Chinese medical doctoral student struggles for six years without obtaining degree, seeks help online.

In recent days, it has been reported that several doctoral students at a medical university in China have been studying diligently for six years, only to discover close to graduation that they will not be able to obtain their degrees. The response from the university has been deemed unacceptable, leading these students to seek help online. It is claimed that over a thousand students are facing similar situations.

According to reports from various mainland Chinese media outlets such as Xin Huanghe, on June 26th, around 1,800 doctoral students with equivalent academic qualifications at a medical university in China were suddenly informed by the school that they would not be awarded degrees and were asked to drop out. The term “Chinese medical university doctoral students unable to obtain degrees” trended on social media platforms.

One self-proclaimed doctoral student at the medical university in China posted a plea for help online, stating that he and approximately 1,800 fellow doctoral students with equivalent qualifications were informed by the school near graduation that they would not be awarded degrees.

The student mentioned that representatives from the university negotiated with them, demanding that they sign agreements to drop out, leaving them feeling helpless and desperate.

Screenshots circulated online showed another netizen, Mr. Zhang, expressing that his wife, a doctoral student with equivalent qualifications at the medical university, had already passed her thesis defense and was only seven days away from graduation on June 28th when they received a sudden notification from the university. They were informed that to obtain their degree certificate, they needed to win a provincial or ministerial-level scientific progress award and publish high-quality articles. Mr. Zhang lamented that his wife had worked hard for six years in vain.

Mr. Zhang also mentioned that around 1,800 doctoral students with equivalent qualifications, including his wife, were facing the same predicament.

It was revealed by some netizens that the medical university in China probably did not have the qualifications to enroll doctoral students with equivalent academic qualifications, and now they are offering two choices to the students: either voluntarily drop out and pay the dropout fee or obtain a scientific progress award at the provincial level or higher.

On June 26th, staff from the Graduate School Degree Management Office at the medical university in China responded to the media, stating that there was a misunderstanding of the Ministry of Education’s guidelines when enrolling doctoral students with equivalent qualifications. Now, all graduating students must undergo a requalification review and meet the aforementioned two basic requirements to graduate.

The staff mentioned that if graduating students cannot wait to receive their degree certificates, they can choose to drop out, and the university will refund their tuition fees.

Regarding the university’s handling of the situation, Mr. Zhang expressed that it is difficult for everyone to accept.

This incident sparked discussions among mainland Chinese netizens:

“Students should not be held responsible for the school’s mistakes.”

“The school’s failure to understand the guidelines should not make students pay for their own six years of hard work. Actions speak louder than words; all we can do is bring attention to the issue.”

“The most outrageous part of this situation is the last-minute graduation requirements. These training requirements should have been established at the beginning of enrollment. Spending three years preparing for graduation only to change the rules at the last minute is simply unfair.”

“It’s really disgusting to notify students at the brink of graduation suddenly.”

However, some netizens argued: “The requirements are not unreasonable! As a doctoral student, besides the thesis defense, one needs to have a high level of theoretical and practical knowledge. A high-quality thesis and research results are legitimate requirements.”

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