Objectives

For PhD-degree, international students must

1) Show respect for Chinese foreign policy, strictly obey the laws and regulations of the Chinese government and Zhengzhou University, remain positive attitudes and perceptions about learning, achieve academic excellence, and promote the friendly relations and cooperation between China and other countries.

2) Demonstrate integrated and systemic understanding in their professional area; be familiar with the latest research progress and development trend of their major fields; make innovative achievements with independent scientific research competence.

3) Show full ability to carry out independent scientific work and the potential in advanced professional qualifications for jobs in research or related areas

4) Demonstrate a good ability, both orally and in writing, to account for a biomedical problem/project in English.

Supervision and Doctoral Committee

The main supervisor and doctoral committee are responsible for the planning and implementation of the PhD degree program. The doctoral committee is organized and consists of 3-5 experts of their major fields or related areas who must have the title of associate professor and/or above.

Program Duration

Part 1: Courses Study

Students need to choose at least 3 English medical courses as elective courses in the first semester. Pass 2-3 degree courses which are offered by tutor group during 4 academic years.  Finish the Frontier Science Forum at least 12 times (Detailed information should be recorded on your Assessment Form).

Part 2: Clinical Research and Practice in Hospital

Follow the tutor's instruction to do the clinical research and practice in hospital. The clinical practice will be evaluated by tutor group (pass mark is 70). If student was not qualified in this clinical practice, he/she could not apply for graduation. Pass the mid-term assessment.

Part 3: Dissertation

Writing and Graduation Finish the dissertation and pass the defense.

Course Requirements

The total credits for each international student of the PhD program: at least 17 credits. The detail is listed as following:

1) Basic degree courses: choose no less than 3 courses from English medical coursed in the first semester

2) Professional Course II (3 credits): issued by supervisor or committee member

3) Professional English II (2 credits): issued by supervisor or committee member

4) Seminar & Presentation II (5 credits): Students shall attend lectures of their major fields and give presentations for at least 5 times, which will be graded by supervisors or committee members.

5) Clinical Practice (1 credit) (Only be required for students majored in Clinical Medicine): Graduate students shall take clinical rotation of their major fields, which will be assessed by the clinical department. Students who fail in the assessment are not allowed to take the final dissertation.

     PhD students majored in Clinical Medicine need to take at least 6 months’ specialty training under the guidance of supervisors. Students are required to demonstrate their understanding of common diseases in their fields, including the causes and pathogenesis. Students are also required to master the clinical manifestations, diagnosis and differential diagnosis and treatment methods of the common diseases. The practice should be arranged by supervisors.

Mid-Term Assessment (Qualification)

PhD students have mid-term assessment in the third semester. The evaluation committee composed of 5-7 experts conducts the general evaluation of PhD students on daily performance, course completion, clinical practice capability (for students majored in Clinical Medicine), dissertation design and preparation and so forth. The clinical practice capability assessment implemented by supervisors mainly focuses on the standardization of clinical skills and the ability to independently deal with common diseases of the discipline of graduate students. Qualified candidates will continue their doctoral dissertation research and writing, while unqualified candidates cannot get their PhD degree. The assessment and relevant records should be kept for reference.

Dissertation Writing and Graduation

1. Topic Selection and Dissertation Proposal

PhD students are required to widely review literature, be familiar with international development frontier of the discipline, clearly understand the main direction, and then determine the dissertation topic under the guidance of supervisors. Before starting the dissertation proposal, students must complete the literature review of no less than 60 relevant papers with over 5000 words, which will be evaluated and kept on records by evaluation committee consisting of at least supervisor and 3 specialists. PhD students are required to complete the dissertation proposal first, listen to the suggestions of experts, and improve the proposed ideas of dissertation.

Dissertation proposal should be completed in the second semester and must be open to the public in the discipline or related areas.  3-5 experts of relevant disciplines evaluate the proposal. Following content should be included in dissertation proposal: Objective or aims of the project, Background and preliminary data, Research design & research contents, Methods, Possible problems and solutions, Feasibility & Novelty, Scheduling, budget and so forth. The completed proposal must be fully evaluated and qualified by the evaluation committee before the research topic could be determined. The dissertation proposal and relevant records should be kept for reference.

2. Dissertation Progress Tracking

Graduate students must make mid-term report at least twice to supervisor or committee members after completing the proposal. The examination committee gives evaluations on the reports and original records, and provides guidance on future work. Graduate students are required to regularly report their dissertation progress to supervisors and committee members. These reports and evaluations need to be recorded and kept for reference.

3. PhD Pre-Defense

One month before the submission of dissertation and application for defense, a public pre-defense is required. All the requirements of pre-defense are the same with formal defense. A careful review on doctoral dissertation will be provided by supervisor     and committee members. Students must improve their dissertation according to the suggestions. All questions raised by committee members should be addressed before formal defenses.

4. Research Records

The original research data should be recorded using the experimental record sheet. Supervisors and experts review the research records, write comments on the school review sheet during the mid-term report and pre-defense period, and keep them for filing.

Notes: ALL SHOULD BE REPORTED DURING THE WHOLE PROJECT, IF THE PROJECT OR THE TOPIC OF DISSERTATION IS CHANGED, IT SHOULD BE FORMAL DOCUMENTED.

Dissertation Requirements

Degree dissertation shall be data reliable, analysis reasonable and appropriate, meet the requirements of writing standards, and have high academic and social value.

Academic Requirements

Publish at least one SCI paper related to their dissertation (excluding conference papers, abstract and supplement issue) as primary author (Zhengzhou University as primary institution of primary author) during the PhD degree period. Only students who fulfill the requirement of course credits，complete the dissertation, succeed in dissertation defense and publish qualified academic paper will be conferred the academic degree “Doctor of Philosophy” (PhD) .

PhD candidates who fulfill the requirement of course credits, complete their dissertation and succeed in dissertation defense but fail to have qualified publication will be conferred the doctor graduate diploma. PhD candidates who publish their dissertation within the next two years will be conferred the academic degree “Doctor of Philosophy” (PhD).

Candidate should be a Non-Chinese citizen, under 50 years old, the Master degree holder, in healthy condition, with non-criminal record.

English language requirements: for candidates from non-English spoken countries applying for EMI (English Mediated Instruction) programs, their minimum IELTS score should reach 6.0 or TOEFL score reach83(IBT) (553 in written version or 217 in computer version), or equivalent.

Chinese Language requirements: Applicants who apply for CMI (Chinese Mediated Instruction) Science and /or Engineering programs should pass the level5 HSK or above. Applicants with lower level HSK can first apply for Chinese Language Programs for a full year or half year in ZZU before their major studies.

Specific requirements for individual academic Schools may vary by board and subjects taken. You are advised to check with your prospective school or supervisor.

Research Degree Programs

Since the postgraduate research degrees are individually supervised. We strongly recommend that prospective applicants make initial enquiries with the potential supervisor or school before submitting a formal application. A research proposal is required along with your formal application.

All applications are advised to contact persons and admissions advisors in each Department and/or Faculty for details of major research areas.

All applications and supporting documents have to be submitted via the on-line application system by the appropriate closing date as mentioned above. To submit an on-line application, please visit our website: http://apply.zzu.edu.cn.

Applicants who wish to apply for admission to more than one department should submit one complete set of the on-line application form and supporting documents for each proposed department of study.

The University views any act of cheating and plagiarism as of the utmost seriousness and it is a form of academic misdemeanor that the University will not tolerate. To discourage plagiarism, the University will: 1. Inspect all original documents at the time of registration; 2. Conduct a plagiarism check on the application materials submitted by the applicants, including the research proposal, research plan and vision statements, before offer of admission.

The application documents may include the following (please check the detailed documents required in each program ):

(a) On-line application form

(b) On-line submission of certificates and complete transcripts of undergraduate and postgraduate studies. 

Please upload certificates and complete transcripts of your undergraduate and postgraduate studies via the on-line application system. Applicants have to supply certified hard copies of academic certificates and transcripts upon request. Documents that are not in English should be accompanied by a formally translated version in English. If the policy of your institution is that the transcript should remain confidential, please request your institution to send it directly to the Admission Office Zhengzhou University. For current undergraduate or postgraduate students: It is to your advantage to upload an interim transcript showing the results of courses you have completed so far. For qualifications obtained from ZZU: Certificates are not required but if you are a graduate, you are requested to upload your transcript with your on-line application; if you are a current student, you are requested to upload your examination results obtained from Teaching and Learning Office.

(c) On-line submission of statement of research interest or research proposal

Whether a statement of research interest or a research proposal is required depends on your proposed program and department of study. In general, a statement of research interest should include your reasons for undertaking work at ZZU, while a research proposal should include the background, the objectives and the methodology or approach you propose to take in studying the subject matter. Proper referencing is needed in the preparation of research proposals. The result of the plagiarism check will be taken into consideration when the Department, Faculty and Graduate School review the application. The application may be deemed unsuccessful if plagiarized materials are identified.

(d) Two academic referee letters

Please invite two academics who are familiar with your academic achievements to complete the academic referee letters. Please provide complete and accurate information of the referees, including email addresses, in the application form.

(e) Official score report of TOEFL, IELTS or other English language proficiency tests as specified (for applicants whose language of instruction and examination is not entirely in English)

It is a policy of the TOEFL Policy Council to validate scores which are obtained within a two-year period. The University therefore accepts this two-year validity rule in the admission exercise.

(f) On-line submission of other documents

Other documents that applicants would like to bring to the attention of the University, e.g. list of publications, documentary evidence of academic awards and professional qualifications, and summary of relevant experience. If some of the supporting documents are not ready or available at the time of submission of applications, applicants should upload the documents via the on-line application system as soon as they are available, with their full name in English, the proposed curriculum and department of study and application number clearly written on the top right hand corner of each document. On or before the closing date, all supporting documents (except the referee reports) should be uploaded onto the on-line application system by the applicant. Documents/Information submitted/uploaded after the closing date may not be considered.

(g) All documents submitted in support of an application will be destroyed if the application is unsuccessful. Documents once submitted will not be returned. Do not send original or irreplaceable documents.

(h) All documents will be vetted before a formal letter will be issued to the successful applicant. Any forged documents found shall render the application unsuccessful or offer being withdrawn.

Instruction of Online Application

Address：100 Science Avenue,Zhengzhou,Henan, P. R. China 450001,

The International Admission Office ofZhengzhouUniversity

Tel (Fax)：0086-371-67780665

E-mail：admission@zzu.edu.cn