Top Chinese Varsities Take After US Colleges

BEIJING - China's top universities are taking after American colleges by letting their undergraduates study a mix of science and humanities subjects before they decide on a major.

Students at Beijing, Qinghua and Nanjing universities will now take a core curriculum that comprises the social sciences, philosophy and psychology, history, language and literature and the arts.

The more than 10,000 students involved in the reforms only have to decide on their specialisation in their second or third year, so that they have enough time to be exposed to a wide range of subjects.

'Our new thinking is that the working world needs people to know a little about a lot of things, and not be too narrowly focused. College should expose them to a wide range of issues,' said Madam Liu Mingli, Beijing University's admissions officer.

The reforms apply to all 24 departments and faculties, she added.

Beijing University's administrators are even toying with the idea of allowing third-year students to switch majors if doing so better matches their interests.

'We believe they should be given a second chance if they make a mistake in their choice of a major,' said Madam Liu.

Qinghua University was already experimenting with the new system in 1992 at the Environmental Science department, said an admissions officer named Madam Yang.

Describing Qinghua as the leader in education reforms, she said all of the university's 12 faculties had switched to the new system.

Nanjing University's admissions department said seven of its 12 faculties have adopted the changes.

The reforms are a radical departure from the traditional university system, which includes China's other 455 universities and colleges.

They still require high school applicants to list their top three preferred colleges and a corresponding major. Their undergraduates also begin to train in their specialty from the first year.

And there is slim hope of switching to another subject except in the most extreme cases, like when a sports major becomes disabled, noted Professor Cheng Fangping at the China National Institute for Educational Research.

By contrast, applicants to the three leading universities only have to declare a department, not a major.

For instance, a student applying to Nanjing University needs only to list the Chinese Language faculty without specifying if he wants to specialise in literature or history.

He can make that choice a year or two later.

Mr Jiang Wenjian, 37, wished he had enjoyed the benefits of the new system when he was in school.

Now a manager at a multinational company, he recalled having to pick a major at 18 years old - before he even knew what jobs the working world offered.

He chose chemistry before he discovered - too late - that he wanted to be a doctor.

'Many students are still being asked at 18 years old to decide on such a big issue as a university major. What do they know at that age?' he said.

Professor Cheng agreed, noting that the reforms at the top colleges should spread to the country's other universities as soon as possible.

'That full-scale reforms started only this year show how backward China's education system is. I think we shouldn't waste any more time and should overhaul all the other universities now,' he urged.