Academic and professional master's degrees in China: what the Degree Law distinguishes

Under the Degree Law, a master's degree can be either an academic degree or a professional degree. Article 2 names both as types of degree, and Article 20 gives one set of master's conditions with a separate ability requirement for each type. Neither article spells out the differences in programme content, which each degree-awarding unit sets out in its own standards under Article 22.

The Degree Law and the press Q&A of 26 April 2024 are Chinese texts. The English wording below is this site's translation of them.

What Article 2 says about the types

Article 2 states that the state operates a degree system. It says degrees are bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, and that they include academic degrees, professional degrees and other types (等类型). Degrees are conferred by discipline category, professional degree category and similar classifications.

Article 2 does not define what an academic degree is or what a professional degree is.

What Article 20 requires for a master's degree

Article 20 covers master's graduate education. It says a master's degree is conferred when the holder meets the following conditions:

• The holder passes the prescribed course assessments or earns the required credits.
• The holder completes academic research training or professional practice training.
• The holder passes the thesis defence or the defence of prescribed practical results.
• The holder shows the level set out in items (一) and (二).

Item (一) requires solid basic theory and systematic specialised knowledge in the discipline or professional field.

Item (二) separates the two types. An academic applicant shall have the ability to do academic research work. A professional applicant shall have the ability to take on professional practice work.

Article 20 does not state how long a master's programme lasts, and it does not state how many courses or credits are required.

How the 2024 press Q&A explains the distinction

Answer 6 of the press Q&A on the Degree Law, dated 26 April 2024, says the Law's wording "academic degrees, professional degrees and other types" is a major step in this legislation. It says the word 等 in Article 2 leaves room for other degree types to be explored in practice.

The answer also refers to a 2023 Ministry of Education opinion on the separate development of academic and professional degree graduate education. According to the answer, that opinion states that the two types have equal status and equal importance. It also says the opinion strengthens differentiated requirements in positioning, standards, admissions, training, evaluation and faculty. This article has not read the text of the 2023 opinion, so it reports only what the answer says about it.

The answer says the reform aims at classified training and classified evaluation of the two types. It describes this as a direction for future work, not as a rule that applies to a particular programme.

Where the detailed standards are set

Article 22 requires each degree-awarding unit to set specific standards for conferring degrees in each discipline and professional field, based on the conditions in the Law and the unit's own academic evaluation standards. It also requires the unit to publish those standards.

So the specific standards for a given academic or professional master's programme come from the degree-awarding unit under Article 22, not from the Law's text alone.

Checking which type a programme is

The following is a suggestion, not a legal requirement. Before comparing programmes, check the type of each programme in the admissions brochure of the university that offers it. The brochure is where a university states the programme's type and its own requirements.

Sources

• Degree Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国学位法) — Ministry of Education of the PRC

• Press Q&A on the Degree Law by the Office of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee and the Ministry of Education's Department of Policies and Regulations, 26 April 2024 — Ministry of Education of the PRC

Checked 11 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary. It is not published by or affiliated with the Ministry of Education, the China Scholarship Council or any university, and it is not legal advice. If the official text and the current notice of the university or authority handling your case differ, the official text and that notice prevail.