Theseregulations are formulated according to the actual situation of the university, and the spirit and specific requirements of “Regulations on Academic Degrees of the People’s Republic of China” and the “Interim Measures for the Implementation of the Regulations on Academic Degrees of the People’s Republic of China”.

Article 1 Eligibility for Master’s Degrees

(1) Courses

Master’s students shall complete the courses stipulated in the program within the specified time, obtain passing grades, complete required credits for graduation, and achieve an average grade of 70 or above for courses required for the degree.

(2) Scientific Research and Dissertation

Under the guidance of their supervisors, master’s students shall conduct research on their thesis topics and complete their master’s theses independently. The specific requirements are:

1. The master’s thesis should be a systematic and complete presentation and summary of the results of scientific research.

2. The master’s thesis should demonstrate that the author has a solid command of fundamental theories and systematic understanding of the discipline and has the competence to engage in scientific research or take up specialized technical work independently.

3. Master’s students should meet the following basic requirements for their research work before applying for a master’s degree:

Publish (including acceptance for publication) an academic paper related to the student’s discipline in a public journal (with CN and ISSN numbers) with Jiangnan University as the affiliation and the student as the first author, or with the supervisor as the first author and the student as the second author.

The publication requirement may be deemed to be met in one of the following cases:

(1) The student has published academic papers related to the dissertation on the theoretical pages of newspapers above the provincial level.

(2) The student has participated in the editing of a book (more than 20,000 words) related to the dissertation and the book has been published.

(3) The student, as a major participant (top 3), has completed a project related to the dissertation and approved by the provincial accreditation.

(4) The student has been granted a patent for an invention related to the dissertation (top 3 participants).

(5) The student has won a national professional competition (top 2 places).

(6) The student has published academic papers related to the dissertation published in “China Science and Technology Paper Online” sponsored by the Science and Technology Development Center of the Ministry of Education, with a reference value of three stars or above.

Notification of Acceptance of the publication, together with the original paper, must be submitted to the Secretariat of the Graduate School before the dissertation defense; the Certificate of the Master’s Degree will not be issued until the paper has been published or the supervisor has signed to make sure that the paper will be published in the content and format as stated in the Notification of Acceptance.

(3) Degree Sub-committees may formulate degree standards not lower than the university-level according to its own situation and submit them to the Degree Evaluation Committee of the university to put on records and implement.

(4) If a master’s student fails to meet the requirements of publication after half of the normal academic year, he/she may apply for the graduation defense, but not for a degree; within one year after graduation, he/she shall apply for a master’s degree with the published article submitted to the Sub-committee of Degree Evaluation (hereafter referred to as Sub-committee). Those who meet the requirements for degree conferment shall follow the relevant regulations and procedures of the university; and the degree shall be awarded on the date when it is approved by the Degree Evaluation Committee of the university; those who fail to pass the evaluation shall not apply for the degree for a second time.

Article 2 Master’s Thesis Review Procedures

(1) The master’s thesis shall be submitted to the supervisor for review and comments after completion.

(2) The supervisor reviews the dissertation and fills in the supervisor’s review book.

(3) For master’s students who are required to participate in the blind review of their dissertations, the relevant requirements in the “Regulations on the Blind Review of Dissertations of Doctoral and Master’s Degrees of Jiangnan University” shall be implemented.

Article 3 Master’s Thesis Defense

After the dissertation has been assessed and approved, the student will defend the thesis in public. The names of the dissertation reviewers shall be kept confidential to the student before the defense, and the author of the dissertation shall notinviteor contact the dissertation reviewer in person. A seal is required to transmit the thesis reviews and related materials. A poster must be displayed at the designated location two days before the defense.

(1) Reviewer Panel and Defense Committee for Master’s Thesis Defense

1. The panel of the reviewers and the Defense Committee of the dissertation defense shall be determined by the Sub-committee, and a list of experts provided by the candidate’s supervisor may be referred to.

2. The Defense Committee shall consist of three or five professors or associate professors (or experts with equivalent professional titles) in the discipline and related disciplines; and in principle at least one member from the Sub-committee is required in the Committee; and the supervisor of the student shall not be included in the Committee.

3. The panel has two reviewers, and they can be members of the Defense Committee at the same time.

4. The Chairman of the Defense Committee normally shall be a member of the Sub-committee or a professor-level expert from outside institutions.

5. The Sub-committee must appoint a responsible and conscientious teacher as the secretary of the Defense Committee, who is responsible for recording in detail the questions of the committee members, the answers provided by the thesis defenders and the comments of the Defense Committee during the defense process, as well as handling the affairs of the defense process.

The composition of the Defense Committee must be approved by the Chairman of the Sub-committee.

(2) Before the defense, the dissertation must be reviewed by two reviewers and a detailed academic commentary must be written for the reference of the Defense Committee. If one of the reviewers holds a negative opinion during the dissertation review process, the dissertation shall be submitted to the Sub-committee for discussion and decision on whether two more reviewers shall be appointed to review the dissertation. If it is decided that no more reviewers will be appointed, the application will be invalidated; if one of the newly appointed reviewers still holds a negative opinion, the application will be invalidated.

(3) Members of the Defense Committee must carefully review the dissertation before the defense, ask questions and take part in voting during the defense. If they are unable to attend the defense for any reason, they should explain to the head of the Sub-committee in advance to ensure sufficient time for replacement. Membersmay not vote by proxy or by correspondence.

(4) Procedures for Master’s Thesis Defense

1. The Chairman of the Defense Committee announces the opening of the dissertation defense and introduces the names, titles, workplaces and academic specialties of the Defense Committee members.

2. The defense secretary introduces the author of the dissertation (Academic performance and achievement for matriculated students; way of study, academic performance and achievement for non-matriculated applicants).

3. Presentation of the dissertation by the author (no more than 30 minutes).

4. The Defense Committee and other pertinent members shall ask questions and the author shall defendin a timely manner.

5. The defense secretary reads out the reviews of the thesis.

6. The candidate shall leave the room, and the committee will call for a motion to pass or fail the candidate after making a comprehensive evaluation of the candidate’s thesis and defense. The resolution of the defense committee shall be drafted by secret ballot according to a five-point scale, and the resolution shall include a clear conclusion on whether or not to recommend the Degree Committee to confer the master's degree, in addition to a comprehensive evaluation of the quality of the dissertation and the defense of the candidate. The conclusions are as follows:

a. Pass and conferment of Master’s Degrees is recommended.

b. Pass with conditions. The conferment of Master’s Degrees shall be deferred until the thesis has been revised and submitted to the Defense Committee for a decision on whether the conferment is recommended.

c. Fail. Candidate is required to revise the thesis within a limited period (a clear deadline for revision) and the dissertation will be revised and re-defended after the revision. The period of revision shall not exceed one year.

d. Fail. Only proof of completion of study will be provided.

The conclusion must be agreed by at least two-thirds of all members of the Defense Committee.

7. The Chairman of the Defense Committee announces the voting results to the candidate and reads out the resolution of the Defense Committee.

Article 4 Master’s Degree Conferment Procedures

(1) Review by the Sub-committee of Degree Evaluation

1. The Sub-committee shall hold a meeting at a specified time every year to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the degree candidates (including the candidates’ ideological performance, course study and thesis defense) and vote by secret ballot to decide the conferment of the degree.

2. The number of sub-committee members attending the meeting must reach four-fifths of the total, and the number of voters must reach two-thirds of the members present before it could be submitted to the Degree Evaluation Committee of the university for approval. If any Sub-committee member is on a business trip and cannot return to the university in time to attend the meeting, the Sub-committee can file an application and the Graduate School will be responsible for appointing members of other sub-committees of similar disciplines to attend the meeting so that the meeting will be held as scheduled. For those who have passed the thesis defense but failed the degree-awarding evaluation, the dissertation can be revised within one year and resubmitted for evaluation with the approval of the Sub-committee.

3. If the Sub-committee recommends not to confer the degree, it shall notify the candidate in written form and explain its decision. If the degree candidate disagrees with the rejection, he/she may petition by submitting a written statement of reasons to the Degree Evaluation Committee of the university within 7 working days. The petition shall be signed and approved by the supervisor and the appeal shall not be accepted after the deadline. If the appeal is submitted after the annual meeting time of the Degree Evaluation, it shall be submitted to the next meeting for decision. The decision of the Degree Evaluation Committee shall be the final decision. The execution of the decision of Sub-committee will not be suspended during the appeal period.

4. The resolution and voting result of the Sub-committee must be written on the candidate’s degree application form signed by the Chairman of the Sub-committee and submitted to the Degree Evaluation Committee for approval.

(2) Approval by the Degree Evaluation Committee of the University

The Degree Evaluation Committee of the University meets at specified time every year to preside over and manage the degree applications.

Article 5 Supplementary Provisions

(1) The time from the application for thesis defense to the formal defense shall not be less than one month (after deducting regular holidays such as summer and winter vacations), of which the time for thesis review shall not be less than 20 working days.

(2) The candidates shall not participate in the process of delivering and sending materials for thesis evaluation and shall not inquire about the names of the dissertation reviewers.

(3) The Graduate School accepts reports on all acts of falsification in the process of degree application, thesis review and defense. Any academic misconduct of degree candidates or dissertation falsification shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of the “Measures for Handling Falsified Dissertations” (Order No. 34 of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China) and other documents.

(4) For those who apply for master's degree with equivalent academic ability, pleaserefer tothe “Regulations on the Award of Master’s Degree to Persons with the Same Academic Ability as Postgraduates” of Jiangnan University.

(5) These regulations are applicable to academic master’s students of 2018 and are subject to interpretation by the Graduate School.