Notice on Work Schedule for 2023 Degree Application

All graduate & postgraduate training institutes,

        Here is the work schedule for degree application of 2023. Please check out the deadlines and arrange your work accordingly. Please notify the students in advance to complete their thesis proposal, mid-term inspection, pre-review, review, thesis defense, and degree application in strict accordance with the work schedule, so as to ensure the quality of the degree thesis.

1. In 2023, there will be three application cycles in spring, summer, and winter respectively. Before submitting the thesis for expert review and defense, applicants must upload the thesis proposal and review form in the system. Doctoral candidates must upload the required files one year before the submission, and master’s students half a year before. The thesis proposal should be uploaded to the Information Platform of Graduate Students (https://yjs.ustc.edu.cn) – “Academic Degree” – “Upload Thesis Proposal”.

2. Deadlines of thesis review, thesis defense, and degree application:

(1) The first cycle

The doctoral dissertation should be submitted for review no later than January 31, and the master’s thesis no later than February 10. After comments from all reviewers are returned and the conclusion is “pass”, the degree applicant should revise the thesis according to the review comments and fill in the “Thesis Review Feedback Form” (Appendix 3). The Form should be reviewed and signed by the thesis advisor and uploaded to the Postgraduate Degree Thesis Review System, after which the thesis defense can be organized. The thesis submission will be suspended from February 11 to March 6.

The thesis defense should be held no later than March 5. The degree applicant should revise the thesis according to the comments from the Defense Committee, and fill in the “Thesis Defense Feedback Form” (Appendix 4). The Form should be reviewed and signed by the thesis advisor and uploaded to the Degree Application System, after which the degree application can be submitted.

The applicant should submit the degree application materials to the department no later than March 11.

The department should submit the materials to the Office of Academic Degree Committee no later than March 13.

(2) The second cycle

The doctoral dissertation should be submitted for review no later than April 5, and the master’s thesis no later than April 15. After comments from all reviewers are returned and the conclusion is “pass”, the degree applicant should revise the thesis according to the review comments and fill in the “Thesis Review Feedback Form” (Appendix 3). The Form should be reviewed and signed by the thesis advisor and uploaded to the Postgraduate Degree Thesis Review System, after which the thesis defense can be organized. The thesis submission will be suspended from April 16 to June 30.

The thesis defense should be held no later than May 25. The degree applicant should revise the thesis according to the comments from the Defense Committee, and fill in the “Thesis Defense Feedback Form” (Appendix 4). The Form should be reviewed and signed by the thesis advisor and uploaded to the Degree Application System, after which the degree application can be submitted.

The applicant should submit the degree application materials to the department no later than May 31.

The department should submit the materials to the Office of Academic Degree Committee no later than June 3.

(3) The third cycle

The doctoral dissertation should be submitted for review no later than September 5, and the master’s thesis no later than September 15. After comments from all reviewers are returned and the conclusion is “pass”, the degree applicant should revise the thesis according to the review comments and fill in the “Thesis Review Feedback Form” (Appendix 3). The Form should be reviewed and signed by the thesis advisor and uploaded to the Postgraduate Degree Thesis Review System, after which the thesis defense can be organized. The thesis submission will be suspended from September 16 to November 30.

The thesis defense should be held no later than October 25. The degree applicant should revise the thesis according to the comments from the Defense Committee, and fill in the “Thesis Defense Feedback Form” (Appendix 4). The Form should be reviewed and signed by the thesis advisor and uploaded to the Degree Application System, after which the degree application can be submitted.

The applicant should submit the degree application materials to the department no later than October 31.

The department should submit the materials to the Office of Academic Degree Committee no later than November 3.

Deadlines for each application cycle:

3. All departments shall carry out their own form of blind review. Considering the time for blind review (30-40 days) and plagiarism checking (1-2 days), degree applicants are requested to complete the thesis ahead of time and upload it to the system.

4. Based on their disciplines, all institutes are recommended to establish thesis review committees to pre-review the workload, originality, formality, and discipline compliance of the thesis to ensure the quality of the thesis submitted for review.

5. To optimize the review process, all institutes shall establish a reviewer database and a negative list of reviewers.

6. Starting from January 2022, academic graduate students must submit degree application materials within 2 years after passing the thesis defense. Any applicant who fails to submit the materials within 2 years will be deemed as having given up the degree application, and the degree application will not be accepted after 2 years (see Appendix 5 for relevant documents). (Note: Graduate students who passed the thesis defense before November 5, 2018 and those who passed the thesis defense between November 5, 2018 and December 31, 2020 and did not exceed the maximum study period stipulated by the university must submit degree application materials before December 31, 2022; otherwise, their degree applications will not be accepted.)

7. For graduate students who submit degree applications one year after their thesis defense, the school need to hire at least 3 experts to review and confirm the relevance of their theses and academic achievements (see Appendix 6 for the review form). Graduate students can submit degree applications only after uploading the forms approved and signed by experts to the Degree Application System.

8. The thesis defense must be organized in accordance with the Procedures for Graduate Thesis Defense of the University of Science and Technology of China. The defense should last at least 90 minutes for doctoral dissertation, or 50 minutes for master’s thesis. The finalized thesis must be signed by the thesis advisor and uploaded to the Graduate Degree Application System.

9. Contact details for the Office of Academic Degree Committee:

Tel: 0551-63606544, 63602929.

Address: Room 111 & 113, Guest House, East Campus东区专家楼

Appendix 1: Thesis Pre-review Form学位论文预评审表.doc

Appendix 2: Application Form for Thesis Submission 学位论文送审申请表.doc

Appendix 3: Thesis Review Feedback Form 学位论文评审意见修改反馈表.docx

Appendix 4: Thesis Defense Feedback Form 学位论文答辩意见修改反馈表.docx

Appendix 5: Supplementary Regulations of University of Science and Technology of China on Applying for a Degree After Thesis Defense (Trial) 中国科学技术大学关于研究生答辩后申请学位的补充规定（试行）.pdf

Appendix 6: Relevance Checklist for Thesis and Academic Achievements 学位论文与学术成果相关性审核表.docx 

Graduate School, Office of Academic Degree Committee

Jan. 16, 2023