distinguished undergraduates from universities or junior college graduates having graduated for more than two years and having acquired an equivalent educational level of graduates from universities. The length of study for the Master's Degree varies from 2 to 3 years. The candidates should be patriotic, moral, ready to serve the country's construction and well-grounded in basic theory and have solid and systematic knowledge and related technique and methods of their respective fields, capable of carrying out independent research work. They must pass the required examinations and finish a thesis that must be approved and successfully defended.

Enrollment

The Ministry of Education directs the enrollment of graduate students and is responsible for formulating the plan, policy and measures for the admission. The admission offices of various institutions are responsible for concrete admissions under the leadership of the admission committee in each province and municipality.

The policy and principle for admission shall be formulated according to the needs of the economic construction and social development. The scale of admission can only be expanded gradually without sacrificing the quality.

The admission plan is formulated jointly by the Ministry of Education, the State Planning Commission and the Ministry of Personnel in the light of the needs of the country, sources of students, teaching, research and supervising force of the institutions concerned as well as financial resources available.

To guarantee the quality of teaching, higher education institutions shall be the main forces in training graduate students, and only their disciplines and specialties authorized to grant the Master's or doctoral degrees can enroll corresponding students.

New candidates must be admitted according to the principle of "judging the candidates in an all-round way and selecting the best students who are good morally, intellectually and physically better leaving a deficiency uncovered than having it covered with unqualified people." The ratio of in-the-service students should be gradually increased. Certain regulations shall be promulgated to encourage outstanding candidates to apply for the entrance examinations so as to raise the Quality of entrants.

In the areas of applied disciplines, the ratio of outstanding in-the-service candidates with rich practical experiences should be increased. In order to encourage outstanding in-the-service people to apply for master level graduate education, separate examinations should be organized for those graduates of universities who have worked for more than four successive years and have excellent performance in their works after the examination of the universities with the authorization of the Ministry of Education.

The Entrance Examinations

The entrance examinations including preliminary examinations and re-examinations are used as the main methods of selecting graduate students in China. The principle, subjects and time of the national examinations for master candidates are set and arranged in a unified way by the Ministry of Education, while the time, places and subjects of re-examinations, oral examination are determined by the relevant institutions. The subjects and time of the entrance examinations for doctor candidates are all decided by the institutions. The subjects of pre-examinations for master candidates are as follows political theory, foreign languages and three professional courses. Among them, the papers for political theory, foreign languages and some basic courses are prepared by the Ministry of Education. As for the entrance examinations for doctor candidates, all the examination papers, except those of the political theory and foreign languages, are conducted by the relevant institutions.

Training

The length of course study for master candidates varies from 1 to 1.5 years, and that for doctor candidates,is about 1 year.

The designs of graduate courses should fully embody the goal and requirements of the training and characteristics of disciplines and specialties, so that the postgraduates can obtain a rational knowledge and an intellectual structure. They must broaden their basic theoretical and specialized learning. The courses should reflect the latest achievements, progress and developments at home and abroad. More attention should be paid to new and overlapping courses. The courses for undergraduates, master and doctor candidates should be considered in a unified way. Reliance should be placed mainly on our own institutions in training graduate students, and all the outstanding cultural and scientific achievements at home and abroad should be absorbed.

The doctoral students should have a firm and comprehensive grasp of basic theories and a profound, systematic, and specialized knowledge of the disciplines concerned. The courses for doctor candidates, which should be fixed on the basis of the courses for master candidates, must include the following three aspects in accordance with the training program: a) The basic theory and laboratory courses indispensable for broadening the students' basic knowledge of specialties. b) The theoretical writings and documentation necessary for doing the forefront research work. c) The courses enabling the students to take on work in the inter- disciplines.

3. The Examination and Evaluation of Degree and Graduate Education in China

China has continuously carried out the examination and evaluation of degree conferring disciplines since 1985. The contents include the examination and evaluation on degree supervisors and academic contingent, level of research, teaching quality, level of management, level of dissertations, etc. In l997, 1718 doctoral degree conferring disciplines and 3814 Master's Degree conferring disciplines from the former approved were re-examined and re-evaluated with the consideration of the new catalog of disciplines and specialties.

The examination and evaluation is organized at different levels. The Academic Degree Committee of the State Council organizes the examination and evaluation of doctoral programs in conjunction with the responsible higher authorities. The Committee may also entrust commissions and departments concerned to conduct the examination and evaluation of those master's and doctoral programs in some special professional fields. With the entrust of the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council, the examination and evaluation can also be carried out by provincial academic degree committees. If problem exists, a deadline must be set for streamlining. If the said disciplines and specialties failed to meet the requirement, their degree-conferring rights may be suspended or revoked.

The Agency of Evaluation of Degrees and Graduate Education in Higher Education Institutions and Scientific Research Institutes is in charge of the implementation of examination and evaluation. The Academic Degree Committee of the State Council and the Ministry of Education are responsible for formulating principles, policies and tasks of evaluation and ratification of evaluation results.