China’s universities are undertaking a massive reshuffling of their academic offerings to better align higher education with the nation’s development goals. Consequently, institutions are culling thousands of so-called obsolete degrees in favor of new, tech-focused programs. This sweeping campaign comes as China races to become a global leader in future industries while simultaneously trying to solve a severe graduate jobs crisis.
Massive Overhaul of Academic Programs
Between 2021 and 2025, higher education institutions revoked or suspended 12,200 undergraduate degree programs. Meanwhile, they introduced 10,200 new ones, meaning that more than 30 percent of the nation’s university programs underwent adjustments. These cuts have been heavily concentrated in arts, humanities, foreign languages, and management. These specific fields are increasingly deemed outdated or oversaturated in an economy where more than 16 percent of young people are unemployed. Furthermore, the domestic job market is being rapidly transformed by artificial intelligence.
Many of the newly introduced programs are closely aligned with Beijing’s economic goals. For instance, nine universities have added new majors in embodied intelligence. This addition directly dovetails with a national drive to speed up the integration of next-generation AI into the real economy.
The Pressure to Adapt to Technological Shifts
Universities face immense pressure to adapt as graduate numbers soar to record levels while many find their degrees offer little help in finding work. For example, the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology halted admissions for its product design program this year. A recent graduate noted that the rapid development of AI has hit product design hard, as core tasks like modeling and rendering can now be handled by AI.
Similarly, the prestigious Communication University of China made headlines by restructuring a string of programs, including cinematography. Alumni noted that the rise of live streaming and short videos has completely changed the requirements for cameramen compared to traditional television news. Therefore, changes in education have become absolutely necessary to match technological and market trends.
Shifting Mindsets and Future Outlook
However, simply switching one program for another might only be a short-term fix. Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences, warned that deeper changes are needed. He pointed out that many of the recently cut programs were established only a few years ago during a previous push to overhaul majors, leaving them little time to develop. Instead of continually swapping majors, Chu suggested that universities adopt a more flexible system allowing students to select courses based on personal interests and career paths.
As the job market becomes increasingly volatile, many parents and students are viewing undergraduate degrees as a starting point rather than a final destination. Broad directions that focus on data and statistics are being favored to leave room for future postgraduate studies or varied employment. Ultimately, the old path of studying one specific major and staying in a perfectly matched job for a lifetime simply does not exist anymore in China.
Reference
Yang, C., & Yang, C. (2026, 15 junio). China’s universities cut 12,000 ‘obsolete’ degrees amid race to embrace AI era. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3356913/chinas-universities-cut-12000-obsolete-degrees-amid-race-embrace-ai-era?share=u859LCTOXf5x46o4Jp9%2B03CUpabl2fx8J2bdbD7cHA7eFrke%2F4NoEvZBUv7zOBUQY2HB0hHESMbOs0R%2BvtIwNJ%2BwMi7ysu9NVw2P8Eo7rDM%3D&utm_campaign=social_share