Study plan changes welcome at Chinese universities

As the school year starts, many freshmen are excited to embark on a new academic journey, while some are worrying if the major they chose as a senior high graduate will be the right choice for their future career path.

As high school graduates, some make the four-year commitment with limited understanding of their chosen field, or under pressure from family. Some go into their majors based on the scores of their national college entrance examinations, also known as gaokao, which limit students to certain majors offered by the universities. Either way, students often find themselves wanting to pursue a different major than they originally selected.

Starting this fall at Shanghai's Tongji University, all incoming students will be admitted into the School of New Students to have one year of general education courses before choosing a major at the beginning of their sophomore year.

According to Huang Yiru, dean of Tongji's School of New Students, it's not just students who didn't get an ideal score who find this new arrangement helpful. The architecture department, one of the institute's most renowned majors, has also had students try to transfer to other majors, as they found more passion and interest in other fields.

With a year of introductory courses consisting of workshops and seminars, students will be more informed and confident about choosing an area to study in-depth.

To reduce any "buyer's remorse" attached to the decision, Tongji has created learning communities for freshmen, allowing them to take modules from majors that can be grouped under larger academic umbrellas.

Exposing students to a broad range of studies may also help them realize that going into a major does not necessarily confine them to that specific career path, but rather an entire field of interest with a wide range of career opportunities.

The arrangement is part of an effort by educators to engage students in the teaching plan and place the development of students at the center of teaching. By giving the students one more year of learning experience and a grace period before the big decision, more and more universities may start to realize the varied abilities and interests of students need to be accommodated in order to make independent and informed choices.

These efforts will not only create a more open academic environment but also make sense from a practical standpoint. Most students don't know with 100 percent certainty what they want to do with the rest of their life. Asking them to choose a specific major after a year of supported studying will allow students to more confidently commit to their future – and give incoming freshmen one less thing to worry about.

As of 2018, around 20 universities across the country including Peking University, Sichuan University and Shandong University have pledged to give students the chance transfer to another major after being admitted into the university.