Artificial intelligence is not only changing the way people work, but also redefining what subjects students choose to study. As AI begins to automate jobs in fields like consulting, finance, marketing and management, students are hesitant to invest large sums of money in degrees whose career prospects are uncertain.
Just last month, various reports revealed that a number of US universities have started reducing tuition fees for their MBA programs to attract reluctant applicants. This time a similar change is being seen in China, but on a much larger scale.
China’s universities are undergoing a major overhaul of their academic courses—replacing older courses with an emphasis on emerging technologies—as the job market changes rapidly with technological advances.
China is canceling the old course
According to a report in the South China Morning Post, Chinese universities are undertaking a major overhaul of their academic courses. Obsolete or outdated programs are being canceled and new courses are being introduced based on emerging technologies.
The change is part of Beijing’s broader strategy to align higher education with the country’s economic goals. Its main objective is to achieve global leadership in next-generation industries such as artificial intelligence, robotics and advanced manufacturing.
There is another big practical reason behind this change: China’s graduate job market is currently under pressure. It is true that more students are passing out than ever before, but many are not getting jobs according to their qualifications. The youth unemployment rate is still high (over 16 percent), while AI is rapidly changing the skills employers are looking for.
As a result, universities are moving away from subjects that have excessive student numbers or that are not compatible with the current changing economy. Majority of these cuts fell on arts, humanities, foreign languages and management-related fields.
New courses in line with China’s national goals
At the same time, educational institutions are introducing courses that directly support the goals of China’s industrial sector. One such example is ’embodied intelligence’—a field that combines artificial intelligence with physical devices such as robots. At least nine universities have launched new majors in the subject as part of government efforts to integrate advanced AI technology into the real economy.
This is not the first time that China’s higher education system has been reorganized in this way. According to Ministry of Education data cited in the report, between 2021 and 2025, Chinese universities canceled or suspended about 12,200 undergraduate programs and added 10,200 new programs during the same period. Overall, more than 30 percent of the country’s university programs underwent some form of change during this period.
Experts call for deeper reforms
But experts cited in the report warn that simply replacing one degree with another may not be enough. Universities need deeper reforms to keep pace with rapid technological change. Many of the programs that are now being discontinued were launched only a few years ago and have not had enough time to develop.
According to experts, rather than constantly adding or dropping new majors, universities should develop a more flexible education system. This allows students to choose courses based on the changing needs of the industry and acquire skills that will remain relevant even as technology evolves.
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