FAQ on Adjustment of Postgraduate Education in Spring 2020

  Foreword

Dear students, due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, Tsinghua University made a series of adjustments to the spring semester of 2020. Accordingly, the education and teaching arrangements for postgraduates will undergo certain changes. The following document is a list of frequently asked questions, and may serve as a reference for students. For most information regarding schedule changes and registration, postgraduates may consult the Notice Concerning Administrative and Educational Adjustments for the Spring Semester 2019-2020 Academic Year. For other unanswered enquiries, students may contact the academic affairs office of their respective school/department or the Graduate School for further clarification. 

Meanwhile, we hope that all postgraduates will continue to follow the motto of Tsinghua University, thus to pursue the values of progress, self-reliance and academic excellence. 

Part I: Curriculum and Practical Courses

Q1: How can postgraduates apply for degree course exemption?

A:During the period of epidemic prevention and control, only graduating students will have their applications for degree course exemption processed. Students can file their exemption applications (word documents) and relevant material (scans/pictures) via email to the academic affairs office of their school/department. Beforehand, students should confirm the deadline of their respective departments (the academic affairs offices must send the applications collectively to the Graduate School at least two weeks prior to the final submission date of the postgraduate degree dissertation). 

Q2: How do you apply for the credits of the lecture course entitled ‘Development of Employability and Entrepreneurship skills for Graduate Students’ (Course number: 62550031)?

A: During the period of epidemic prevention and control, students will apply online for the credits of the lecture course ‘Development of Employability and Entrepreneurship skills for Graduate Students’ (62550031). Postgraduates can check their course attendance through https://www.wjx.top/jq/16005541.aspx and submit their final paper via email to [e-mail]. For further enquiries or special circumstances, please contact the Office of Graduate Studies as soon as possible.

Q3: During the period of epidemic prevention and control, will the practical courses of professional degree-seeking postgraduate students proceed as planned?

A: The Graduate School has already advised the schools and departments to postpone professional practice. Some requirements concerning the duration of practice can be adjusted according to the development of the epidemic. For graduating students, if the practice must be completed before the end of the epidemic, further organizational adjustments can be made while respecting the basic requirements of the school/department and the university. Faculty and students should avoid congregation and maintain preventive health measures. For specific information, students should follow the arrangements of their school/department.

Q4: During the coronavirus epidemic, will part-time professional degree-seeking postgraduate students proceed with their academic schedules as planned?

A: Each school/department will make adjustments regarding teaching arrangements for their part-time professional degree-seeking postgraduate students. For specific information, please contact the academic affairs office of your school/department.

Q5: How will the academic schedules for international students in joint degree programs and English-taught programs be arranged?

A: The requirements included in the Notice Concerning Administrative and Educational Adjustments, during the Spring Semester 2019-2020 Academic Year, are also applicable for international students. For specific information, international students should contact the academic affairs office of their school/department or their program coordinator.

Q6: How will joint degree program course credits attained overseas be recognized?

A: During the period of epidemic prevention and control, only applications for course credit recognition of graduating students will be processed. If the students participating in joint degree programs are unable to return to China because of the outbreak of the epidemic or are unable to access Tsinghua university spring semester courses through online learning platforms, with the consent of the supervisor, program director and disciplinary degree committee, the student can choose relevant courses offered by overseas partner institutions to substitute the Tsinghua university courses that were to be taken. When applying for credit recognition, graduate students should fill out the application for credit recognition (made by the Graduate School) and the application form for the recognition of exchange courses abroad (made by the Registration Center), and submit to the academic affairs office of their school/department.

Q7: How can postgraduate students apply to adjust their individual curriculum plans?

A: During the period of prevention and control, only the applications of graduating students will be processed. The instructions are as follows:

1: The student informs her/his supervisor regarding the desired adjustments of the individual curriculum plan.The supervisor must approve the proposed adjustments and a record of the communication with and approval by the supervisor should be kept by the student (i.e. through email or WeChat);

2. The student files an online application and downloads the word application form;

3. The student submits the completed form alongside the record of communication via email to the academic affairs office of their school/department. The school/department will submit the completed application to the Graduate School before the deadline (two weeks prior to the submission date of the student’s postgraduate degree theses);

4. Once the epidemic is over, paper application materials with signatures and seals shall be submitted for documentation.

Part II: Academic and Professional Development Programs

Q8: Will the academic and professional development programs for postgraduate students still proceed as planned?

A: As much as possible, the school or department will make necessary arrangements for the program to proceed on time alongside spring semester courses. Some practical courses or requirements will be postponed if needed. They will either be entirely rearranged according to the return date of students back to campus or their content and organization will be restructured in order to allow students to complete content remotely, off campus. For students affected by the epidemic prevention and control efforts, the time requirements for the program’s completion can be adjusted. For further enquiries or special circumstances, please contact the Office of Graduate Studies or the Office of Professional Degree Education as soon as possible.

Part III: Development and Training Tasks

Q9: How will doctoral students complete their final academic report?

A: On the basis of ensuring quality control of the final academic report on PhD dissertations and considering the reasonable time required by doctoral students to revise dissertations, the requirement that “the final academic report should be held no less than three months before applying for defense” can be appropriately relaxed during the epidemic prevention and control period. Based on the principles of ensuring quality, maintaining fairness and keeping records, the organization of the final academic report can take a flexible form on the premise of meeting the basic requirements of the schools and departments, such as through decentralized organization and by communication via network meetings, and other such methods that reduce the congregation of people. Specific details are subject to the arrangements of the respective school/department.

Q10: Will training tasks such as doctoral qualification examinations and postgraduate research proposal defenses be conducted as usual?

A: Schools/departments can postpone the doctoral qualification examinations, postgraduate research proposal defenses and other such tasks so long as they do not involve graduating students (those soon to graduate). During the epidemic prevention and control period, the corresponding completion time limit for such tasks can be relaxed. If the task must be completed before the epidemic is over, the organization can take a  flexible form on the premise of meeting the basic requirements of the schools and departments, such as through decentralized organization and by communication via network meetings, and other such methods that reduce the congregation of people. Specific details are subject to the arrangements of the respective school/department.

Part IV: Submission and Review of Dissertations

Q11: How will the anonymous review procedures for doctoral dissertations for graduation in April 2020 be arranged?

A: For doctoral students who have submitted their dissertations to the Graduate School before January 3, 2020, the reports of anonymous reviewers will be returned to their schools/departments before March 13. During the epidemic prevention and control period, the Graduate School will simplify the procedure and send reviewers’ reports to schools/departments by email.

Q12: How will the anonymous review of doctoral dissertations for graduation in June 2020 be arranged?

A: Doctoral students who plan to graduate in June 2020 should participate in the first batch of dissertation submission in the spring semester 2020. The submission period as determined by the Graduate School is from 2^nd to 30^th of March. The school/department has a higher priority for special requirements. If the epidemic situation remains till 2^nd of March, Graduate School will partly adjust the anonymous review procedure for doctoral dissertations.

(1) On submission of electronic version of dissertation: doctoral students who intend to submit a degree dissertation should contact their supervisors to review the dissertation, and to provide their list of open reviewers and reviewers to be avoided. The communication records between students and their supervisors should be saved as proof (such as through e-mail or WeChat). After being approved by supervisors, the doctoral students can submit the dissertation application form, dissertation, and the communication records with supervisors to the school/department by email. After being approved by the school/department, the doctoral students should submit the dissertations electronically via the Tsinghua Info portal. Dissertations must be submitted between 8:00 am of March 2^nd and 5:00 pm of March 30^th. The submitted dissertations once passing initial format examination by the Graduate School cannot be withdrawn. Failure of initial format examination will result in submission failure, and the student will need to resubmit their dissertation by the deadline. After the deadline, the submission system will automatically be closed. Therefore, the students are suggested to submit their dissertations as early as they can to avoid possible failure of initial format examination, and unpredictable problems such as network congestion close to the deadline.

(2) On feedback of reviewers’ reports: Once the reviewers’ reports are ready to be returned, the Graduate School will send them to the schools/departments by E-mail. The deadline for return of the dissertation review reports is May 11.

If the epidemic situation remains until the beginning of next batch of anonymous review of doctoral dissertations, the procedure will refer to the first batch of Spring 2020. For further questions or special cases, please feel free to contact the Office of Graduate Studies, Graduate School directly.

Q13: How will the anonymous review of doctoral dissertations proceed in case of a second review，a request for arbitration or restart of the anonymous review process?

A: During the period of epidemic prevention and control, these cases will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Doctoral students should first contact the Office of Graduate Studies, Graduate School, and submit an electronic version of their dissertation as instructed. Other required materials should be sent by the schools/departments or doctoral students to the OA mailbox [e-mail]. The Graduate School will organize the review as soon as all required materials are provided, and will send the electronic review reports to the schools/departments.

Q14: How will the open review of the doctoral dissertations and the master’s theses be arranged?

A: The open review of the doctoral dissertations and the master’s theses should be completed in accordance with the time specified by the schools/departments. During the epidemic prevention and control period, in special circumstances, the completion deadline may be relaxed after approval. Please contact the academic affairs office of the school/department for details.

Q15: How will the selection of outstanding graduate dissertations be processed?

A: During the period of epidemic prevention and control, graduate students who intend to apply for the outstanding dissertation award should submit the application form through the Tsinghua Info portal, via email to their supervisor, as well as to their school/department and the chairman of the disciplinary degree committee for approval. The school/department can use a variety of methods to publicize the selection process. The disciplinary degree committee may submit the nomination list as appropriate via paper or electronic version. Once the epidemic is over, the paper materials with signatures during the selection process will need to be resubmitted for documentation. Please contact the academic affairs office of the school/department for details.

Part V: International Conference Funding for doctoral students

Q16: How can doctoral students who participated in international conferences in 2019 through International Conference Funding apply for reimbursement?

A: According to the university financial requirements, graduate students who participated in international conferences in 2019 should complete the reimbursement application by the end of March 2020. If graduate students are unable to return to school due to the epidemic, they can entrust a student or a faculty/staff member to handle it on their behalf. If due to special circumstances the application cannot be handled, please contact the Office of Graduate Studies, Graduate School as soon as possible to avoid financial loss.

Q17: How can doctoral students who participated in international conferences at the beginning of 2020 through the International Conference Funding apply for reimbursement?

A: From 2020, funds for doctoral students attending international conferences will be adjusted to be given in the form of “post-grant” funding, that is, the fees for doctoral and master's students participating in international conferences must be given in advance through their supervisor’s account or personal advances. According to “Tsinghua University Doctoral Training Fund Management Regulations” made by the Graduate School, the graduate student should submit a summary report and relevant supporting materials, after which the funding will be transferred to the research account of the student’s supervisor.

Q18: Due to the coronavirus epidemic, can doctoral students, who have applied for the International Conference Funding but are unable to make it, receive compensation for expenses incurred?

A: Graduate students should provide receipts for incurred expenses and apply for reimbursement. Any questions or explanations of special circumstances should be directed to the Office of Graduate Studies, Graduate school as soon as possible.

Part VI: Graduation and degree related work

Q19: Due to the delay of the school semester, are there any changes to the graduation and degree-awarding schedule for April and June 2020?

A:The graduation and degree review dates for April and June 2020 remain unchanged. The organization and time line for the final academic report and thesis defense can be adjusted. Postgraduate students who are planning to graduate can contact their school/department’s academic affairs office for more details. The university will schedule additional graduation and degree conferrals as needed, in order to minimize the epidemic’s impact on graduating students’ subsequent studies or employment arrangements as much as possible. For students who are planning to graduate in the spring semester of 2020, they should continue their dissertation work as planned. School/department and supervisors will continue to provide strong support and guidance to their students.

Q20: What are the requirements of thesis defense for graduate students who apply for degree review in April and June 2020?

A: If necessary, a thesis can be defended through an online conference after approval.

Application for Defense and Approval: Graduate students submit materials via email by the prescribed date in accordance with their school/department requirements. (On the basis of the original set of degree review materials, students also need to submit an application for thesis defense through an online conference, and confirm whether they will be able to use online conference format. Photo or scan)

Thesis defense: It can be held in the form of an online conference upon approval. The composition of the defense committee and the procedures of the defense committee should be strictly implemented in accordance with the provisions and requirements of thesis defense for postgraduate students.

Q21: How will the degree certificates be issued? 

A: In special circumstances, when degree certificate preparation cannot be completed as planned due to difficulties in, for example, including photos and seals, the Degree Office will issue a degree certification document with a degree certificate number to the student for employment needs. Once the epidemic is over, an official degree certificate will be issued to the student.

Source: Graduate School of Tsinghua University