Higher Education in China offers a comprehensive introduction to the past and present of higher education in China. After giving a brief account of the origin and historical development of higher education in China, the book discusses in detail the various aspects of the current system of higher education in the People's Republic of China ——its structure, management, admissions, graduate employment, undergraduate and postgraduate education, specialized education, research and teaching staff. The authors highlight some of the distinguishing characteristics of higher education in China: its long history, enormous size, centralized management, the pragmatic trend and many non-formal forms.
This book aims at helping international readers make sense of the amazingly huge and complex machinery that higher education in China is today. After reading the book, readers will have a better understanding of what higher education in China is and how it works. The book is intended for researchers and graduate students in the field of higher education, and international readers interested in higher education in China.

Series Editors' Preface
Preface
List of Acronyms
1 History of Higher Education
1.1 Higher Learning in Ancient Times
1.1.1 Confucius and his private academe
1.1.2 The taixue （institution of supreme learning） and shuyuan （academy or scholarly society）
1.2 Modem Higher Education
1.2.1 The modem college in China
1.2.2 The modem university in China
1.2.3 Modem higher education in the Republic of China （1911 - 1949）
1.3 Contemporary Higher Education in China
1.3.1 Higher education in the early years of the PRC （1949 - 1966）
1.3.2 Higher education during the "Cultural Revolution" （1966 - 1976）
1.3.3 Higher education in the new era （since 1978）
2 Structure of Higher Education
2.1 Forms
2.1.1 Form of higher education
2.1.2 Form of ownership
2.2 Levels
2.3 Disciplines
2.4 Categories of Institutions
2.4.1 Discipline-based categories! single-discipline institutions,multidisciplinary institutions, and comprehensive universities
2.4.2 Function-based categories: teaching institutions, teaching-research institutions, and research universities
3 Higher Education Management
3.1 The Ownership System
3.2.3 Higher education coordination
3.3 The Funding System
3.3.1 Diversification of higher education funding
3.3.2 Growth of private higher education
3.3.3 Government expenditures on education
3.4 Planning and Evaluation
3.4.1 State education plans
3.4.2 Evaluation of higher education
3.5 The Organizational Management of HEIs
3.5.1 Organization and structure of HEIs
3.5.2 Leadership system of HEIs
3.5.3 Rules and regulations of HEIs
4 Admission and Graduate Employment
4.1 College Admission
4.1.1 Reforms of admission
4.1.2 Forms of admission
4.2 Postgraduate Admission
4.2.1 Master's admission
4.2.2 Doctoral admission
4.3 Graduate Employment: Policy Changes and Current Situation
4.3.1 Policy changes
4.3.2 Current situation
5 Specialized Higher Education
5.1 Overview
5.1.1 Levels of tertiary education
5.1.2 Programs of tertiary education
5.2 Missions and Programs
5.3 Curriculum
5.3.1 Structure of the curriculum
5.3.2 Sequence of courses in the curriculum
5.3.3 Degree of control over curricular content
5.4 Establishment and Adjustment of Specialties
5.5 Modes of Education
5.5.1 Alternative Work and Study Mode
5.5.2 College-industry Collaborative Mode
5.5.3 Employment / Position-oriented or Made-to-order Mode
5.5.4 Platform plus Module Mode
5.5.5 Learning by Doing Mode
5.6 The Management System of Teaching
6 Undergraduate Education
6.1 Overview
6.2 Missions and Programs
6.3 Curriculum
6.3.1 Curriculum for undergraduate education before 1985
6.3.2 Curriculum of undergraduate education after 1985
6.4 Establishment and Adjustment of Undergraduate Specialties
6.5 Modes of Education
6.6 The Management System of Teaching
7 Postgraduate Education
7.1 Overview
7.2 Academic Degrees System
7.2.1 Establishment of Academic Degrees Ordinance of the PRC
7.2.2 Basic characteristics of the academic degrees system
7.3 Master's Degree Education
7.3.1 Recent developments
7.3.2 New directions
7.4 Doctoral Education
7.4.1 Recent developments
7.4.2 New directions
8 Research in HEIs
8.1 Present State of Research in HEIs
8.1.1 The research system of HEIs
8.1.2 Personnel engaging in research at HEIs
8.1.3 Research capacities of HEIs
8.1.4 Social contribution of researches conducted by HEIs
8.2 Features of Research in HEIs
8.3 Organizational Structure of Research in HEIs
8.4 Operation Mechanism of Research in HEIs
9 Teaching Staff in HEIs
9.1 Composition of Teachin