Dual-degree pilot to fuel innovation

SHI YU/CHINA DAILY

China has launched a high-level pilot program allowing elite doctoral students to pursue a master's degree in a separate field concurrently, a strategic move aimed at cultivating a new generation of "interdisciplinary innovators".

The State Council Academic Degrees Committee unveiled the scheme on Dec 29 last year, with the aim of addressing the growing demand for talent capable of tackling complex, cross-boundary challenges in science, technology and industry.

Participating universities must base their programs on disciplines with "significant advantages" and interdisciplinary platforms. The two degree-granting disciplines should generally both have doctoral conferring authority, with the primary doctoral discipline expected to be among the nation's top tiers.

Universities must develop detailed implementation and talent cultivation plans, subject them to evaluation by a panel of at least seven experts.

Curriculum design must meet the core requirements of both degrees while emphasizing multidisciplinary knowledge and enhancing students' interdisciplinary research capabilities. The master's research area should intersect with and support the doctoral research. Universities are encouraged to leverage interdisciplinary centers for student guidance and management.

A critical feature is a built-in streamlining or exit mechanism. Students who fail to meet doctoral requirements or voluntarily withdraw can apply for the master's degree if eligible. Those falling short of the dual master's requirements may still receive recognition for completed coursework.

The program primarily targets current doctoral students through a secondary selection process, focusing on those with the capacity and foundational aptitude for an additional master's. Students retain their original doctoral enrollment status. They must produce separate theses or practical achievements for each degree, receiving the master's degree concurrently with or after the doctorate.

Quality oversight is strict. Universities must conduct mid-term evaluations in the third year and final assessments in the fifth year, and publish the results. The national committee will monitor quality dynamically and can sanction or revoke degree-granting rights for underperformers.

An official from the Ministry of Education's department of degree management and graduate education said that the pilot initiative adheres to a "small and refined" approach. A limited number of projects will be established by relevant universities in a well-organized manner, using interdisciplinary platforms, cross-disciplinary innovation teams and research projects.

The program targets a select group of doctoral students who can pursue a relevant master's degree while completing their PhD, the official said.

Among the early movers is Shandong University, which established its interdisciplinary center in March 2024. The center comprises 40 cross-disciplinary supervisory teams, each with 3 to 4 faculty members, focusing on 23 major interdisciplinary problem areas.

"The purpose is to break down barriers between schools and design interdisciplinary training programs and courses," said Han Bo, a professor of offshore geomechanics and executive vice-dean of the university's graduate school. The center enrolled its first 125 doctoral candidates in September 2024. From this cohort, 10 students voluntarily opted into the dual-degree pilot, he said.

"It's still a new exploration, and the academic pressure is considerable as students must complete two theses," Han said. He emphasized that the program is tailored for exceptional, innovative talent and is unlikely to become a mass trend.

Han highlighted the necessity of such training. Many scientific problems require interdisciplinary solutions. For example, zero-magnetic medicine needs knowledge from both medicine and engineering. The current disciplinary divisions are man-made, but real-world problems know no disciplinary boundaries, he said.

He argued that while the workload is more challenging, the broader knowledge base provides a significant long-term career advantage. "It doesn't necessarily lengthen study time, but it expands job opportunities," he said, expressing hope that the center would serve as a model for the entire university.

Fan Xuhan, a doctoral student in geotechnical engineering at Shandong University, is pursuing a dual master's in materials science. "I feel energetic and wanted to challenge myself to learn richer knowledge," he said.

His research focuses on anti-corrosion coatings for steel and concrete in major projects such as deep-sea mineral mining and offshore new-energy installations. The materials science knowledge, he said, allows him to tackle core research challenges more deeply — such as developing complex coatings for extreme environments, predicting their service life, and exploring emerging research methods like biomimetic design and self-healing microcapsule technology.

"My civil engineering doctoral studies provide the 'practical stage' for this research," Fan added. "Innovations can be validated and optimized against major national project needs."

Chang Mengyuan, a doctoral candidate in clinical medicine at Shandong University, is simultaneously working toward a master's in artificial intelligence. Having participated in a medical-engineering project during her master's, she saw the dual degree as a natural step.

"Medical-engineering integration is the trend," she said. "A medical background helps me identify unresolved clinical dilemmas, while AI technology can mine clinical data, perform integrative analysis or genetic modeling, and provide new tools and approaches."

Her doctoral research involves the mechanisms of lymphoma development. AI, she said, brings her work closer to clinical practice. She is learning to integrate clinical resources and basic experimental findings to build a large model system for lymphoma patients — aiding in diagnosis, subtype classification (lymphoma has over 100 subtypes), treatment decision support and prognosis prediction.

"It makes the model more tailored to lymphoma," she said.

Balancing two demanding programs is intense but manageable, Chang said. "The two projects are complementary and synergistic."

Chang said she believes such interdisciplinary training will become more prevalent, significantly boosting employability. "Whether entering medical institutions, research academies, or health-tech companies, I'll have the dual capability to translate clinical needs into viable solutions."

As China's doctoral student population continues to grow — reaching 676,300 enrolled and 97,200 graduates in 2024, according to Ministry of Education data — experts said the structural need for interdisciplinary talent becomes ever more acute.

Chen Zhiwen, editor-in-chief of online education portal EOL, said the pilot is a significant institutional push. The existing academic system centers on single disciplines. This policy turns encouragement of interdisciplinary work into an actionable responsibility for universities, helping align resources and drive reform, he told China Newsweek.

However, he suggested that early pilots focus mainly on science, technology, engineering and math combinations, as humanities interdisciplinary work may not require formal dual degrees and that humanities teaching should be integrated into the whole process of higher education.

The key to success, experts said, lies in selecting the right students — those genuinely driven by interest or research needs.

To prevent the new PhD-master's pilot from achieving undesired outcomes, experts have stressed stringent selection, rigorous quality monitoring and clear exit mechanisms.

Fan Xiudi, director of the Tongji University education evaluation research center, emphasized the need for personalized training plans based on students' prior foundation in the second field.

The students should also have certain knowledge or a clear advantage over the discipline they want to pursue for a master's degree, she said.

Editor：韩蒙蒙