To: All Schools and Institutes：

The university’s graduate degree application schedule for the year of 2027 is hereby released. Please arrange all relevant work concerning graduate degree applications accordingly. Notify graduate students in advance to complete their thesis proposal, mid-term assessment, preliminary review, formal review, thesis defense, and degree application procedures strictly in accordance with the schedule, ensuring the quality of degree thesis.

1.The degree application for the year of 2027 is divided into three batches: spring, summer, and autumn. Before submitting their theses for review and defense, applicants must upload their thesis proposals and review forms in the system in advance. Doctoral students must upload the required files one year in advance, while master’s students half a year in advance. The thesis proposal shall be uploaded to the Integrated Service Platform for Graduate Students (https://yjs1.ustc.edu.cn) – “Programs” – “Thesis Proposal System”.

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

(1) The first batch

Both the doctoral dissertations and the master’s theses shall be submitted for review by January 11th (inclusive). After passing the plagiarism check, applicants are to remind their schools or departments to continue the review process as soon as possible. Once all review comments turned out to be a “pass”, degree applicants shall revise their thesis based on the review feedback, and fill in the Thesis Review Comments Revision Feedback Form (Appendix 3). The Form shall be reviewed and signed by the thesis supervisor and uploaded to the Degree Thesis Review System, after which the thesis defense would be organized and scheduled. Re-reviews of submitted theses, resubmissions for review, and theses preliminary reviews of the next batch are to be centrally processed, and new submission of dissertations / theses for official review shall be suspended from January 12th to February 20th.

The thesis defense shall be completed by March 1st (inclusive). Degree applicants shall revise their theses in response to the comments from the Defense Committee, and fill in the Thesis Defense Comments Revision Feedback Form (Appendix 4). The Form shall be reviewed and signed by the supervisor and uploaded to the Degree Application System before the degree application submission.

Applicants shall submit their degree application materials to the department by March 5th.

All degree-related materials are to be submitted to the Office of Academic Degree Committee by March 9th. Any withdrawal of application submission due to personal reasons shall be requested by March 9th, and it shall be notified in written form to both the department and Academic Degree Committee. Along with a graduation submission, the degree application must also be withdrawn simultaneously. Requests after the due time for application withdrawal shall not be accepted.

(2) The second batch

The doctoral dissertation shall be submitted for review by April 6th (inclusive), while the mater’s theses shall be submitted by April 12th (inclusive). After passing the plagiarism detection, applicants are to remind their schools or departments to continue the review process as soon as possible. Once all review comments are turned out to be a “pass”, degree applicants shall revise their thesis based on the feedback and fill in the Thesis Review Comments Revision Feedback Form (Appendix 3). The Form shall be reviewed and signed by the thesis supervisor and uploaded to the Degree Thesis Review System, after which the thesis defense can be organized. Re-reviews of submitted theses, resubmissions for review, and theses preliminary reviews of the next batch are to be centrally processed, and new submission of dissertations / theses for official review shall be suspended from April 13th to June 30th.

The thesis defense shall be completed by May 24th (inclusive). Degree applicants shall revise their theses according to the comments from the Defense Committee, and fill in the Thesis Defense Comments Revision Feedback Form (Appendix 4). The Form shall be reviewed and signed by the supervisor and uploaded to the Degree Application System before the degree application submission.

Applicants shall submit their degree application materials to the department by May 28th.

Departments shall submit all the materials to the Office of Academic Degree Committee by June 1st. Any withdrawal of application submission due to personal reasons shall be requested by June 1st, and it shall be notified to both the department and Academic Degree Committee. Along with a graduation submission, the degree application must also be withdrawn simultaneously. Requests after the due time for application withdrawal shall not be accepted.

(3) The third batch

The doctoral dissertation and the mater’s theses shall be submitted for review by July 19th (inclusive). After passing the plagiarism check, applicants are to remind their schools or departments to continue the review process as soon as possible. Once all review comments are turned out to be a “pass”, degree applicants shall revise their thesis based on the feedback and fill in the Thesis Review Comments Revision Feedback Form (Appendix 3). The Form shall be reviewed and signed by the thesis supervisor and uploaded to the Degree Thesis Review System, after which the thesis defense can be organized. Re-reviews of submitted theses, resubmissions for review, and theses preliminary reviews of the next batch are to be centrally processed, and new submission of dissertations / theses for official review shall be suspended from July 20th to October 30th.

The thesis defense shall be completed by September 20th (inclusive). Degree applicants shall revise the thesis according to the comments from the Defense Committee, and fill in the Thesis Defense Comments Revision Feedback Form (Appendix 4). The Form shall be reviewed and signed by the advisor and uploaded to the Degree Application System before the degree application submission.

Applicants shall submit their degree application materials to the department by September 27th.

Departments shall submit all the materials to the Office of Academic Degree Committee by September 30th. Any withdrawal of application submission due to personal reasons shall be requested by September 30th, and it shall be notified to both the department and Academic Degree Committee. Along with a graduation submission, the degree application must also be withdrawn simultaneously. Requests after the due time for application withdrawal shall not be accepted.

Schedules for three application batches (2027):

3. Each degree application batch allows a maximum of three plagiarism check opportunities. Uploads shall no longer be accepted after the due time for degree theses review submission. A plagiarism check generally takes 1–2 working days. Each school/department shall conduct the blind review of degree theses in its own prescribed format. The process of expert selection plus review approval (the blind review cycle) generally takes 30–40 days. Degree applicants are requested to schedule their time, finalize their degree theses in advance, and upload them to the system.

4. Based on the programs, each department shall establish a degree thesis review panel to: 1) review the workload, originality, formality, and discipline compliance of the thesis before the formal review submission (at the pre-review stage), to ensure the thesis quality; 2) review the revision and responses to the review and the expert comments after the defense, prior to the academic committee meeting. Emphasis is especially paid on some unfavorable conditions: “approaching maximum length of study years” or “degree application more than one year after the defense,” and “relatively low review scores (below 80)”. These focused pre-reviews are to be conducted and the results must be submitted in written forms to the academic committee.

5.To optimize the review process, all departments shall maintain and update the database of review experts (for interdisciplinary fields, minor or obscure disciplines with a relatively small number of experts, the database must be pooled and expanded soon), and a list of review misconduct shall be established to ensure the quality and impartiality of the review process.

6. Under the Supplementary Provisions on Degree Applications after Thesis Defense for Graduate Students at University of Science and Technology of China (Trial) (Appendix 5), doctoral students and master’s students pursuing academic degrees must submit their degree application materials within two years when passing their thesis defense; professional master's students must submit their degree application materials within 2 years when passing their thesis defense and within 5 years of initial student enrollment. Failure to submit the application within the prescribed period shall be deemed as an automatic waiver of the eligibility to apply for a degree.

7. For graduate students who submit their degree applications one year after their thesis defense, their theses and academic achievements shall be reviewed and verified by a group of at least 3 experts assigned by the school (Appendix 6). Graduate students can submit their 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 at the University of Science and Technology of China.

9. Degree applications shall not be processed for students who fail to submit their graduation applications or whose graduation applications are not approved by the review deadline for the corresponding batch.

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

Tel: 0551-63600090, 63606165.

Address: Room 252 & 253, Old Library, East Campus

Appendices：

·Appendix 1: Thesis Preliminary Review Form (Academic Degree); Thesis Preliminary Review Form (Professional Degree).

·Appendix 2: Thesis Review Submission Application Form (Academic Degree); Thesis Review Submission Application Form (Professional Degree).

·Appendix 3: Master’s Thesis Review Comments Revision Feedback Form; Doctoral Dissertation Review Comments Revision Feedback Form.

·Appendix 4: Master’s Thesis Defense Comments Revision Feedback Form; Doctoral Dissertation Defense Comments Revision Feedback Form.

·Appendix 5: Supplementary Provisions on Degree Applications after Thesis Defense for Graduate Students at University of Science and Technology of China (Trial).

·Appendix 6: Thesis and Academic Achievements Relevance Review Form.

Graduate School (University Degree Committee Office)
November 4, 2026