Postgraduate Professional Education in China: The State and Development Trends

Abstract

Modern China is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. This success has been achieved thanks to the creation of technological enterprises and the widespread introduction of innovations aimed at increasing labor productivity and making efficient use of other factors of production. China is undergoing a transformation in its economic growth environment. As an important force of technological progress, which is the key to transforming a country’s economy, it is human capital, and its foundation is high-quality education. Moreover, one of the main priorities of the Chinese Government is to build the “national scientific force” in the hope that China will make breakthroughs in advanced economic fields. Therefore, the development of the system of postgraduate professional education, including the training of undergraduates and doctoral students, is a top priority.This article gives a brief introduction to the history of the development of postgraduate professional education in China, shows the features of its formation, significant events and achievements obtained at each stage of the scientific training system formation. There is a detailed analysis of the processes taking place at the present stage, which began in 2010. The Chinese Government plays a primary role in establishing a competitive national system of postgraduate education.Based on data from the Ministry of Education of China, official statistics, publications that are publicly available on the Chinese Internet, and scientific articles published in leading world publications, the article shows how the number of universities training undergraduates and doctoral students, the number and structure of students in various specialties have changed over the past decade. The article presents the modern project of national scientific training system reform.