Jakarta, ThedailyID — Chinese universities have eliminated thousands of undergraduate programs and introduced new AI-focused degrees as the country aligns higher education with its technological and economic priorities.
The overhaul comes as Beijing pushes to lead future industries while tackling rising graduate unemployment.
According to the South China Morning Post, universities across China removed about 12,200 undergraduate programs between 2021 and 2025. During the same period, they launched roughly 10,200 new programs, many of them centered on emerging technologies.
Data from China’s Ministry of Education shows that the changes affected more than 30% of the country’s undergraduate programs.
Most of the discontinued degrees came from the arts, humanities, foreign languages and management.
Chinese universities argued that rapid advances in artificial intelligence have reshaped labor market demand. Graduate unemployment in those fields has also climbed above 16%.
Meanwhile, universities have expanded programs tied to Beijing’s industrial strategy.
For example, nine universities have introduced degrees in embodied intelligence, a field that combines AI with robotics and physical systems.
Many universities have also accelerated curriculum reforms as China produces record numbers of university graduates each year. However, many graduates continue to struggle to find jobs that match their qualifications.
The University of Shanghai for Science and Technology stopped admitting new students to its Product Design program this year.
An alumnus, who asked to remain anonymous, said AI had sharply reduced demand for traditional product design skills.
“AI can now handle many core tasks, including modeling and rendering,” the graduate said.
Meanwhile, the Communication University of China (CUC) merged its cinematography program with film and television production.
Song Song, a cinematography graduate who now works as a videographer, said the move reflects how technology has transformed the media industry.
“With the rise of live streaming and short videos, employers expect very different skills from camera operators today,” Song said. “Education must evolve with those changes.”
However, education experts say replacing degree programs alone will not solve the problem.
Chu Zhahoui, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences, said universities need broader structural reforms to keep pace with technological change.
He noted that some programs now being eliminated had only opened a few years earlier, leaving little time for them to mature.
Instead of repeatedly replacing one major with another, Chu suggested universities should give students greater flexibility to build their own academic pathways.
He said students should choose courses that match their interests, strengths and career goals rather than follow rigid degree structures.
The changing job market has also shifted public attitudes toward higher education.
Vincent Zhao, who runs a media production company in Beijing, said he encouraged his daughter to study statistics and data governance because those fields offer broader career options.
“The old idea of studying one major, finding one matching job and staying there for life no longer applies,” Zhao said.
