The number of graduate students has surpassed that of undergraduates at leading universities in China, reflecting a growing trend in higher education while raising questions about its implications in the job market.

Last year, China enrolled approximately 1.3 million graduate students, a 4 percent increase from 2022, according to the Ministry of Education.

Meanwhile, Lanzhou University in Gansu province recently announced that this year, its total number of graduate students will exceed that of undergraduates for the first time, marking the "reversal" of graduate to undergraduate enrollment.

The reversal of enrollment at comprehensive research universities is a significant step toward building high-level research institutions and meets the country's development needs in the new era, the university said.

It has continuously optimized its majors over the past three years, adding a number of master's and doctoral programs in fields such as materials and chemical engineering, energy and power, and biosafety.

Majors from these newly established programs, aligned with national needs, have become an important component of the overall expansion of the graduate students, it added.

Other prestigious institutions such as Peking University, Tsinghua University and the University of Science and Technology of China in Anhui province have also reported similar trends.

This year, Tsinghua University enrolled around 10,000 graduate students, nearly triple the number of undergraduate students, the university said.

Also, about 296,000 students graduated from higher education institutes in Beijing, including over 160,000 master's and doctoral graduates, according to the capital's education department.

Chen Zhiwen, a member of the Chinese Society of Educational Development Strategy, said advanced education and high-level scientific and technological independence are key to supporting China's high-quality development.

"We need to strengthen the quality and capacity of our own talent development," Chen said, adding that initiatives have been launched since 2020 to expand the scale of graduate education, particularly for doctoral students.

The number of candidates for the national postgraduate exam has increased dramatically from 1.65 million in 2015 to over 4.38 million this year, although a slight decline was seen this year for the first time in eight years, according to the 2024 China Undergraduate Employment Report released by education consultancy MyCOS.

The report also indicates that the proportion of students from top-tier universities seeking graduate studies has risen from 30 percent in 2019 to 37.3 percent last year.

However, the reversal of enrollment only exists in first-class universities and disciplines. The majority of institutes nationwide have more undergraduate students than graduate students, an expert said.

Fan Xiudi, director of the Education Evaluation Research Center of Tongji University in Shanghai, said "Double First Class" universities have relatively stronger research and teaching capabilities, and they are responsible for training over 80 percent of the nation's doctoral students and nearly 60 percent of its master's students.

According to the ministry's report on the basic situation of national educational development in 2023, undergraduate enrollment reached 4.78 million while graduate enrollment stood at 1.3 million.

"On a national scale, the number of undergraduates still far exceeds that of graduates," Fan said.

Moreover, the emphasis on graduate education has raised concerns about the potential devaluation of degrees and challenges in employment.

In recent years, graduates from prestigious universities have increasingly sought employment in smaller cities and counties, which is partly related to the significant growth in the number of graduates and postgraduate students, Chen said.

"It is neither possible nor realistic to expect that holding a higher university degree will directly lead to a decent job," he said, adding that choosing to pursue a master's degree solely for employment reasons is not a wise decision.

A genuine passion and interest in the field of study is crucial for graduate education, which aims to cultivate high-level talent, he added.

zhaoyimeng@chinadaily.com.cn