Chinese universities have scrapped or suspended more than 12,000 undergraduate programmes deemed obsolete as the country accelerates efforts to align higher education with its technological ambitions.
The overhaul, spanning 2021 to 2025, saw institutions revoke or pause 12,200 degree programmes while launching around 10,200 new ones, resulting in adjustments to over 30 percent of the nation’s university offerings, according to Ministry of Education data reported by Xinhua.
Cuts focused heavily on arts, humanities, foreign languages and management disciplines, viewed as outdated or oversupplied amid a challenging job market where youth unemployment exceeds 16 percent.
New programmes instead target emerging fields such as embodied intelligence — with nine universities adding related majors — high-power semiconductors and intelligent marine equipment, in line with Beijing’s “future industries” strategy.
The reforms address a severe graduate employment crisis, with record numbers of young people entering a labour market rapidly reshaped by artificial intelligence.
Universities have come under mounting pressure to adapt as soaring graduate numbers — projected to hit new highs — often fail to match available skilled positions in the evolving economy.
The sweeping changes reflect Beijing’s drive to position China as a global leader in advanced technologies while tackling structural mismatches between education and industry needs.
