Review and Critique on the New Higher Education Policy Promoting “The First-Class Major Programs” in China

Purpose: After the concepts of first-class universities, first-class research disciplines, and first-class undergraduate education, China’s Ministry of Education (MOE) proposed a new concept of first-class undergraduate major programs and also proposed policy initiatives for relevant selection and funding. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the motives, historical background, policy texts, core concepts, and unintended consequences of the policy and proposes six criticisms. Design/Approach/Methods: This education policy analysis article uses two research methods. The first is a content analysis that focuses on policy text. The second is comparative and historical research that focuses on the history of the undergraduate education organization model in China and the background of the four first-class concepts. Findings: This article argues that the first-class major programs in undergraduate education include provincial-level points of these programs, which stealthily narrowed the scope for comparison from potentially the whole world to that of provinces. The policy also essentially strengthened the traditional concept of zhuanye as a physical unit and caused unintended consequences in its attempts to cultivate innovative talents and to adjust the zhuanye structure. Originality/Value: This article addresses a new education policy in China and its unintended consequences.