Hainan to increase number of higher education disciplines, majors

Hainan province is set to increase the number of authorized doctoral and master's degree programs by about 50 by 2025, according to a recently-released document jointly issued by the Hainan Provincial Education Department and 10 other departments.

The document titled Guiding Opinions on Adjusting and Optimizing the Setting of Discipline Majors in Higher Education Institutions in Hainan Province outlines the plan, which aims to optimize the distribution of approximately 20 percent of majors in higher education institutions across the province.

The plan focuses on the development of majors that align with the four main industries in Hainan, namely tourism, modern services, high-tech industries, and efficient tropical agriculture. It also aims to create 70 undergraduate programs at the national level and 20 high-level provincial programs.

The document also highlights the necessity of accelerating the construction of first-class disciplines and high-level advantageous professional disciplines. It calls for continued support for the "Double First-Class Initiative" at Hainan University, as well as the development of world-class crop science disciplines to drive the overall development of related disciplines such as tropical agriculture and forestry.

The plan encourages the introduction of internationally-renowned universities and advantageous disciplinary programs to innovation demonstration areas such as the Lingshui Li'an International Education Innovation Pilot Zone and supports collaboration on graduate education between first-class domestic universities and institutions in Henan province, such as the Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City.

In addition, support will be provided to Hainan Normal University, Hainan Medical University, and other institutions so that they can focus on one to two superior disciplinary specialties in education and the medical and health fields as well as increase cultivation efforts to reach a domestic first-class level.

High-level applied undergraduate institutions such as Hainan Tropical Ocean College and vocational undergraduate institutions will also focus on Hainan's economic and social development needs, developing high-level applied discipline specialties in their respective advantageous and characteristic areas.

Lingshui Li'an International Education Innovation Pilot Zone. [Photo/Hainan Daily]