The key components of PhD training include the General Examination, Dissertation Proposal, Pre-Defense, academic innovation achievements, as well as the annual review. The following guidelines are provided as a reference for all PhD students.

Ph.D. General Examination

1) The general examination will assess students' foundational knowledge of theories, as well as their in-depth understanding of specialized knowledge in their field. The exam also evaluates their research abilities, including skills in analysis, conducting research and solving research problems.

2) The exam may assess foundational theories, disciplinary knowledge, frontier knowledge, interdisciplinary knowledge and other relevant knowledge students are expected to master.

3) The examination is typically conducted in the form of an oral exam. The examination committee consists of at least five professors, who are reviewed and approved by the chairman of degree assessment subcommittee.

4) The exam will take place by the third semester after enrolment. Students who fail to take the exam will be deemed to have failed. Students who do not pass the exam may apply for a retake within three months of the first attempt. Those who fail the examination the second time will be dismissed from the Ph.D. Program.

5) Print out the general examination evaluation form and present it to the secretary and examination committee for evaluation on the day of examination.

6) On the day of the examination:

 1. Students should submit their dissertation to the examination committee at least one week in advance.

2. Students should submit the general examination evaluation form to the chair of the examination committee (Note: the student's advisor cannot serve as the chair).

3. The secretary is responsible for taking records, setting up the examination venue, and assisting the examination committee with other tasks.

4. Students are required to submit the completed general examination evaluation form to Office 204, within the week of exam.

Procedure As Follows

1) The general examination differs for Sociology and Anthropology students.

2) Students will draw lots to determine their exam questions which they will then prepare for. Students must complete the general examination by the end of the third semester.

3) There will be four examination committees. Each committee will consist of professors from the corresponding fields with the head of each respective department (Anthropology or Sociology) serving as the leader. Each committee must prepare three exam questions by the first Friday of November each year. Students will draw two questions from the three and will be given 2 weeks to prepare.

4) Once the examination questions are finalized, they will be submitted to the office of Graduate Studies on the following Monday. The Graduate Office will facilitate the drawing of lots, and the results will be announced by the department.

5) The examination will take place after a two-weeks preparation period. The examination should be completed within two weeks (starting from November 20^th, ending on December 1^st). Should there be any special circumstances, the exam may be extended to December 31^st. Each examination committee should consist of no fewer than five professors with senior or associate senior professor titles, of which should include the student's advisor. If there are too many ongoing exam sessions, the committee may be divided into sub-groups.

6) The examination committee will receive remuneration for their service, typically 1,500 yuan per student, which will be shared among the professors.

7) Constitution of the Examination committee:

- Sociology Ph.D. advisors

- Demography/ Social Demography/ Social Statistics Ph.D. advisors

- Anthropology Ph.D. advisors

Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal

1) Graduate students are required to formulate their dissertation topics based on extensive research, thorough literature review, and an understanding of frontier knowledge. The topic should demonstrate the significance and value it brings to the discipline.

2) The dissertation proposal should be completed in the third academic year after enrolment.

3) Students are required to present their dissertation proposals to a committee of 4 to 5 professors and feedback will be provided by the committee members.

4) Students should print out the dissertation proposal evaluation form and present it to the secretary for evaluation.

5) On the day of presentation:

     1. Students should submit their dissertation proposals to the thesis committee at least one week in advance.

     2. Students should submit the dissertation proposal evaluation form to the chair of the thesis committee.

     3. The secretary is responsible taking records, setting up the venue, and assisting the thesis committee with other tasks.

     4. Students are required to submit the dissertation proposal evaluation form to Office 204, within the week of their report presentation.

Pre-defense

1) The pre-defense will take place three months before the actual Ph.D. dissertation defense. This period allows students to address any final questions or concerns regarding their dissertation.

2)The pre-denfense committee consists of at least five professors and experts from the relevant field, and may include the student's advisor. The committee may postpone the pre-defense depending on the progress of dissertation.

3) Students print out the pre-defense evaluation form and present it to the secretary and examination committee for evaluation on the day of presentation.

4) On the day of the presentation:

     1. Students should submit their dissertation proposals to the dissertation committee at least one week in advance.

     2. Students should submit the dissertation proposal evaluation form to the chair of the dissertation committee.

     3. The secretary is responsible for taking records, setting up the venue, and assisting the dissertation committee with other tasks.

     4. Students are required to submit the dissertation proposal evaluation form to Office 204, within the week of their presentation.

Academic Innovation Achievement

1) For students who have published a paper in a top-tier social science and humanities journal, the paper will be evaluated by the education committee. The requirements are as follows:

    1. The student must be the first or second author of the paper.

    2. The published paper must have a minimum of 10,000 words (including footnotes and references).

    3. The author's affiliation must be listed as the Department of Sociology, Peking University.

2) For students who have published two papers in general social science and humanities journals, the papers will be evaluated by the education committee. The requirements are as follows:

    1. The student must be the first or second author of the paper. 

    2. The published paper must have a minimum of 6,000 words (including footnotes and references).

    3. The author's affiliation must be listed as the Department of Sociology, Peking University.

3) For students who have not met the aforementioned criteria, but has other forms of achievements (such as publications in non-social science journals, book chapters, or unpublished papers), the work must be approved by the advisory group and the Teaching Committee of the Department of Sociology. The papers submitted for recognition must not be unmodified versions of the general examination papers.

Annual Review Plan for Ph.D. Students

The annual review is designed to track student's progress in their course of study, which will take place in the spring semester. The scope of the review is as follows:

    1. Students must complete 18 credits before the general examination.

    2. Students should complete all required coursework before proceeding to the general examination. For students with a master's degree in their field, the general examination will take place in the third semester after enrolment. For students without a master's degree in their field, the general examination will take place in the fourth semester after enrolment. This may be rescheduled earlier or a semester later depending on the student's progress.

    3. The dissertation topic should be finalised within six months after passing the general examination. The time between the approval of the dissertation proposal and the application for dissertation defense must be no less than one academic year.

    4. Involvement in research projects and the publication of academic papers.

    5. Participation in international academic conferences abroad.

    6. Participation in lectures, workshops, academic seminars, and participation in ideological and political education activities as mandated by the Department of Sociology.

    7. Teaching Assistant, Research Assistant, and Other Positions: students with scholarships must complete the assigned work in these roles.

Review Process

1. Students are required to submit an annual review form along with relevant attachments (such as papers, academic exchanges, etc.).

2.The department will organize a review committee consisting of at least five Ph.D. advisors, excluding the student's own advisor. The review committee will evaluate and grade each student's academic performance as either a pass or fail.

3. Students are required to present their annual progress to the evaluation committee.

4. For students who do not pass the evaluation, their case will be presented to the Academic Degree Committee, which will vote to make the final decision. Students who fail the review will not receive their degree.

Additional Notes

1. The annual review cannot be combined with or substituted by the aforementioned evaluation stages.

2. Students are required to submit a set of evaluation materials, including relevant evaluation forms, research papers and other required documents to the Graduate office of Sociology.