(This is a translation of the official version in Chinese沪交研〔2019〕86号; in case of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.)
Chapter One: General Provisions
Article 1 To further improve the quality of graduate degree theses (and dissertations) and to guarantee the quality of the conferment of academic degrees, these regulations in accordance with “Provisions on the Sampling Inspection of Master Theses and PhD Dissertations” (Xuewei [2014] 5) which was stipulated by the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council (hereinafter referred to as ADCSC) and the Ministry of Education and "Shanghai Municipal Education Commission's Announcement on Further Strengthening the Construction of Quality Guarantee System of Graduate Education and Enhancing the Quality of Academic Dissertation" （Hujiaoweigao [2018] 76), and with reference to the actual conditions of the University.
Article 2 The term “sampling inspection of the graduate degree theses” in these Regulations refers to the sampling inspections of the Master theses (including those for professional master degrees) and PhD dissertations for conferred degrees that is organized by ADCSC and the Academic Degrees Committee of Shanghai Municipality (hereinafter referred to as ADCSM), and to the sampling inspection of the Master theses and the PhD dissertations organized by Academic Degrees & Graduate Education Development Center, Ministry of Education, entrusted by the University (hereinafter referred to as “SJTU SI”).
Chapter Two: Measures for Sampling Inspection
Article 3 ADCSC and ADCSM carry out annual sampling inspection of Master theses and PhD dissertations respectively for academic degrees conferred in the previous academic year. The detailed procedure should follow the regulations as prescribed by these relevant superior departments.
Article 4 The SJTU SI is implemented by the Graduate School, which shall be carried out within the same time frame for the anonymous review of the Master theses and the PhD dissertations prior to the final defense. Targeted sampling inspections may also be carried out by the Graduate School whenever necessary.
Article 5 The SJTU SI shall be carried out either by randomly sampling or trace sampling. Emphasis will be put on theses/dissertations by students with extended study duration, students transferring from completion to graduate, part-time students, students with equivalent education level, international students, students in the research group or academic discipline where there were theses/dissertations found to be problematic during the sampling inspection conducted by ADCSC or ADCSM of the previous year.
Article 6 The thesis/dissertation drawn for sampling inspection shall be reviewed anonymously. The sampled theses/dissertation would be the same version as the one uploaded into the Graduate Education Information Management System for anonymous review that has passed the plagiarism check and the evaluations by the supervisor and the School.
Article 7 Each sampled thesis/dissertation will be anonymously examined by three peer experts. In case two or more experts recommend that the thesis/dissertation is “unqualified”, it will be deemed as “problematic”. In case one of the experts recommend the thesis/dissertation as “unqualified”， the School shall organize a second round of review to recommend it as “problematic” or not.
Article 8 If the PhD dissertation that participates in SJTU SI is deemed as "qualified", the candidate is allowed to apply for thesis/dissertation defense. The PhD dissertation deemed as "problematic" shall be revised and have a second round of review organized by the School. The candidate is allowed to apply for thesis/dissertation defense after the dissertation is deemed as "qualified" in the second round of review. In case not all the sampling inspection results have not been returned over eight weeks (from the beginning of the sampling inspection, excluding summer and winter vocations as well as Chinese legal holidays), and there are no objections in the returned ones, the candidate can apply for thesis/dissertation defense upon the approval of the supervisor and the School. If the dissertation is judged as "unqualified" or other comments for revision, the candidate should revise and improve the thesis/dissertation accordingly. The revision should be evaluated by the supervisor and the School and be filed again.
Article 9 For the candidate whose master thesis has been sampled for inspection by the University, the sampling result will not be used as a precondition for the thesis defense (after the sampling procedure and the dissertation review organized by the University, the candidate can apply for thesis defense and other subsequent processes). If the sampling results are returned after thesis defense as "unqualified", the ongoing degree application process will be temporarily suspended, and the thesis should be revised and improved as required, approved by the supervisor and the School, and then re-filed before being resumed. If the candidate has been awarded a degree, he/she should complete the revision of the thesis within a time limit and re-file it after being reviewed by the supervisor and the School. If the revision is not completed within the prescribed time limit, the result of this degree application and audit will be invalid, and the issued degree certificate should be withdrawn.
Chapter Three: Management of Sampling Inspection Results
Article 10 The degree theses/dissertations which are deemed “problematic” by any authorities throughout the sampling inspection will be published within the whole University. The School should question the supervisor on the quality of PhD training.
Article 11 In case a degree thesis/dissertation is deemed “problematic” throughout the sampling inspection conducted by ADCSC and/or ADCSM:
(1) the qualification of the supervisor to admit new graduate student of the same type will be suspended for three years; and the supervisor will be disqualified as a supervisor if the total number of the “problematic” theses guided by him/her is up three (including three). And,
(2) the quota of the school to admit new graduates of the same type and level will be reduced by 6 per “problematic” thesis/dissertation, which will be implemented in the coming three years. And,
(3) the University will question the School/Department leaders on the quality of the graduate thesis/dissertation and the School/Department shall address the issues within a prescribed period.
Article 12 In case a PhD dissertation is deemed “problematic” during SJTU SI: the qualification of the supervisor to admit new doctoral students will be suspended for two years; and the quota of the School to admit new doctoral students will be reduced by 2 per “problematic” thesis/dissertation.
Article 13 The qualification of the supervisor to admit new graduate students will be suspended for one years; and the quota of the School to admit new graduate students will be reduced by 2 per “problematic” thesis/dissertation.
Article 14 In case a thesis/dissertation is suspected to have “academic misconduct” during the sampling inspection by ADCSC, or ADCSM, or by the University, the “SJTU Academic Conduct Code for Graduate Students” will be consulted for investigation and punishment.
Chapter Four: Supplementary Provisions
Article 15 The PhD dissertations which are drawn for sampling inspection will be reviewed in accordance with these regulations and will not participate in the usual anonymous review organized by the University. Those dissertations not drawn by the University will still follow the usual anonymous review process. The respective Schools and Departments shall formulate their own practical and effective mechanism and measures to guarantee the quality of the degree theses/dissertations and that of the conferment of academic degrees in line with the actual conditions.
Article 16 These regulations are supplementary to the “SJTU Regulations on Doctoral Degree Application”, “SJTU Regulations on (Academic) Master Degree Application”, “SJTU Regulations on Professional Master Degree Application”, etc.
Article 17 The sampling inspection of the PhD dissertations and master theses for School of Medicine should refer to these regulations.
Article 18 These regulations come into force since its publication and are subject to interpretation by the Graduate School. The previous versions of the regulations (沪交研[2018] 6, 沪交研[2018] 203) are abrogated therefrom.
