Recently, Fudan University announced that it would be admitting outstanding overseas undergraduate students directly into their doctoral programs, sparking controversy and public debate. Many internet users criticized this move as being unfair to domestic students attending universities in China.
According to the announcement posted on Fudan University’s official website on February 9th, in 2025, Fudan University will be recruiting postgraduate students pursuing doctoral degrees from outstanding undergraduate students of Chinese nationality at overseas universities.
The admission criteria include Chinese students from Hong Kong, Macao, and other regions, as long as they have completed their undergraduate studies at universities ranking in the top 100 globally, with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above, and have an alignment with “upholding the leadership of the CPC and having correct political orientation”. These students will have the opportunity to pursue doctoral degrees in 25 disciplines offered by Fudan University.
This announcement immediately stirred discussions online, with many mainland Chinese netizens questioning who this opportunity really benefits. Some commented, “Who is Fudan University opening the back door for this time? Top overseas universities do cultivate many excellent students, but there are also plenty of study-abroad cheaters in China who couldn’t get into good domestic universities through the national college entrance exam, but managed to study abroad by paying money and packaging themselves. Going abroad for a few years is just a way to make money.” Others criticized, “Looking down on students from their own school has been going on for a while now.” “It’s all driven by interests.” “This is just arranging things for their own people.”
According to reports from Radio Free Asia, Chinese student Tom studying abroad expressed that Fudan University is a top university in China, and even getting into a master’s program is not easy, so allowing overseas undergraduate students to directly pursue a doctoral degree is believed to be a tailored approach to enhance the resumes of returnees who are children of officials.
Tom said, “In the past, these officials’ children could just go abroad to get an education and come back, that would be enough. I know a classmate who is a third-generation official. He went to the best university in Melbourne locally, and now he works at CCTV. But overall, with the current intense competition, they (the offspring of officials) may also need a domestically recognized high-ranking university doctorate to be able to establish themselves within the system, providing them with something that could help them stand firm in this system.”
As an alumna of Fudan University, political science professor Xia Ming from the City University of New York in the USA believes that this move is likely in line with the Chinese Communist Party’s response to US-China competition, aiming to attract top talents among the descendants of Chinese immigrants, such as those in the US. These English-proficient international students, upon completing their doctoral studies, could become part of the CCP’s united front efforts in Western society.
Xia Ming explained, “China proposed the grand overseas propaganda strategy more than ten or twenty years ago. But why did they (the CCP) propose the grand united front at the 20th Third Plenary Session last year? There is a subtle difference here. In the case of grand overseas propaganda, it emphasizes more on ideology, it will give you directives. But in the case of the grand united front, it has already captured your heart, aligning it towards Beijing. When doing many things, you will consider whether it aligns with China’s interests or the interests of the Chinese Communist Party. There is a self-censorship involved. These individuals are not talents for grand overseas propaganda, but they certainly are members of the grand united front. Because Wang Huning is currently in charge of the united front work, and Fudan University is Wang Huning’s alma mater, there is a clear connection with Wang Huning’s implementation of the united front plan.”
Xia Ming also indicated that the subjects offered for direct doctoral programs do not include important and sensitive fields such as diplomacy and international relations, showing that the CCP is cautious about trusting overseas students in sensitive areas.