The Ministry of Education recently made public its list of 2,442 new majors available to students entering national universities in 2005.

The ministry rejected 317 majors for which applications were made, and 13 junior college medical majors were disqualified. Four medical majors will have to be reevaluated before students may enroll in them.

Universities are not permitted to enroll new students in majors that have not been approved by the ministry. In Beijing, 12 majors at eight universities were disqualified, although more than 60 new ones were approved for nearly 30 universities.

According to the Ministry of Education's Zhang Qingguo, some proposed majors failed to gain approval because of shortages of qualified teachers, poor educational equipment or lack of specific curricula.

The ministry regards with favor proposed majors that meet the needs of China's economic development.

Approved majors (sample list)

University	Major
Central University for Nationalities	Social Work
Chinese People's Public Security University	Public Security Intelligence, Criminology, Public Security Management
Renmin University of China	Physics, Chemistry
University of Science and Technology Beijing	Logistics Projects
Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications	Software Engineering, Digital Media Arts
China Agriculture University	Grape & Wine Projects
Communication University of China	Lighting Arts
Beijing Sport University	Health and Recovery through Sports

Rejected majors

University	Major
Central University for Nationalities	Medical Science of Nationalities, Traditional Chinese Medicine
Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications	Communication
Communication University of China	Sci-Tech Communication
Central University of Finance & Economics	Actuary, Customs Management
China University of Geosciences	Oil & Gas Reconnaissance, Groundwater Science & Project
Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture	Automobile Project
Beijing International Studies University	Exhibition Economy & Management
Beijing City University	Law, Information Security

 (China.org.cn by Wang Sining, April 6, 2005)