A brand new wave of analysis universities is rising in China, competing with the nation’s conventional prime colleges by way of extra versatile educational fashions, promising profession and postgraduate research alternatives, and powerful authorities backing.
Compared to conventional universities, these establishments are usually smaller and extra centered, typically emphasizing worldwide training, hands-on coursework, and powerful analysis orientation within the sciences.
More such establishments have been based after Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the event of new research-based universities to domesticate modern expertise in September 2020.
This yr, three newly authorised research-oriented universities — Fuyao University of Science and Technology within the japanese Fujian province, Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo within the japanese Zhejiang province, and Great Bay University within the southern Guangdong province — are admitting their first cohorts of undergraduate college students, making for greater than 10 such universities in China in whole.
Despite being model new, these establishments are extremely aggressive, with admission scores rivaling these of top-tier universities. For occasion, solely 70 college students have been admitted to the Eastern Institute of Technology this yr, and its admission cutoff was simply two factors decrease than that of Zhejiang University — the province’s prime establishment.
Other new universities present comparable developments, with admission scores corresponding to prestigious colleges corresponding to South China University of Technology and Harbin Institute of Technology.
One broadly mentioned case involved a high-scoring scholar from the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing who selected Westlake University — a non-public establishment based in 2018 within the japanese tech hub of Hangzhou — over established elite establishments Zhejiang University and Fudan University. The scholar hopes to pursue analysis in semiconductor supplies, his mom instructed home media.
The new establishments embody each private and non-private universities. Many obtain authorities assist, and tuition charges are corresponding to conventional colleges at round 6,000 yuan ($835) per faculty yr. The Eastern Institute of Technology, which incorporates abroad change applications, fees about 96,000 yuan per yr however has supplied full scholarships to its first batch of undergraduates.
Innovative research fashions have made these new universities enticing to college students. For instance, some colleges supply a yr of common training earlier than college students select their main, permitting them extra time to find their pursuits and assess their capabilities.
“Honestly, like most students, I’m drawn to popular majors like AI and robotics, but I hadn’t really thought deeply about whether I truly liked them or was suited for them,” a scholar from Guangdong who enrolled on the province’s Shenzhen Institute of Technology told home media outlet The Paper. “Here, I have a whole year to explore different fields, get involved in real work, and evaluate my potential before deciding on a major.”
The scholar added that they have been particularly drawn to the college’s analysis assets, together with the choice to spend in the future per week in labs throughout a range of disciplines.
To guarantee high quality training and entry to assets, most of these new-style universities hold enrollment numbers low, with college students supported by main scientists and academicians from world wide and superior laboratory amenities. At Westlake University, for instance, every undergraduate scholar is paired with a professor to supply educational mentorship.
Promising profession pathways are one other main supply of the colleges’ enchantment. Some universities pair college students with job mentors and supply internship applications, whereas others collaborate with prime worldwide establishments, providing abroad research alternatives and direct entry to graduate applications. In some circumstances, accomplice firms present preferential employment alternatives to graduates.
Curricula usually concentrate on cutting-edge science and engineering fields, providing interdisciplinary applications in synthetic intelligence, clever autos, biomedicine, and new power — areas that China has highlighted as foundational to its growth within the close to future.
Facing a aggressive job market, college students and oldsters are more and more centered on job prospects when selecting universities and majors, consultants say. According to Liu Hong, affiliate researcher on the Fudan Development Institute in Shanghai, these universities typically align their applications with trade wants, attracting higher authorities funding and analysis assist, which permits speedy growth.
A survey of 20,000 city households throughout 50 cities carried out by the People’s Bank of China found simply 6.4% of residents held a positive view of the nation’s employment state of affairs in Q2 2025, whereas over 53% of respondents known as the employment state of affairs “severe and challenging.”
While conventional prime universities as soon as dominated admissions, new research-based universities at the moment are gaining floor with refined educational administration and clearer profession pathways.
“Universities can no longer rest on their past laurels,” Liu instructed home media. “Looking ahead, we can expect a more diverse and differentiated structure within China’s higher education system, moving away from a traditional pyramid model.”
Editor: Tom Arnstein.
(Header picture: Visitors take photographs on the entrance of Westlake University in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, 2021. VCG)