Practical Ph.D. in China: A quantum step towards innovation and Scientific Development I
Dr. Syed Mehboob
Senior Business and Political Analyst
http//: www.thenewslark.com
Email:[email protected]
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is the highest academic degree awarded in most fields of study, focusing on original research, the creation of new knowledge, and the development of specialized research skills. It is a rigorous process that typically involves conducting an independent research project under supervision, resulting in a thesis. Those who are qualified at this level are expected to serve highly consequential functions in society, including in the fields of teaching and research. With in-depth training and immersion in a particular field of study, which includes making an original contribution to the area of study through the PhD dissertation, those holding PhD degrees are expected to have an expertise in their area of study that they can utilize in teaching and research, as well as in problem-solving and innovation for addressing important societal challenges. While other degree programs aim to teach students what the academic community knows, the purpose of a PhD program is to enable students to investigate what we don’t know.
It is interesting to note that China has increased support for universities and research in recent years, while the US administration has begun cutting funding for top-tier institutions. Universities in China churned out far more PhD graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields than their US counterparts in the latest comparable year, signaling a rift in the future competitiveness of the world’s two largest economies.
Drawing direct comparisons of education systems in different countries is difficult due to inconsistent STEM definitions. But official data from China and the US still reveal a divergence in talent production in each country.
“America’s weak domestic STEM talent pipeline represents perhaps its greatest national security vulnerability. The US is expected to face a deficit of 3.5 million STEM workers by 2025.
After two decades of growth, universities in China awarded more than 50,000 STEM doctorates in 2022, up by 13.7% from 2021, according to the latest Ministry of Education data. China only publishes graduate data in broad STEM fields, such as engineering, science, and agriculture. Engineering was the most popular discipline (59.1%) among Chinese STEM PhD graduates in 2022, followed by science (33.5%) and agriculture (7.4%). Meanwhile, the US has data on graduate numbers in more detailed fields like biochemistry, computer science, and physics. US universities awarded almost 34,000 PhDs across STEM fields in 2022, up by 12% from 2021, according to data published by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. The data remained flat a year later in 2023.
Jacob Feldgoise, an analyst at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), notes that China’s much larger population makes it difficult for the US to compete on sheer numbers. Almost 39 million undergraduate students were enrolled in degree programs at public colleges and universities in China in 2024, compared to 19.28 million in the US, according to official data sources. However, the data also points to a diverging trend, which is widening the gulf between the two countries. China first overtook the US for STEM PhD graduates in 2007 and has since doubled its numbers by 2022. Over the same period, US Stem PhD graduates grew by 41%.
While China has increased public funding for universities, research, and talent attraction in recent years, the White House has frozen federal funding for top-tier US universities. Harvard saw the Education department freeze $2.2bn in funding and $60m in contracts for its alleged antisemitism on April 14. The university, which denies the allegations, is suing the administration to revoke the measure. US media reported on other such funding freezes at top universities like Cornell and Northwestern. A divergence is also seen in university research in critical fields. In math and computer science, China dominated the list of top universities for quantity of top-rated research, according to the CWTS Leiden ranking based on research citations.
A similar trend is shown in AI. Researchers in China accounted for 28% of global articles about AI between 2018 and 2023, compared to 16% from the US, according to the ETO Research Almanac.
Since 2000, China has sent an estimated 5.2 million students and scholars to study abroad. Most of them studied science or engineering. Chinese universities now produce the largest number of engineering Ph.Ds. in the world, and the quality of Chinese universities has dramatically improved in recent years. Producing more and better science
A citation is when an academic paper is referenced — or cited — by another paper. We considered that the more times a paper has been cited, the higher quality and more influential the work. Given that logic, the top 1% most cited papers should represent the upper echelon of high-quality science. Going year by year from 2015 to 2019, we then compared different countries. It is surprising to find that in 2019, Chinese authors published a greater percentage of the most influential papers, with China claiming 8,422 articles in the top category, while the U.S had 7,959 and the European Union had 6,074. In just one recent example, it is found that in 2022, Chinese researchers published three times as many papers on artificial intelligence as U.S. researchers; in the top 1% most cited AI research, Chinese papers outnumbered U.S. papers by a 2-to-1 ratio. Similar patterns can be seen with China leading in the top 1% most cited papers in nanoscience, chemistry, and transportation.
Our research also found that Chinese research was surprisingly novel and creative, and not simply copying Western researchers. To measure this, one looked at the mix of disciplines referenced in scientific papers. The more diverse and varied the referenced research was in a single paper, the more interdisciplinary and novel the work was considered. It is also found that Chinese research is as innovative as that of other top-performing countries.
Taken together, these measures suggest that China is now no longer an imitator or producer of only low-quality science. China is now a scientific power on par with the U.S. and Europe, both in quantity and in quality.
China has joined the ranks of top scientific and technological nations, and some of the concerns over shifts of power are reasonable in my view. But the U.S. can also benefit from China’s scientific rise. With many global issues facing the planet — like climate change, to name just one — there may be wisdom in looking at this new situation as not only a threat, but also an opportunity.
As another quantum step towards innovation and development, China has introduced PRACTICAL PH.D.
China is piloting "PRITICAL Ph.Ds." in engineering, allowing researchers to earn doctorates by producing functional products or technologies rather than writing traditional, academic theses. Key issues include establishing rigorous evaluation standards for non-academic products, maintaining educational quality, and managing the high pressure of producing both products and reports. The initiative, active since 2022, focuses on strategic areas like semiconductors and quantum computing, aiming to bypass U.S. technology bottlenecks. The Harbin Institute of Technology and Southeast University have already produced graduates, such as one creating advanced bridge pylon components, instead of traditional publications.
Mr. Zheng Hehui gave an oral defense of his PhD in civil engineering at Southeast University in Nanjing, China. But Zheng had not written a thesis. Instead, he talked about a product he had developed: a set of Lego-like blocks, made with reinforced steel, that fit together to form a bridge pylon.
Zheng is among the first cohort of Chinese doctoral students to be assessed based on practical achievements that lead to new products, techniques, projects, and installations. His invention is being used in a huge cable-stayed rail and road bridge built across the Yangtze River. (Continued)
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