Postgraduate Entrance Examination Guide for Professional Master's Degree Programs (2004 Edition)

Author: Office of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council
Publisher:
Publishing Time: 2004-06-01
Features: The "Guidance for the Entrance Examination for Master's Degree Candidates" (2005 Edition) aims to meet the needs of China's economic and social development by fully leveraging the autonomy of higher education institutions and the leading role of teachers in the entire talent selection and cultivation process. Therefore, in terms of talent selection, a two-stage examination system has been implemented with significant reforms in content and methods. Establishing a new admission examination method tailored to China's characteristics for part-time master's degree candidates holds profound significance for exploring China's high-level talent selection methods.
The two-stage examination refers to the combination of the National Graduate Candidate Test (GraduateCandidateTest,GCT) and professional examinations organized by universities. The GCT is administered by specialized examination institutions appointed by national education authorities, focusing on assessing candidates' comprehensive qualities and reflecting the commonality of the group. The professional examination, on the other hand, tests candidates' specialized abilities in a particular field, aiming to evaluate their individuality.
The GCT consists of four sections: Language Expression Ability Test, Mathematical Foundation Ability Test, Logical Reasoning Ability Test, and Foreign Language Application Ability Test. Practical evidence shows that these four aspects are concentrated manifestations of a person's comprehensive qualities and abilities. By assessing candidates' potential abilities through necessary background knowledge in natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences, the GCT examination places emphasis on these aspects, which is also the purpose of adopting the GCT.
The GCT examination lasts a total of 3 hours, with each section lasting 45 minutes. The questions are all objective multiple-choice, including categories such as reading comprehension, analysis and judgment, true/false identification, situational analysis, numerical problem-solving, and logical reasoning. The answer format includes selection and fill-in-the-blanks. The questions cover a wide range of disciplines, including philosophy, economics, law, education, literature, history, science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, military science, and management. The examination focuses on assessing candidates' comprehensive ability levels and response speed through the provided questions.
The two-stage examination is an organic whole, each with its own emphasis and neither should be neglected. For candidates who meet the GCT score requirements set by the training institutions, further assessment of their knowledge structure and ability levels should be conducted in accordance with training needs, using methods such as written and oral examinations. Admission decisions will be made based on candidates' GCT scores, written and oral examination results, and other factors.
"Adhering to educational innovation and deepening educational reform" is a general requirement for education proposed by the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The reform of the entrance examination method for part-time master's degree candidates is necessary for cultivating innovative talent, advancing the development of graduate education in China, and enhancing China's higher education's competitiveness in international competition. Therefore, it is a significant measure in upholding educational innovation.
Higher education institutions should admit and train graduate students with a market-oriented approach, using social evaluation as a lever to deepen educational reform, and strive to create distinctive and high-quality programs. Universities should fully utilize their autonomy in running schools to enhance vitality, motivation, and competitiveness, ensuring that the scale and quality of graduate education develop simultaneously in a fair and orderly competitive environment, all in the pursuit of cultivating innovative talent.