Study in China Wiki
Contents

Language

Doctoral student: the category and the doctoral degree standard

Unofficial entry · Sources checked

A doctoral student (博士研究生) is an international student enrolled in doctoral-level degree education at a higher education institution in mainland China. Article 9 of the Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security) lists this category. Article 21 of the Degree Law of the People's Republic of China sets the standard a degree applicant must reach to be awarded a doctoral degree.

This term is part of Universities and degrees.

Definition

Article 9 of Order No. 42 states that higher education institutions recruiting international students for degree education may enrol students in four categories: junior college students, undergraduate students, master's degree students, and doctoral students (博士研究生). The same article lists non-degree categories separately.

What the official text says

The Chinese texts below are rendered in English by this site. The English wording is this site's own translation of the Chinese text.

Order No. 42, Article 9

  • Doctoral students are one of the categories of degree education for international students at higher education institutions.

Degree Law, Article 21 (doctoral standard)

A doctoral degree is conferred where the applicant:

  • completes the prescribed course assessment or accumulates the prescribed credits;
  • completes academic research training or professional practice training;
  • passes the thesis defence or the prescribed practice-achievement defence;

and shows the following level:

  1. solid and comprehensive foundational theory and systematic, in-depth specialised knowledge in the discipline or professional field;
  2. for an academic degree applicant, the ability to conduct academic research independently; for a professional degree applicant, the ability to undertake professional practice independently;
  3. for an academic degree applicant, innovative achievements in academic research; for a professional degree applicant, innovative achievements in professional practice.

Degree Law, Articles 25 to 28 (review, defence and decision)

  • Article 25: before the defence of a master's or doctoral applicant, the degree-awarding unit sends the thesis or practice achievements to experts for review. An applicant who meets the unit's requirements after review enters the defence procedure.
  • Article 26: the degree-awarding unit forms a doctoral defence committee of at least five members, of whom at least two are experts from outside the degree-awarding unit.
  • Article 26: committee members receive the thesis or practice achievements for review before the defence and perform their duties independently.
  • Article 26: the committee announces its resolution on whether the applicant passed the defence on the spot. The vote requires two-thirds or more of all members. The defence is open to the public, except where its content involves state secrets.
  • Article 27: an applicant who fails the defence may, with the committee's consent, revise the thesis within the prescribed period and apply for a new defence.
  • Article 27: if the doctoral committee finds that an applicant has not reached the doctoral level but has reached the master's level, and the applicant has not previously obtained a master's degree in that discipline from that unit, the committee may, with the applicant's consent, resolve to recommend a master's degree. The resolution is submitted to the degree evaluation committee for decision.
  • Article 28: the degree evaluation committee decides whether to confer a master's or doctoral degree, based on the defence committee's resolution and its review of the application.

Degree Law, Article 30 (records and deposit)

  • The degree-awarding unit keeps the application materials and the thesis or practice-achievement records.
  • A doctoral thesis is deposited at the National Library of China and at the relevant professional libraries at the same time.

Degree Law, Article 44 (foreign applicants)

  • The degree-awarding unit awards the corresponding degree to a foreign individual who applies for a degree, under the academic or professional conditions and procedures set by the Law.

Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship, section IV, items 4 and 10

These two items are conditions of the Chinese Government Scholarship, set out in section IV of that guide:

  • Item 4: the applicant must be an academically excellent holder of a Master's degree or its equivalent, under the age of 40 when applying for a doctoral program.
  • Item 10: the applicant must have passed the HSK (Level 4) when applying for a Chinese-taught master's or doctoral program.

Related terms

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026.

This entry is an unofficial summary. It is not legal or immigration advice, it is not published by the bodies named, and where it differs from the official text or the instructions of the body handling your case, the official text and those instructions prevail.

Back to the index

Ask the wiki