The degree evaluation committee: the body that actually awards your degree

The degree evaluation committee (学位评定委员会) of your degree-awarding institution is the body that actually awards your master's or doctoral degree. It makes the decision on the award on the basis of your defence committee's resolution, and the institution then publishes the list of names and issues the certificate (Degree Law, Articles 28 and 29). The English on this page is this site's own translation of the Chinese text.

What the committee does

Article 9 of the Degree Law gives the degree evaluation committee six duties:

1. Review the implementation measures and specific standards for awarding degrees within the institution.
2. Review matters such as the addition or removal of degree-awarding points.
3. Make resolutions to grant, not to grant, or to revoke the corresponding degree.
4. Study and handle disputes over degree awards.
5. Receive complaints or reports related to degrees.
6. Review other degree-related matters.

The committee may set up sub-committees to assist its work, and may delegate duties to those sub-committees (Degree Law, Article 9).

How the committee is formed

The committee is made up of the institution's leaders who hold senior professional-technical titles and its teaching and research personnel. The members must be an odd number of at least nine. The committee is chaired by the institution's principal administrative head (Degree Law, Article 10).

How the committee decides

The committee resolves by meeting. For the matters listed in Article 9(1) through (4), or for other major matters, at least two-thirds of all members must be present. A resolution is put to a ballot and passes by more than half of all members (Degree Law, Article 10).

How its procedures are set

The composition, term of office, division of duties and working procedure of the committee and any sub-committee are determined and published by the degree-awarding institution (Degree Law, Article 11).

As a planning suggestion, read the institution's own published committee procedure in its admissions or degree brochure rather than relying on a single account.

Committee and defence committee are not the same

The defence committee examines your work and makes a resolution. The degree evaluation committee then makes its own resolution on whether to grant the master's or doctoral degree, on the basis of the defence committee's resolution and after reviewing your application (Degree Law, Article 28). Article 28 gives the defence committee one stated role: it is the body whose resolution the degree evaluation committee acts on. The award decision is the degree evaluation committee's.

What happens after the committee resolves

When the committee resolves to grant the degree, the institution publishes the list of persons awarded, issues the degree certificate, and reports the degree-awarding information to the provincial degree committee. The provincial degree committee then reports the degree-awarding information of its administrative region to the State Council Degree Committee for the record (备案) (Degree Law, Article 29).

Questions people ask

Is the degree evaluation committee the same as the defence committee?

No. The defence committee makes a resolution on your defence; the degree evaluation committee makes the separate decision whether to grant the degree on the basis of that resolution (Degree Law, Article 28). The two are distinct bodies.

Can a sub-committee award my degree?

The degree evaluation committee may set up sub-committees and may delegate duties to them (Degree Law, Article 9). Article 28 states that the degree evaluation committee itself makes the resolution on granting the degree, on the basis of the defence committee's resolution.

Who sets the committee's working rules?

The institution determines and publishes the committee's composition, term, duties and procedure (Degree Law, Article 11). The Degree Law sets the minimum of an odd number of at least nine members and requires the chair to be the institution's principal administrative head (Degree Law, Article 10).

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 (moe.gov.cn), text sourced from the National People's Congress website

Checked 11 October 2026

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