The First Batch Of 92 Published PhDs Nationwide Are About To Enter The University

On August 29th, the doctoral degree training conference for publishing was held during the 15th China International Digital Publishing Expo in Zhengzhou, Henan. Experts and scholars from multiple universities, publishing institutions, and research units across the country gathered together to engage in in-depth exchanges on key issues related to doctoral training in publishing.
The newly implemented "Catalogue of Graduate Education Disciplines (2022)" in China includes "publishing" as a professional degree that can confer doctoral degrees, marking a further improvement in the education level of publishing higher education in China. In October 2024, 10 universities including Nankai University, Nanjing University, Wuhan University, Beijing Institute of Graphic Arts, Communication University of China, Henan University, Hunan Normal University, Shanghai University of Technology, Shaanxi Normal University, and Jinan University were granted the authority to confer doctoral degrees in publishing.
The conference is organized by the Secretariat of the National Graduate Education Guidance Committee for Publishing Majors (hereinafter referred to as the Education Guidance Committee), the Publishing Research Institute of Nanjing University, and the School of Publishing of Henan University. Professor Zhang Zhiqiang, Vice Chairman of the Education Commission and Nanjing University, presided over the meeting. The Secretary General of the Education Commission and Professor Jin Xinrong from Nanjing University introduced the background and overall situation of the establishment and authorization points for publishing doctoral professional degrees. The heads of each authorized point and self approved unit gave brief reports on enrollment plans, training programs, course offerings, and practical base construction.
At the meeting, many industry and academic experts expressed important views.
Cui Haijiao, Vice President of the China Academy of Press and Publication, believes that publishing PhDs should possess four core abilities: political judgment and comprehension, professional knowledge discovery and improvement, cross-border comprehensive ability, and innovation and creativity. He emphasizes that publishing work has strong ideological attributes and needs to focus on value orientation.

Xu Hai, the editor in chief of Jiangsu Phoenix Publishing Media Group, believes that the industry needs publishing PhDs with solid non publishing disciplinary backgrounds, keen industry insights, rich practical experience, and excellent research abilities. The industry can provide research scenarios, job support, and practical guidance.
Wei Yushan, member of the Education Commission and Vice Chairman and Secretary General of Taofen Foundation, suggested that the training objectives should further reflect the construction of China's independent knowledge system and the ideological attributes of publishing. Priority should be given to those with industry experience in enrollment, and the curriculum should highlight the essence and cutting-edge direction of publishing.
Wan Anlun, the leader of the national expert group for the joint construction of publishing disciplines and a professor at Beijing Normal University, proposed to learn from history and emphasize the importance of "sampling" and "feedback". The first batch of training units should play a good exemplary role, and future doctoral talents should also feedback to the academic community to promote the sustainable development of the discipline.
Lei Qili, Vice Chairman of the Education Commission and Professor at East China Normal University, pointed out that the cultivation of publishing PhDs should adhere to quality first and ensure sufficient supporting conditions; Priority can be given to those with publishing experience; The curriculum should be more macro level, with further clarification of achievement recognition standards and enhanced operability.
The attending experts unanimously believe that the cultivation of publishing PhDs should adhere to both theory and practice, serve the major strategic needs of the country, and reserve high-level leading talents for the high-quality development of China's publishing industry.
The attending representatives also had a lively discussion on the "Discussion Draft of the Doctoral Degree Training Program for Publishing", and put forward multiple constructive opinions on the training objectives, curriculum system, degree standards, quality assurance, and other aspects. The Secretariat of the Education Guidance Committee will further improve the training program and promote the healthy and orderly development of doctoral education in publishing, based on fully absorbing opinions from all parties.
It is reported that by 2025, a total of 92 doctoral students will be enrolled in 10 publishing doctoral degree programs across the country. After about 4 years, we will strive to cultivate these students into leading, composite, and expert future leaders engaged in creative work in the field of publishing, serving the construction of a strong cultural and publishing country. This work meeting will also be of great significance in strengthening the construction of publishing disciplines and promoting innovative development in the industry.