Challenging job market diminishes appeal of postgraduate studies in China

China is seeing a significant decline in postgraduate entrance exam applications for the second year running, reflecting growing doubts about the value of advanced degrees in a challenging job market. According to data released by the Ministry of Education in November, 3.88 million people have registered for the 2025 postgraduate entrance exam, marking an 11.4 per cent decrease from 2024 and an 18.1 per cent drop from 2023.

More students are taking the civil service exam instead, seeking job security and stability, reports the South China Morning Post.

The national graduate entrance examination, known as kaoyan, has traditionally been viewed as a pathway to better career prospects. However, this perception is changing as China’s sluggish economy creates unprecedented challenges for jobseekers with advanced degrees.

Employment statistics grim

Recent employment statistics paint a grim picture. As of April, only 44.4 per cent of current postgraduate students had secured job offers, slightly lower than the 45.4 per cent rate among bachelor’s degree holders. The situation is even direr for those graduating from non-elite universities, where only 33.2 per cent of master’s and doctoral candidates received job offers – a 17-percentage-point decrease from the previous year.

Hardest hit are jobseekers in the 25-29 age group, which includes the most recent postgraduates. Their unemployment rate rose to 6.9 per cent in August from 6.5 per cent in July, when most graduates entered the job market.

Government raising enrolment quotas

Despite the declining interest in postgraduate studies, the government continues to raise enrolment quotas as part of its strategy to ease youth unemployment. In 2020, during the pandemic, China increased its postgraduate admission quota by 189,000 – the largest expansion since 2017. But even the higher quota can’t accommodate all vying for postgraduate degrees. Only 1.3 million students were admitted to graduate schools in 2023.

Although graduate schools have been attracting fewer applicants since last year, the country is teeming with university graduates. China churned out a record 11.79 degree holders this year, and the Ministry of Education estimates the figure will soar to 12.22 million in 2025. The prevailing sentiment seems to be Bachelor’s, yes, Master’s, no.