Bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in China under the Degree Law
Sources checked · Unofficial summary
The Degree Law sets three degree levels: bachelor's, master's and doctoral (Article 2). Each level has its own award conditions: Article 19 for a bachelor's degree, Article 20 for a master's degree and Article 21 for a doctoral degree. The Law took effect on 1 January 2025 (Article 45).
This page sets out what each article says and what the press Q&A on the Law says about award conditions. It is a reference summary and is not a government or university website. For how this directory is arranged, see this directory's section page.
The English wording is this site's translation of the Chinese text. The Chinese text of the Degree Law and of the press Q&A is the official text. Article numbers are those printed in the Chinese text.
The levels and types
Article 2 says the state operates a degree system. Degrees are divided into bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. They include academic degrees, professional degrees and other types, and they are awarded by discipline category, professional degree category and similar categories.
Who may award a degree
Article 5 says that a higher education institution or research institution that has been examined and approved to hold the authority to award a discipline or professional degree becomes a degree-awarding unit. The disciplines or fields in which it awards degrees are its degree-awarding points. A degree-awarding unit may award the corresponding degree under the Law.
Article 13 sets two groups of conditions for applying for award authority:
- A higher education institution that provides undergraduate education and meets the conditions in Article 12 may apply for authority to award bachelor's degrees.
- A higher education institution or research institution that provides undergraduate and graduate education and meets the conditions in Article 12 may apply for authority to award master's and doctoral degrees.
Article 12 lists four conditions. The applicant must adhere to the socialist direction of running schools and carry out the fundamental task of cultivating virtue through education. It must meet national and local economic and social development needs and higher education development plans. It must have faculty, facilities, equipment and other teaching and research resources suited to the authority it applies for, and a suitable level of running standards. It must meet any other conditions set by law or administrative regulation.
Article 14 sets out who reviews and who decides:
- Bachelor's: the provincial degree committee examines and approves the authority and reports it to the State Council Academic Degrees Committee for the record.
- Master's: the provincial degree committee organizes the review, and the State Council Academic Degrees Committee examines and approves the authority.
- Doctoral: the education administrative department of the State Council organizes the review, and the State Council Academic Degrees Committee examines and approves the authority.
Article 14 also says that a review of award authority shall include an expert evaluation. Article 15 says the body deciding a qualification application shall make its resolution within 90 days of accepting the application. It shall publish the matter for public notice for not less than ten working days, and any objection during that notice period shall be reviewed.
The three levels side by side
| Degree | Article | Attainment the article requires |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's | Article 19 | A good command of basic theory, specialized knowledge and basic skills in the discipline or specialty, and a preliminary ability to engage in academic research or undertake professional practice work. |
| Master's | Article 20 | Solid basic theory and systematic specialized knowledge. Academic degree applicants shall have the ability to engage in academic research. Professional degree applicants shall have the ability to undertake professional practice work. |
| Doctoral | Article 21 | Solid, comprehensive basic theory and systematic, in-depth specialized knowledge. Academic degree applicants shall be able to research independently and produce innovative academic results. Professional degree applicants shall be able to undertake professional practice independently and produce innovative results in professional practice. |
Conditions for a bachelor's degree
Article 18 applies to every applicant at every level. An applicant shall support the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the socialist system, abide by the Constitution and laws, and observe academic ethics and academic norms. An applicant who reaches the required academic or professional level is awarded the degree by the degree-awarding unit under Articles 19 to 21.
Under Article 19, a bachelor's degree is awarded to a person who receives undergraduate education, passes the prescribed course assessments or completes the corresponding credits, and passes the graduation review, such as the graduation thesis or graduation project. The person must also show the two levels of attainment in the article. Article 19 states no number of credits.
Under Article 24, the degree evaluation committee organizes the review and decides by resolution whether to award a bachelor's degree.
Conditions for a master's degree
Under Article 20, a master's degree is awarded to a person who receives graduate education, passes the prescribed course assessments or completes the corresponding credits, completes academic research training or professional practice training, and passes the thesis defence or the prescribed practice-results defence. The person must also show the attainment in the table above.
Article 25 says that before organizing a master's or doctoral defence, the degree-awarding unit shall send the applicant's thesis or practice results to experts for review. If the review meets the unit's requirements, the application proceeds to the defence.
Article 26 sets out the defence committee. It shall be organized by discipline or specialty, and a master's defence committee shall have not less than three members. The thesis or results shall be sent to the committee members for review before the defence. The committee shall decide on the outcome and announce it at the defence. The vote requires approval by two-thirds or more of all members. Except where the content involves state secrets, the defence shall be held in public.
Under Article 27, an applicant who fails a thesis or practice-results defence may, with the committee's consent, revise the work and apply to defend again within the period the unit sets.
Under Article 28, the degree evaluation committee decides whether to award a master's or doctoral degree, based on the defence committee's resolution and its own review of the application.
Conditions for a doctoral degree
Article 21 sets three requirements for a doctoral degree. The applicant must show the basic theory and specialized knowledge in the table above. Academic degree applicants shall be able to research independently and produce innovative results in academic research. Professional degree applicants shall be able to undertake professional practice independently and produce innovative results in professional practice.
Article 26 requires a doctoral defence committee of not less than five members. Not less than two of its members shall be experts from outside the degree-awarding unit.
Article 27 also provides for a master's degree within a doctoral process. If a doctoral defence committee finds that an applicant has not reached doctoral level but has reached master's level, and the applicant does not already hold a master's degree in the same discipline from the same unit, the committee may, with the applicant's consent, resolve to recommend a master's degree. The evaluation committee then reviews the recommendation.
Article 30 requires the degree-awarding unit to deposit a doctoral thesis with the National Library and the relevant specialized libraries.
What the press Q&A says about award conditions
The press Q&A on the Degree Law, published by the Ministry of Education on 26 April 2024, is an official explanation of the Law. It is not itself a rule.
Question 5 of the Q&A says the Law sets the basic requirement that applicants support the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the socialist system, abide by the Constitution and laws, and observe academic ethics and norms. It also says the Law sets conditions by level and by type. Academic degrees, according to the Q&A, emphasize academic research ability, and professional degrees emphasize professional practice ability. The Q&A says degree-awarding units shall set their own specific standards, based on the Law and their own academic evaluation standards, after hearing views and completing internal decision procedures, and then publish them.
Question 6 of the Q&A reads the words "and other types" in Article 2 as leaving room for exploring other degree types in practice. The Q&A also refers to a 2023 Ministry of Education opinion on the separate development of academic and professional graduate education. According to the Q&A, that opinion says the two types are of equal status and equal importance. This page relies on the Q&A's description of that opinion.
For tuition, deadlines, entry requirements and language scores, read the admission prospectus of the university concerned. Articles 19 to 21 set degree conditions, not admission conditions.
Questions people ask
Does the Degree Law set different conditions for each degree level?
Yes. Article 19 sets conditions for a bachelor's degree, Article 20 for a master's degree and Article 21 for a doctoral degree. Article 22 says each degree-awarding unit shall formulate and publish specific standards for each discipline and specialty, based on Articles 18 to 21.
Who decides whether a higher education institution may award a master's or doctoral degree?
Under Article 14, the provincial degree committee organizes the review of a master's award authority, and the State Council Academic Degrees Committee examines and approves it. The education administrative department of the State Council organizes the review of a doctoral award authority, and the State Council Academic Degrees Committee examines and approves it.
Must a master's or doctoral defence be held in public?
Article 26 says the defence shall be held in public, except where the content involves state secrets.
Can an applicant who fails a thesis defence apply again?
Article 27 says that with the defence committee's consent, the applicant may revise the thesis or practice results within the period set and apply to defend again.
Sources
- Degree Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国学位法), Ministry of Education of the PRC
- Press Q&A on the Degree Law, 26 April 2024, Office of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee and the Ministry of Education's Department of Policies and Regulations
Checked 11 October 2026.
This page is an unofficial summary, is not published by the Ministry of Education or any university, promises no admission outcome, and if the official Chinese text and the current official list differ, the official Chinese text and the current official list prevail.