The academic threshold for college counselors has been continuously increasing in recent years.
Recently, we have noticed that some netizens on social platforms have submitted articles asking for help, and they have been admitted to the doctoral program as a counselor, should they go to study for a doctorate?
Source: Weibo
Many netizens put forward their own views on the counselor's confusion about studying for a doctorate, and some people think that in the current environment, the counselor is a stable position with a structure, and even if he goes to study for a doctorate, he may still be a counselor.
Some netizens suggested that the contributor choose to study for a doctorate on the job, and the counselor and doctoral degree are correct!
It is undoubtedly a win-win choice for counselors to study for a PhD on the job, which can not only accumulate practical experience, but also improve their academic level and research ability. The Ministry of Education has also given active support to this regard, encouraging and guiding counselors to improve their professional quality and educational ability through doctoral studies.
Supported by the Ministry of Education, counselors study for PhDs!
In recent years, it is not new for counselors to "involute" their academic qualifications to doctorates.
This year, Zhejiang University announced the list of full-time counselors to be recruited in 2024, including 16 doctors and 14 masters. Among the 16 PhDs, 1 is from Tsinghua University, 2 are from Peking University, and graduates from the University of Manchester, Nanjing University, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhejiang University and other universities.
According to the notice of Zhejiang Normal University on the recommendation and registration of part-time doctoral young teachers in 2024, it is planned to hire 9 part-time doctoral young teachers.
Beijing University of Foreign Chinese plans to hire 3 people for the 2023 full-time counselor position, 2 fresh doctoral students, and 1 outbound postdoctoral fellow.
In the face of such academic "involution", many counselors began to think about their career path and future development. Previously, the Ministry of Education has issued several documents to support the improvement of counselors' academic qualifications.
At the beginning of this year, the website of the Ministry of Education issued the "Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Education on Doing a Good Job in the Special Plan for Ideological and Political Work Cadres in Colleges and Universities to Study for Doctoral Degrees on the Job in 2024", encouraging counselors to study for doctoral degrees on the job through the special plan, and entrusting 72 universities as enrollment and training units, including Chinese Renmin University, Beijing Normal University, Central University of Finance and Economics, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, etc.
In 2016, the Ministry of Education issued the "Notice of the Department of Ideological and Political Work of the Ministry of Education on Doing a Good Job in the Enrollment of College Counselors Studying for Doctoral Degrees in 2016", the Ministry of Education decided to change the "Special Program for College Counselors to Study for Doctoral Degrees in Ideological and Political Education" to "Special Program for College Counselors to Study for Doctoral Degrees on the Job", and added majors in management and psychology. Let counselors have more professional options when it comes to academic advancement.
Many colleges and universities have developed relevant incentives to ensure that front-line counselors can study for PhDs with peace of mind.
Ningxia University mentioned in the "Supplementary Provisions of the < Implementation Opinions on Further Supporting the Growth and Success of Outstanding Young Teachers (Trial)> that priority will be given to supporting doctoral studies under the guidance of well-known scholars; Full-time study is encouraged for the duration of the school period.
In addition, some colleges and universities recruit doctoral counselors according to the talent introduction treatment, and some universities give additional incentives to on-the-job doctoral counselors.
According to the "2024 Recruitment Measures for Outstanding Talents of Henan Institute of Science and Technology", the counselor post doctor will receive a settlement allowance of 200,000 yuan. The payment method is: a one-time payment of 140,000 yuan for entry, and 1,000 yuan per month for 5 years during the initial employment period (issued once every six months).
Guangxi Normal University mentioned in the relevant document that "full-time teachers and counselors studying in designated majors can enjoy a doctoral subsidy of 100,000 yuan after returning to work after obtaining a doctorate".
Counsellor on-the-job PhD pathway
1. Special plan for ideological and political backbone in colleges and universities
At present, there are a variety of ways for counselors to pursue a doctorate degree on the job, among which the more common one is through the special plan for on-the-job doctoral studies for the backbone of ideological and political work in colleges and universities.
Take the "Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Education on Doing a Good Job in the Special Plan for Ideological and Political Work Backbones of Colleges and Universities to Study for Doctoral Degrees in 2024" issued by the Ministry of Education at the beginning of this year as an example.
In terms of application conditions, applicants are required to have been engaged in party affairs or ideological and political work in colleges and universities for at least 3 years, and have a master's degree, recommended by 2 experts with associate professor or above titles (or equivalent titles) in related disciplines, and there is no restriction on undergraduate and master's majors. In addition, the special plan requires that the proportion of full-time counselors recruited by each enrollment unit must account for more than 70% of the number of plans.
In terms of the majors that can be applied for, the special plan covers six majors, including Marxist theory, party history and party building, psychology, management, and national security.
2. Doctor of Education Degree
In addition, some universities offer doctoral degree students (Ed.D.) in education, and at present, most of them are recruited on an "application-review basis". Taking the Doctor of Education from the Institute of Education of Xiamen University as an example, the application conditions require that the applicant be a higher education administrator with more than 5 years of full-time work experience in higher education management. In addition, there are two research directions: Educational Leadership and Management, Student Development and Education.
Xiamen University Enrollment Guide for Doctoral Degree in Education (Ed.D.).
It is also a good choice for some excellent counselors to recruit staff engaged in ideological and moral education, mental health education and student management in colleges and universities with master's degree, more than 5 years of full-time work experience in education and related fields, considerable achievements and strong research ability.
3. Targeted full-time doctorate
In practice, the competition for the special program for ideological and political backbone and part-time education doctors is fierce. The number of working doctoral students has been gradually decreasing in recent years, and many universities have made it clear in their doctoral enrollment in recent years that only full-time doctoral students will be admitted.
Therefore, in order to improve the overall academic level and professional quality of the counselor team, some colleges and universities will allow counselors to study for a full-time doctoral degree without adjusting the file and taking a certain period of time. However, it should be noted that different schools may have different regulations on the majors they apply for, for example, the "Administrative Measures for the Further Education of Teachers of West Anhui University" stipulates that front-line full-time counselors should study for domestic doctorates, and the major applied for must be ideological and political education.
In addition, when applying for a doctorate, counselors also need to meet the application conditions of different schools for scientific research achievements, and counselors need to pay attention to the specific enrollment brochures of the intended universities for planning.
With the continuous progress of society and the vigorous development of higher education, it has become a trend for counselors to study for PhDs. In the process of pursuing a doctoral degree, counselors can further broaden their knowledge horizons, enhance their academic literacy, and enhance their research capabilities, so as to better adapt to the new requirements of higher education reform and development.
Of course, there are some challenges and difficulties that counselors face when studying for a PhD. For example, the pressure of studying, the tight time, and the difficulty of balancing family and work, etc., how to balance work and doctoral studies may be another difficult problem for counselors to face.
Source: Max Research is exclusively compiled from the website of the Ministry of Education, the websites of universities, etc., non-profit reprints are welcome, please indicate the source.