The Ministry of Education recently released the "Undergraduate Program Directory for Regular Higher Education Institutions (2026)," adding a total of 38 new undergraduate majors. Approved institutions can include these in their 2026 college entrance examination admissions. What are the characteristics of these new majors? What considerations drive these program adjustments? How can adjustments to program offerings enhance the quality of talent cultivation? Interviews provide insights.
1. What New Majors Have Been Added? Embodied Intelligence, Low-Altitude Economy and Management, Marine Intelligence and Unmanned Technology... This year's new programs distinctly focus on urgently needed fields in educational discipline layout and vigorously expanding interdisciplinary studies. For example, Sichuan University has been approved to establish the "Semiconductor Process and Equipment" major, the first of its kind nationwide. Yang Yang, Dean of the School of Electronic and Information Engineering at Sichuan University, explained that the new major aims to provide core talent support for the full-chain autonomy of integrated circuits. It is understood that to better adapt to the development of new interdisciplinary disciplines and the cultivation of interdisciplinary talent, the 2026 undergraduate program directory has included 15 majors under the "Interdisciplinary Studies" category for the first time, including Embodied Intelligence, Brain-Computer Science and Technology, among others. Harbin Institute of Technology is one of the institutions adding the Embodied Intelligence major. Jin Jing, a doctoral supervisor in Control Science and Engineering and head of the Embodied Intelligence major at Harbin Institute of Technology, introduced that the Embodied Intelligence program will adopt an integrated "theory-technology-practice" cultivation model to develop high-end technical talents who systematically master fundamental theories and engineering methods such as complex decision-making and computational intelligence in the field of embodied intelligence, while also possessing systems thinking and interdisciplinary innovation capabilities.
The liberal arts program system also places greater emphasis on interdisciplinary innovation. Beijing Language and Culture University has newly established the Language Science major, adopting an integrated cultivation plan and curriculum system of "linguistic knowledge + experimental techniques + engineering tools." China University of Political Science and Law has newly established the Legal English major, dedicated to cultivating interdisciplinary foreign-related legal English talents with both solid English language proficiency and foundational legal knowledge. "The addition of 38 new majors not only represents an increase in the number of undergraduate programs but also reflects further optimization of the professional structure," said Zhang Nanxing, Director of the Higher Education Research Institute at the China Institute of Education Sciences.
2. Considerations Behind the Adjustments Statistical data show that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, higher education institutions nationwide added 10,200 new undergraduate program points while revoking or suspending 12,200, indicating a continuous increase in the scale of program adjustments. Experts interviewed believe that program adjustments are not merely about adding, revoking, or renaming majors but are aimed at shifting institutional discipline development from a "small logic" of self-development to a "big logic" of serving national development, continuously enhancing higher education's support and contribution to high-quality development.
Focusing on Strategic Needs: Using Program Adjustments to Serve High-Quality Development "Institutions adhere to national strategies and societal needs as guidance, focusing on key areas to implement unconventional layouts and high-intensity investments in liberal arts programs, concentrating superior resources to add urgently needed majors," said Cao Xianqiang, Vice President of Shandong University. The university has added majors such as International Organizations and Global Governance, and International Journalism and Communication to comprehensively improve the alignment of talent cultivation with national strategies. A relevant official from the Ministry of Education's Department of Higher Education explained that in recent years, the ministry has continuously explored the establishment of an extraordinary mechanism for setting up strategically needed majors. For strategic areas of latest central deployment and high concern, an immediate-response "green channel" has been opened, guiding qualified and well-founded institutions to actively demonstrate and extraordinarily layout majors such as Low-Altitude Technology and Engineering.
Strengthening Supply-Demand Matching: Comprehensively Enhancing Program Alignment with Regional Development "Program offerings cannot rely on inertia or experience; instead, the 'baton' must truly be handed over to industrial needs, societal demands, and development trends," said Cheng Shuang, Deputy Director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Education. Cheng introduced that in recent years, the region has capitalized on the ice-snow economy, supporting Harbin Institute of Physical Education in collaboration with Harbin Conservatory of Music to add the Ice-Snow Dance Performance major, while actively cultivating talent in directions such as "Ice-Snow Cultural Creativity" and "Ice-Snow Sports Tourism." At Anhui University, nearly 80% of the 92 undergraduate majors in enrollment directly serve Anhui Province's ten emerging industries. "The development logic of local universities must deeply integrate with economic and social development, shifting from the past habit of 'what we can cultivate, we cultivate' to 'what the region needs, we cultivate'," said Cai Jingmin, Director of the Higher Education Research Institute at Anhui University.
Actively Safeguarding People's Livelihoods: Program Offerings Closely Aligned with Public Development Needs Henan Polytechnic University added the Tai Chi major to serve public health; Northeast Forestry University added the Smart Landscape Construction major to support high-quality development of urban and rural living environments; Central Academy of Fine Arts added the Art Therapy major to improve the mental health service system... This year's new majors are strongly oriented toward people's livelihoods. "These majors closely align with human development needs and the environmental demands of the spaces where people live and develop, reflecting the close connection between institutional operations and the enhancement of regional innovation, urban development, and individual well-being," said Zhang Nanxing.
3. Enhancing Cultivation Quality and Effectiveness In the view of experts, program offerings ultimately serve to improve the quality of talent cultivation. Higher education should use program adjustments as a lever to refine talent cultivation models, optimize the allocation of educational resources, and comprehensively enhance the quality and effectiveness of independent talent cultivation.
On one hand, using program structure adjustments as a guide, strengthen program development, deepen industry-education integration, and promote the reshaping and reconstruction of curriculum systems and teaching content. "We have established a number of industry-education integration characteristic advantage professional clusters, breaking down institutional boundaries, college barriers, and disciplinary restrictions. With one or multiple institutions' advantageous and characteristic majors as the core, we bring together undergraduate institutions, vocational colleges, industry enterprises, research institutes, and other forces to effectively promote the deep integration of the education chain, talent chain, industry chain, and innovation chain," said Jiang Yunfang, Deputy Director of the Chongqing Municipal Education Commission. Xi'an Jiaotong University focuses on implementing the educational philosophy of tailored teaching and diversified development, setting up three cultivation paths: scientific research type, interdisciplinary integration type, and innovation and entrepreneurship type, allowing students to freely choose based on their interests. Additionally, each major offers interdisciplinary courses, frontier field courses, industry-university project courses, undergraduate-postgraduate integrated courses, and innovation and entrepreneurship courses, providing students with a rich "menu" of courses. Zhang Nanxing believes that program adjustments must closely follow adjustments to the corresponding talent cultivation plans, innovating professional teaching from various aspects such as program cultivation objectives, course design, teaching methods, faculty allocation, internships and practical training, and quality monitoring.
On the other hand, improve the linkage mechanism of enrollment, cultivation, and employment to achieve precise alignment between talent cultivation and societal needs. "We collaborate with relevant departments to conduct regular analysis of the demand quantity, structure, and changing trends for key industry talent in the province, calculate the 'demand index' and 'supply index' for various professional talents, and periodically release the 'Industrial System Professional Demand Analysis Report'," said Cheng Shuang. "Institutions can gain clearer insights into which fields lack talent, what levels of talent are needed, and which majors' supply is nearing saturation." An official from the Higher Education Department of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Education stated that program adjustments should adhere to the principle of both addition and subtraction, advancement and retreat. "For majors with relatively weak disciplinary foundations, shortage of faculty, insufficient research platform support, imperfect employment guidance systems, or detachment from societal needs, conduct individual assessments to implement suspension or revocation, ensuring a positive interaction between program development and enrollment and employment work." "Education departments and institutions should use deepening program reform as a lever to establish an integrated linkage mechanism for program offerings, talent cultivation, and job placement, achieving precise matching between talent cultivation and market demand, and continuously expanding high-quality employment opportunities for graduates," said Wang Yuyin, Party Secretary of the School of Civil Engineering at Harbin Institute of Technology.
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