China's Tsinghua University stipulates more ways for doctoral degree

Writing an academic paper is no longer the only basis for a doctoral degree in Tsinghua, according to a statement released by the university.

As long as the students' achievements on academic innovation meet the requirements of their program, they can submit a degree application, said the statement.

The requirements of academic innovation should be specified by each program instead of a unified stipulation, to fully respect the differences of all disciplines, it added.

Aiming to encourage Ph.D. candidates to launch original, cutting edge and interdisciplinary research, the new rule is expected to go into effect starting with doctoral students enrolled this year.

Tsinghua ranked highest in Asia and 22nd worldwide on the 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, a well-trusted global university performance table to judge research-intensive universities across all of their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.