Instead of Theses, Chinese Students Submit Fertilizers, Novels
China’s universities are letting more graduate students submit projects instead of theses, from fertilizers to novels. At least 59 top universities have adopted the option.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
A growing number of Chinese universities are accepting practical achievements and creative works in place of traditional graduate theses. The shift, enabled by China’s new Degree Law, is already changing how master’s and doctoral students are evaluated.
Some students in China can now graduate by making something useful, like a better fertilizer or a long original novel, instead of only writing a thesis. It is like being judged not just on a school report, but on a project that actually helps people.
Analysis
A new path to graduation
Chinese graduate students are increasingly being allowed to earn degrees by submitting practical projects or creative work instead of a conventional thesis. The article says at least 59 top universities have revised their degree rules, and 25 have already granted degrees under the new approach.
The shift is tied to China’s Degree Law, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2025 and formally added options beyond the thesis-only model. Before that, some universities had already started experimenting with alternatives as early as 2021, but the legal change appears to have accelerated adoption across the system.
Most of the approved substitute projects have come from science and applied fields such as engineering, biology, medicine, and environmental studies. Students still have to apply for the new track, submit a proposal, pass a mid-term review, and defend their work. In other words, the route is different, but it is not a shortcut.
The examples in the article show how broad the new model has become. At Nanjing University, an engineering doctoral candidate graduated for work tied to major water conservancy projects. East China Normal University awarded degrees to 36 humanities graduate students for original novels of more than 30,000 words. China Agricultural University granted degrees for projects including a fertilizer designed to raise crop yields and a model for fresh corn production.
Supporters argue that the old thesis-centered model could push students toward theory at the expense of practical use. A supervising professor quoted in the piece said the new process is actually more demanding in some ways, because the assessment now includes enterprise experts and third-party evaluation of technical achievements. The goal, as presented in the article, is to narrow the gap between university research and the needs of industry.
Key points
- At least 59 top Chinese universities have revised degree rules to allow projects or creative work instead of theses.
- China’s Degree Law, effective from January 1, 2025, gave legal backing to the new options.
- Most substitute projects are in applied fields such as engineering, biology, medicine, and environmental studies.
- Students still must submit proposals, pass mid-term reviews, and defend their work.
- Some universities have already awarded degrees for novels, engineering projects, and crop-related fertilizer research.
If the system works as intended, more students may produce work that solves real problems in farms, factories, hospitals, and companies. The new rules could also make university training more useful for employers by bringing industry experts into the evaluation process.
The new track could be uneven if universities do not apply the standards carefully, or if some fields are better suited to it than others. There is also a risk that practical projects become harder to compare fairly than traditional theses, especially across disciplines.
