The number of graduate students will exceed 3 million in 2020. How many graduate students are there in China?

As of now, the number of graduate students in my country in 2020 is expected to exceed 3 million——

Providing a smart engine for high-quality development

Realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is inseparable from the support of talent and technology. From a mere 629 graduate students in 1949 to an estimated 3 million in 2020; from being very few in the early days of the People's Republic of China to becoming a world leader in graduate education, my country's graduate education has grown from small to large and from weak to strong, achieving a historic leap.

Postgraduate education is the highest level of national education. It shoulders the dual mission of supplying high-end talents and innovating science and technology. It is the main driving force for economic and social development and an important cornerstone for implementing the innovation-driven development strategy and building an innovative country. In 1949, there were only 629 graduate students in my country; this number is expected to exceed 3 million in 2020.

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we must cultivate and train a large number of strategic scientific and technological talents, scientific and technological leaders, young scientific and technological talents and high-level innovation teams with international standards, and strive to achieve major breakthroughs in forward-looking basic research and leading original achievements. The vast number of educators are taking root in China, creating graduate education with Chinese characteristics and international influence, and promoting the transformation of my country's graduate education from big to strong.

From "rarely seen" to "millions of people"

Towards a strong country in postgraduate education

For more than 70 years, from the initial "cultivation of high-level professionals" to "an important part of the national innovation system", and then to "an important pillar of talent competition and scientific and technological competition and a core element in building an innovative country", graduate education has always adhered to serving the national development strategy and resonated with the development of the country and the nation.

Yu Min, the "father of the hydrogen bomb", Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of the lunar exploration project, Nan Rendong, chief scientist of the "China Sky Eye", Chen Wei, who developed the new coronavirus vaccine... These familiar names have one common identity - postgraduate students trained independently in my country. Their growth experiences reflect the development process of graduate education in my country.

In the early days of the founding of New China, the international and domestic situations were complex and the Party and the people faced challenges. Under extremely difficult circumstances, the Party Central Committee attached great importance to graduate education and made the training of university teachers and scientific research talents the main goal of graduate education.

In 1949, 242 graduate students were enrolled; in 1978, the number of students enrolled reached 10,700; in 2020, the number of students enrolled exceeded 1.1 million... my country's graduate education has made a leap from "a rare few" to "a million-strong army." A relatively complete discipline and professional system and talent training system have been gradually established. Since the founding of New China, more than 10 million graduates have been trained, providing talent support for economic and social development, international exchanges and cooperation.

Standing at a new starting point, graduate education must answer the test of the times well.

From the perspective of education reform and development, how can we ensure the quality of education and take the path of connotation-oriented development while increasing its scale?

From the perspective of national innovation and development needs, how can we provide more solid talent support for transforming development methods, optimizing economic structure, and transforming growth momentum?

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as its core has attached great importance to education, placed education in a strategic position of priority development, and put forward the requirements of connotation development and building a strong country in higher education. Graduate education work adheres to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and has embarked on a new journey of comprehensively deepening reform and moving towards a strong country in graduate education:

In 2013, a series of documents such as "Opinions on Deepening the Reform of Graduate Education" were released, highlighting the consensus on serving needs and improving quality;

In 2014, the “Five-in-One” quality assurance and supervision system was established, and the quality supervision of graduate education was continuously strengthened;

In 2015, the "Overall Plan for Coordinating the Construction of World-Class Universities and First-Class Disciplines" was issued, sounding the charge towards becoming a powerhouse in graduate education.

In 2017, the "13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Academic Degrees and Postgraduate Education" emphasized that postgraduate education is the main way to cultivate high-level talents and release talent dividends, an important pillar of national talent competition and scientific and technological competition, and a core element in implementing the innovation-driven development strategy and building an innovative country.

In 2020, a new round of graduate education reform will be launched...

In particular, my country has made breakthrough progress in solving some difficult problems that have long plagued the development of graduate education: the talent training structure is becoming increasingly optimized; by promoting the "delegation, regulation and service" reform, the development momentum has shifted to a greater focus on bottom-up and internal pursuit; through the construction of key disciplines, the "211 Project", the "985 Project", and the "Double First-Class" construction, the process of building high-level universities with Chinese characteristics has been accelerated.

At present, my country's graduate education has achieved the strategic goal of independently cultivating high-level talents, and the international influence and attractiveness of graduate education have been significantly enhanced.