China adds 24 new college majors, underscoring strategic focus

China's Ministry of Education announced on Tuesday the results of approved undergraduate majors for universities in 2023 and issued the directory of undergraduate majors for the forthcoming year. Among them, 24 new undergraduate majors have been added, reflecting the country's development needs and focus on capturing new opportunities in emerging industries. 

During this latest update to undergraduate majors, 24 have been newly added into the undergraduate major directory, with new majors such as high-power semiconductor science and engineering, intelligent ocean equipment, electronic information materials, plant breeding technology, and ecological restoration. Currently, there are 816 majors listed in the directory. 

Yunnan Agricultural University has established the country's first major in coffee science and engineering. As the largest coffee-growing region in China, Yunnan's coffee planting area and output each accounted for over 98 percent of the national total, according to data from the Yunnan Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

For Yunnan, the coffee industry is not only a promising pillar industry but also an important means to develop the economy of the southern border regions. The 2022 Yunnan Coffee Industry Report indicates that the number of coffee-growing households in the province reached 252,300, with an average income of 13,674 yuan (roughly $1,899) per household from the coffee industry.

Meanwhile, the addition of ecological restoration as a major reflects the country's continuing efforts and determination to accomplish carbon emission goals. 

"The establishment of ecological restoration as a major is actually centered around the demand for ecological protection and restoration," said Jiang Jiang, professor at Nanjing Forestry University.

In recent years, several new majors have been added under the category of natural conservation and environmental ecology in China's undergraduate program directory. 

For example, biomass science and engineering was added in 2019, land science and technology was included in 2020, wetland conservation and restoration became a new major in 2021, national park construction and management also became a newly established undergraduate major in 2022. 

In this adjustment of undergraduate majors, there is further emphasis on interdisciplinary integration, with the addition of new majors such as interdisciplinary engineering, health science and technology, and soft matter science and engineering.

"With the new requirements for nurturing and strengthening new quality productive forces, there is an increasingly urgent need for interdisciplinary convergence in talent cultivation and the integration of various technologies," the professor added.