Measures for Implementing Zhejiang University Regulations on Management of Graduate Student Status
Chapter 1
Entrance of New Students
Article 1 New graduate students shall, carrying with them the Letter of Admission and relevant documents specified in the Important Information about Entrance of Graduate New students, settle various entrance formalities in accordance with the contents of New Students Check-in Sheet by the time specified by the university. New graduate students who cannot check in for registration within the specified time period for some reason shall ask in writing, with relevant certifications attached, for permission to delay the registration from the administrative division of Graduate School in advance. Such a delay shall not be deemed as valid until the approval is granted to the applicant. The time limit of such absence is 2 weeks. Failure to ask for the permission or to get registered after the permitted time of absence expires for those who do have obtained the permission shall be deemed as giving up the admission eligibility unless the failure is caused by force majeure.
Article 2 Eligible new graduate students who cannot show up within the time limit for later registration specified by the university due to illness or other valid reasons and those who are found during the time limit of new-students rechecking unable to do studies due to illness may apply for the retention of their admission eligibility.
Application for the retention of admission eligibility must be submitted within the time limit for registration (or within the time limit of new -students rechecking for applicants with illness). The applicants need to fill in the Request Form for Retention of Entrance Eligibility for New Graduate Students at Zhejiang University, and those who apply due to illness must also submit a certificate from a 2nd-Class Grade A or a higher-grade hospital designated by the university, which states that the applicants concerned are unable to pursue studies due to the illness and is subject to the verification of the Epidemic Prevention and Health Care Division of the university hospital. Applicants must also obtain the consent of the college they are affiliated to before submitting their applications and attached materials to the administrative division of the Graduate School for examination and approval, and such retention shall not become valid until the approval is obtained.
The time limit for retaining the admission eligibility is 1 academic year.
Those who have their admission eligibility retained by the Graduate School shall not have the graduate student status and are not entitled to the treatment granted to the on -campus graduate students during the period of retention. Those with retention for reason of illness shall return home or to their original organizations for medical treatment and rest. The university will not issue any certifications for those students during their retention period.
Article 3 Students with their admission eligibility retained must apply for registration for studies at the end of the last semester of the period of retention (by filling in an Entrance Application Form for New Graduate Students with Retention of Entrance Eligibility at Zhejiang University; those with retention due to illness must submit at the same time a certificate of recovery from a 2nd-Class Grade A or a higher-grade hospital designated by the university and obtain the approval from the Epidemic Prevention and Health Care Division of the university hospital). They must also obtain the consent from the college to which they are affiliated and the approval from the administrative division of Graduate School before doing the re-entry registration.
After entrance, the study plan of graduate students with their entrance eligibility retained shall be arranged according to those for the students being admitted on the regular basis, and their study time shall be counted starting from the day of their reentry registration.
Doctoral students (and those who start doctoral studies ahead of time) with their entrance eligibility retained due to illness may continue their doctoral studies or apply for transferring to a master's degree program upon recovery, depending on their own situation.
Article 4 Anyone who obtains the student status by cheating or other devious means will be deprived of his/her student status as soon as the truth is verified. Those in flagrant cases shall face legal investigation of relevant authorities.
Chapter 2
Enrollment, Attendance Check & Leave
Article 5 Graduate students shall get registered twice a year. At the beginning of the spring semester and the fall semester, graduate students shall, bringing with them their graduate student cards, go through registration formalities at the Graduate Student Management Division of their colleges within the time period specified on the university calendar.
Graduate students who cannot get registered within the specified time limit must apply for a delay in registration in advance (by filling in a Leave Sheet for Graduate Students at Zhejiang University). Such a delay shall not become valid until the approval is granted. Failure to register on time with absence exceeding 2 weeks without valid reasons will be deemed as automatic withdrawal from schooling. Graduate students shall settle various fee payment formalities by the registration date of the first semester of each academic year. Those who fail to pay tuition fees as specified by the university or otherwise do not meet the registration requirements will not be able to get registered.
Article 6 Upon the expiration of the time limit for registration specified by the university, individual colleges shall verify the cases of students absent for registration and submit to the administrative division of the Graduate School the list of students who have been confirmed as students that are to be treated as automatic drop-outs before the end of the semester in which the registration period is set.
Article 7 Graduate students must participate on time in the activities specified in their educational/teaching plans; those who cannot participate on time must ask in advance for leave and obtain approval. Serious cases of absence without permission will lead to disciplinary sanctions.
Article 8 Graduate students who ask for leave for a personal reason shall fill in a Leave Sheet for Graduate Students at Zhejiang University; such leave shall not become valid until the approval is granted. Leave for one week or less shall be approved by one's supervisor while leave for more than a week but less than a month (inclusive) shall be approved, with the supervisor's consent, by a college leader in charge. The leave sheet shall be kept on file by the Graduate Student Management Division of the college.
Internship as a result of a graduate student's personal networking, unless required for research, shall be deemed as a private act and shall normally take place during winter/summer vacation.
Graduate students who are away on business trips or on vacation have to delay returning to the university for some unexpected reasons may ask for leave of absence by facsimile, e-mail or letters. They must go through the makeup formalities and submit necessary certifications after returning to the university.
Article 9 Graduate students who need to leave Mainland China for joint training, collaborative research or international conferences shall be treated as those sent by the university on a business trip abroad. Such students shall settle the specific formalities with the training division of the Graduate School in accordance with relevant regulations of the university and file a record with the administrative division of the Graduate School.
Article 10 (N/A)
Chapter 3
Program or Institution Transfer and Supervisory Changes
Article 11 In principle graduate students shall not transfer to another program after beginning their studies. In rare cases, if a graduate student has to transfer to another program due to readjustment of his/her current program, change of his/her supervisors or other unexpected reasons, he/she must personally submit an application, which is to be processed for comments on hierarchical basis from a number of individuals and one institute, namely the supervisors or institutes of both the applicant's current program and the program he/she wishes to transfer to, the heads of the discipline and the school to which the programs are affiliated. The transfer shall not become effectuated until the application is approved by the training division of Graduate School. Application reports with comments of approval on them shall be filed with the administrative division of the Graduate School. After transfer to another program, the students shall take courses, do research and prepare degree thesis writing to the training requirements of the new program.
Article 12 The graduate students may apply, for some special reasons, for supervisory changes within the same discipline. To do this, the student him/herself shall submit an application, which is to be processed for comments from both his/ her current and prospective supervisors, and the head of the discipline to which the applicant's program is affiliated. Such change shall not become effectuated until the approval is granted from the school/college leader in charge. The application report shall be filed with the Graduate Student Management Division of their college.
Article 13 N/A.
Article 14 N/A.
Article 15 N/A
Chapter 4
Suspension and Resumption of Graduate Studies
Article 16 Graduate students who have to suspend their studies for a period of time for treatment or convalescence due to illness or other reasons may request suspension.
Graduate students who are in one of the following cases must request suspension from school:
A. Those who have asked for sick leave or been hospitalized totally for more than one month within a semester;
B. Those who have been diagnosed by a hospital as patients of infectious diseases (such as hepatitis and pulmonary tuberculosis) with length of treatment and convalescence suggested by the doctor exceeding one month;
C. Those whose leave of absence for private affairs within one semester exceed one month;
D. Female graduate students giving birth to children;
E. Those that cannot do registration for other reasons.
Article 17 Graduate students who intend to suspend studies must submit an application themselves (by filling in an Application Form for Graduate Students at Zhejiang University to Change Student Status). Those who are hospitalized due to serious illness or infectious disease may entrust others with the application task, having them submit the diagnostic report issued by a 2nd-Class Grade A or higher grade hospital designated by the university, which are to be checked by the epidemic prevention and health care division of the university hospital. The suspension shall not be effectuated until positive comments on the application are made by the applicant's supervisor and the college leader in charge and approval is granted by the administrative division of Graduate School after the verification work is done.
Article 18 The status of graduate students on suspension shall be retained by the university. Such students are not eligible for the treatment given to regular on campus students. Students suspending studies due to illness shall return home for convalescence. They shall be responsible for their round-trip expenses.
Article 19 The time of suspension shall be counted by semester and shall not exceed 2 years in total. The time of suspension of those who started suspension after hospitalization shall be counted from the day of hospitalization.
Article 20 Students whose period of suspension expires must submit application for resumption of studies (by filling in a Request Form for Graduate Students at Zhejiang University to Change Student Status. Those who have suspended their studies due to illness must also submit the medical diagnostic certification and resumption suggestion that have been verified by the epidemic prevention and health care division of the university hospital). The resumption shall not be effectuated until positive comments on the application are made by the applicant's supervisor and the college leader in charge and approval is granted by the administrative division of Graduate School after the verification work is done. Graduate students whose application for resuming studies will be asked to get registered with the administrative division of the Graduate School.
Article 21 (N/A)
Chapter 5
Withdrawal from Studies
Article 22 Graduate students in one of the following cases shall be asked to withdraw from their studies:
(1) Those that are found via assessment to be unsuitable for graduate studies for a master's or doctoral degree;
(2) Those that are not able to take all the courses specified by the training plan within the set time frame (including the time limit for approved delay) or complete the entire course work;
(3) Those who fail to submit application for resuming studies within the specified time limit or those whose application for resumption fails to meet the requirements upon verification (including those who have been found to be involved in serious offences during their suspension period.)
(4) Those who cannot continue studies for illness or disabilities caused by unexpected injuries with diagnostic certificates from a hospital designated by the university;
(5) Those who fail to attend academic activities required by the university for 2 successive weeks without asking for leave;
(6) Those who fail to get registered within the specified time period with delay exceeding 2 weeks and without valid reasons;
(7) Those who have registered with another institution to pursue graduate studies;
(8) Those who apply voluntarily for withdrawal.
Article 23 Where a graduate student is treated as a withdrawer with his/ her student status canceled as per (1), (2), (3), (5) or (6) of Article 22 above, the Graduate Student Management Division of the student's college shall send a treatment suggestion to the student himself/herself. If it's impossible to contact the student himself/herself, the suggestion will be posted on the official web of the university for a period of 2 weeks and this shall be deemed as notifying the student himself/herself. If no objection from the student himself/herself is received within a period of 2 weeks after the notification, the Graduate Student Management Division of the student's college will submit the treatment suggestion to the student's supervisor or research institute/office and the college leader in charge for positive comments before the treatment is effectuated.
Those who apply voluntarily for withdrawal from graduate studies as per (4), (7) or (8) of Article 22 above shall submit an application in writing themselves (by filling in an Application Form for Graduate Students at Zhejiang University for to Change Student Status, with the attachment of a diagnostic certificate verified by the epidemic prevention and health care division of the university hospital for those who apply for withdrawal due to illness); such applications shall be submitted to the applicant's supervisor and college leader in charge for positive comments before the administrative division of the Graduate School grants the approval.
The student status of graduate students who have died for whatever reasons will be automatically canceled. The Graduate Student Management Division of the deceased student's college is responsible for submitting a proposal for the cancellation, with relevant certificates attached, to the administrative division of the Graduate School for verification and approval.
Article 24 N/A
Article 25 Decisions on graduate students' withdrawal from studies, cancellation of their student status and transfer from doctoral studies to master's degree programs shall be made through special meetings convened by the vice president in charge and effectuated by issuing a document signed by the vice president.
Article 26 Where the decision documents about withdrawal from studies or cancellation of the student status cannot be delivered to the student himself/ herself, an announcement by the administrative division of the Graduate School within the university for a period of more than 2 weeks shall be deemed as a substitute for successful delivery.
Article 27 Graduate students who have studied for more than one full year and completed course studies as planned with satisfactory results before withdrawing from studies will be granted a certificate of completion of course studies (those who withdraw as students doing doctoral programs ahead of time will be granted certificates for master's degree students), and those who have done studies for less than a year and those who are dismissed from school will be granted an official note certifying their study experience at the university. No certificates of study will be granted to those whose student status has been canceled.
Article 28 （N/A）
Article 29 Graduate students who have objections to the university's decisions on their withdrawals, dismissals and cancellation of their student status can lodge appeals in accordance with relevant regulations of the university.
Chapter 6
Study System, Length of Programs & Treatment
Article 30 The length of doctoral programs is 3-4 years; the length of master's degree programs is 2-3 years (depending on specific training schemes of individual programs).
Article 31 Graduate students who cannot complete their studies within the specified time limit may request an extension of the length of schooling (hereinafter” extension”). Master’s degree candidates can be granted an extension up to 2 years while doctoral candidates an extension up to 3 years.
Article 32 Graduate students who wish to have an extension must submit an application by filling in the Application Form for Graduate Students at Zhejiang University to Change Student Status half a year before the specified time limit expires. The application is to be verified by the applicant's supervisor for positive comments and approved by the college leader in charge. The extension shall not become valid until the application is filed with the administrative division of the Graduate School.
Graduate students who come back to resume studies after their approved suspension ends shall be granted extension that corresponds the length of their suspension. Graduate students who are sent out of Mainland China by the University Joint Research or training shall have the time they spend out of Mainland China continuously counted as part of their length of studies.
Article 33 Graduate students are entitled to the treatment given to them according to their status during the specified time limit of their programs. Graduate students who come back to resume studies after their suspension ends can continue to have the treatment given to them according to their status if the extension they are granted after the resumption does not exceed their previous suspension in length.
Graduate students who are sent out of China or Mainland China by the University Joint Research or training with funds provided by partner institutions are not entitled to receive at the same time ordinary scholarships offered internally by Zhejiang University.
Chapter 7
Graduation, Completion of a Course of Study & Employment
Article 34 Graduate students who have completed their course of studies within the specified time limit, with the oral defense of their degree theses passed and the requirements for other components of the training met, qualified morally and physically, shall be allowed to graduate. Those who meet relevant conditions specified for having the oral defense ahead of schedule shall be allowed to graduate ahead of time after passing the oral defense that takes place ahead of time.
Those who have completed their course of studies within the specified time limit, with requirements for other components of the training scheme met, but fail to pass the oral defense of their degree theses will be allowed to conclude their studies with relevant certificates. Students who have concluded studies and are allowed to revise their theses with the consent of the thesis defense committee may reapply to the university for oral defense within the time limit specified by the university and shall be allowed to graduate if they pass the defense.
Graduate students qualified for graduation shall be granted the certificates of graduation by the university.
Graduate students who are allowed to conclude their studies shall be granted a certificate of completion by the university.
Those who have finished more than one year's course studies specified by the training plan with satisfactory results, but have failed to complete other training components, will be granted a certificate of attendance.
Article 35 Graduate students who meet the requirements for degree conferment of Zhejiang University will be granted degree certificates by the university.
Article 36 (N/A)
Article 37 Graduate students who have completed or terminated schooling will not be able to receive their certificates of education until they return their School Leaving Sheet to the Graduate Student Management Division of their college after settling various school leaving formalities within the time specified by the university.
Article 38 （N/A）
Article 39 The University will not issue an academic certificate to students who have entered the university in violation of the recruitment regulations issued by the state. Certificates that have already been given to those students shall be re-collected.
Article 40 Graduate students whose certificate of graduation/completion/ attendance is lost or damaged may apply for a new certificate by submitting an application for verification to the Graduate Student Management Division of the college where they have studied and for approval to the administrative division of Graduate School. The new certificate shall have the same legal power as the original certificate.
Article 41（N/A）
Article 42 （N/A）
Article 43 （N/A）
Chapter 8
Miscellaneous
Article 44 The student status management concerning students of the 7 year medical program shall be implemented in accordance with relevant regulations of the university. Status management concerning international students during their study at the university shall be implemented in accordance with relevant regulations of the state and the university. Academic certificates for international students shall be granted in accordance with relevant regulations of the Ministry of Education.
Article 45 （N/A）
Article 46 （N/A）
Article 47 Graduate students must properly keep their student cards. Those who have lost their cards due to negligence may apply for a new card at the end of each semester. To do this, the graduate students themselves must fill in the Application Sheet for Reissuance of the Graduate Student Card at Zhejiang University, which is to be verified by the Graduate Student Management Division of the college and approved by the administrative division of the Graduate School.
Article 48 The implementation rules of this document shall be effectuated as of September 1, 2005, and its interpretation shall be the responsibility of the Graduate School of Zhejiang University.
Some Important Information on Graduate Studies
Extending Periods of Schooling
I. Extension Limitations
1. In principle, the extension for doctoral studies can be up to 3 years, and that for master's degree studies up to 2 years.
2. Extensions applied for each time is no more than 6 months for master's degree candidates and no more than 12 months for doctoral candidates. Graduate students who have been granted extensions must submit reports on thesis writing progress every 3 months, which are to be verified by their supervisors and filed with the Section of Graduate Student Affairs. Supervisors are expected to enhance their inspection and guidance on the thesis writing and research work of students who have extended their graduate studies. If two reports a graduate student has submitted indicate that he/she has not been making positive progress on thesis writing during the extended period, the extension shall be terminated, and the student's school/college shall start procedures on his/her withdrawal from graduate studies.
II. Extension Application Procedures
1. Graduate students who are unable to finish their studies within the prescribed time frame and wish to prolong their studies must submit application for extension six months before the time frame ends. The application is subject to the consent of the student's supervisor and the verification and approval of the student's school/ college leader in charge. International students as beneficiaries of Chinese government scholarships must obtain in addition the consent from the embassies of their home countries in China.
2. No regular registration shall be arranged for graduate students whose extension is due. If, for special reasons, a student wishes to prolong studies again, he/she must submit a special application explaining in detail reasons for the continuous extension, attached with the draft of the completed parts of the thesis, published papers, the contents and progress of the work yet to be completed, which are to be verified by the student's supervisors and the school/college leader in charge and approved by the Administration Division of the Graduate School. Students whose application for continual extension is approved will be allowed for registration by the Office of Graduate Student Status Management.
III. In principle, Chinese government-funded and self-funded students shall both pay standard tuition fees for the extension period, and students dwelling in dormitories on campus need to pay standard accommodation fee. Students who apply for study extension must participate in a medical insurance policy.
Academic Norm
International graduate students must comply with “Zhejiang University Academic Norm for Graduate Students” when pursuing academic studies or doing scientific research at Zhejiang University.