In compliance with Shenzhen University’s “Implementation Plan for Doctoral Admissions in 2026” and in accordance with the requirements of the “Shenzhen University 2026 Doctoral Admissions Regulations”, these detailed implementation rules are formulated to guide the 2026 doctoral admissions process for the Optoelectronic and Mechanical Engineering and Applications program through master-to-doctoral continuous study and application-assessment pathways.
I. Basic Principles
(1) Merit-based admission, quality assurance, and no compromise on standards.
(2) Foster intrinsic motivation for improving the quality of the applicant pool through moderate competition among supervisors and disciplines.
(3) The entire process shall be open, fair, and just.
II. Programs, Admission Methods, and Planned Enrollment
(1) Program: Optoelectronic and Mechanical Engineering and Applications (0803Z2)
(2) Admission Methods: Master-to-Doctoral Continuous Study and Application-Assessment
(3) Planned Enrollment: 7
III. Application Requirements
(1) Must meet all conditions stipulated in the “Shenzhen University 2026 Doctoral Admissions Regulations”.
(2) English proficiency must meet one of the following conditions:
1. Passed CET-4 or CET-6 (score of 425 or above);
2. TOEFL score of 75 or above (old TOEFL 550 or above);
3. IELTS score of 6.0 or above;
4. PETS Level 5 certificate;
5. GRE score of 1200 or above (new scale 310 or above);
6. Obtained a master’s or doctoral degree in an English-speaking country or region;
7. Published an English-language academic paper as first author (or first author as supervisor and second as self) in an international journal.
(3) Applicants through the Application-Assessment pathway must meet the following conditions:
1. Meet the requirements in (1) and (2) above.
2. The applicant’s master’s discipline should be the same first-level discipline or a related discipline as the applied doctoral program.
3. Holders of nationally recognized master’s (or doctoral) degrees or current master’s graduates (must obtain the master’s degree before enrollment in the admission year at the latest). Holders of master’s degrees from overseas institutions must obtain certification from the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, Ministry of Education and submit the certification report. Applicants currently studying abroad without a master’s degree must provide proof of enrollment from their institution (specifying the expected graduation date); if admitted, they must submit the master’s degree certificate and certification report before the specified deadline (or first provide an explanatory letter from the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, with the certification report submitted before enrollment), otherwise admission will be canceled.
4. Except for applicants whose master’s degree is from a world top 200 university (ranked in at least two of the four major rankings: ARWU, QS, THE, USNEWS), applicants must have at least one formally published journal paper or granted invention patent in the field of Optoelectronic and Mechanical Engineering and Applications.
(1) For journal papers in the field of Optoelectronic and Mechanical Engineering and Applications, the applicant must be among the first two authors (if the applicant is the second author, their master’s supervisor must be the first author). For co-first authors or multiple corresponding authors, the paper count shall be prorated by the number of co-authors, and the prorated count must be at least 1 paper.
(2) For invention patents, the student must be the first inventor (or the supervisor the first inventor and the student the second inventor) of at least 1 granted invention patent.
5. Agree to non-directed admission category; no change of admission category is allowed after preliminary admission is confirmed. Before admission, organizational affiliation, personnel files, etc., must be transferred to the Graduate Student Archives Office of Shenzhen University; otherwise, the Admission Notice will not be issued. Admitted students must study full-time without employment.
(4) Applicants through the master-to-doctoral continuous study pathway must meet the following conditions:
1. Meet the requirements in (1) and (2) above.
2. Full-time second-year master’s students enrolled in September 2024 at Shenzhen University, whose current master’s discipline is related or closely related to the applied doctoral program, who have passed all first-year courses as required by the master’s training plan, with excellent academic performance, strong research ability and potential for innovative achievements, and with the consent and recommendation of their master’s supervisor. Priority admission will be given under equal conditions to those who have published high-quality academic papers in core professional journals or achieved other forms of innovative results.
3. Meet the application conditions stipulated by the college’s regulations or implementation rules.
IV. Selection Process
(1) Individual Application
Applicants must contact their intended supervisor in advance, submit an application to the supervisor, and apply only after obtaining the supervisor’s consent.
1. Online Application
Eligible applicants must register online through the China Graduate Admissions Information Network. Online application deadline: 23:59 on March 5, 2026.
2. Submission of Materials.
Hard-copy Materials: Applicants must, by March 5, 2026 (postmark date), organize the following application materials in the specified order, add a table of contents, bind them into a book (A4 size), and send them via SF Express to the Graduate Admissions Office of the College of Mechatronics and Control Engineering, Shenzhen University (Address: Room S627, Zhixin Building, Canghai Campus, Shenzhen University, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province; Recipient: Teacher Xing; Contact: 0755-22673861). Please mark the package “Name — Applied Program and Code — Doctoral Application Materials”. Incomplete, unorganized, or unbound materials will not be accepted.
Electronic Materials: Applicants must merge all application materials (including table of contents) into a single PDF file and send it to Xingff@szu.edu.cn before March 5, 2026. The email subject and attachment filename should be marked as “Name — Applied Program and Code — Doctoral Application Materials”.
Remarks: Deadline for receipt of materials is March 5, 2026 (postmark for hard copies, email timestamp for electronic versions). Both hard-copy and electronic versions must be submitted; late submissions will not be accepted.
Unless otherwise specified, the following items are required for both master-to-doctoral continuous study and application-assessment applicants:
(1) “Doctoral Online Registration Information Summary Form”, applicants log in to the China Graduate Admissions Information Network (http://yz.chsi.com.cn/bsbm), complete online registration, print, sign and confirm personally, and obtain signature and seal from their current institution (or file-holding unit).
(2) Application-assessment applicants submit the “Shenzhen University 2026 Application-Assessment Doctoral Application Form”; master-to-doctoral continuous study applicants submit the “Shenzhen University 2026 Master-to-Doctoral Continuous Study Application Form”.
(3) Current master’s graduates applying through application-assessment or master-to-doctoral continuous study submit the “Shenzhen University 2026 Doctoral Political Review (Current Performance) Materials”, completed by the Party Committee of their current college.
(4) Application-assessment applicants submit copies of degree certificates (current master’s graduates must submit original proof of enrollment from their graduate school or management department); master-to-doctoral continuous study applicants submit a copy of their student ID (including personal information, photo, and registration status).
(5) Application-assessment applicants submit original master’s course transcripts (stamped by the graduate academic affairs office); master-to-doctoral continuous study applicants submit original first-year transcripts issued by the graduate school.
(6) Master’s thesis (current master’s graduates may submit abstract and table of contents; master-to-doctoral continuous study applicants are not required to submit).
(7) At least two written recommendation letters from experts with associate professor title or equivalent in the applied discipline (using the template provided by our university).
(8) Submit a research plan for doctoral study (minimum 3000 words, see application form).
(9) Proof of English proficiency (CET-4/6 certificate, new TOEFL/IELTS score report, degree certificate from English-medium program, English academic paper, etc.).
(10) Copies of award certificates, published academic papers, granted patents, and other proof of original achievements.
(11) Original physical examination report from a Grade III Class A hospital or above, meeting national and Shenzhen University graduate admission health requirements.
(12) Photocopies of both sides of the second-generation PRC Resident ID Card (legally issued and valid).
Applicants must provide all the above materials truthfully. Any violations or fraud during application or assessment will be dealt with seriously in accordance with the “Measures for Handling Violations in National Education Examinations” and relevant regulations. For current students, their institution will be notified and disciplinary action taken, up to expulsion; for employed candidates, their employer will be notified for disciplinary action as appropriate. Any consequences, including failure to be admitted, arising therefrom shall be borne by the applicant.
(2) Qualification Review
After receiving the applicants’ materials, the college organizes no fewer than 3 reviewers to conduct qualification review against the application requirements and submits the review results to the Graduate Admissions Office. The Graduate Admissions Office conducts spot checks on the results, after which the college uniformly publicizes the list to the public.
(3) Supervisor Recommendation
The college forwards the applicant materials to the intended supervisor. The supervisor reviews the materials, provides a recommendation opinion, and ranks applicants who applied to them simultaneously. Each supervisor may recommend no more than 1 applicant to proceed to the next stage.
(4) Preliminary Material Review and Determination of Assessment List
The college establishes a disciplinary expert panel to carefully review the applicants’ materials in accordance with the relevant implementation rules formulated by the college, conduct a preliminary evaluation of the applicants’ scientific research and innovation capabilities, and perform screening. In combination with the intentions of recruiting supervisors and according to a certain differential re-examination ratio, the disciplinary unit determines the list of applicants entering the disciplinary assessment stage (professional written examination canceled, interview only). Applicants without supervisor recommendation will not enter the interview assessment stage. The list of proposed applicants entering the disciplinary assessment stage will be publicized on the college website (specific timing subject to actual operation).
(5) Disciplinary Assessment
The disciplinary unit conducts offline assessment of applicants. The assessment is scored out of 500 points; a total score below 300 points results in non-admission.
Specific assessment requirements are as follows: 1. The assessment content includes four parts: foreign language proficiency, professional quality, research potential, and comprehensive ability, with emphasis on evaluating the applicant’s scientific research innovation capability, potential and qualities for doctoral training in the first-level discipline, as well as the applicant’s comprehensive abilities in analysis, problem-solving, and innovation. Professional quality assessment evaluates the applicant’s basic knowledge and professional competence. In addition, the applicant’s ideological and political qualities, psychological condition, moral character, and other comprehensive qualities shall also be assessed.
2. During the assessment, each applicant may deliver a 20-minute PPT presentation and defense based on the research plan, showcasing personal profile, academic performance, research projects, research achievements, and the research plan during the proposed doctoral study period. Recommending supervisors may provide supplementary introductions, but must recuse themselves during discussion and scoring.
3. Expert questioning lasts approximately 10 minutes, with the total interview time approximately 30 minutes.
Assessment arrangement is as follows:
Comprehensive Interview (full score 500 points): Includes four parts: foreign language proficiency, professional quality, research potential, and comprehensive ability.
Specific timing for the comprehensive interview will be notified separately. The college will notify applicants three days in advance. Applicants are requested to keep their contact information accessible.
(6) Proposed Admission
The college submits the proposed admission list and related materials to the university based on the assessment total scores from highest to lowest. After approval by the university’s Graduate Admissions Leading Group, the Graduate Admissions Office will uniformly publicize the list of students granted proposed admission qualification to the public. Publicity shall last 10 working days in accordance with relevant Ministry of Education admission regulations.
V. Supervision Mechanism
(1) Information Disclosure. For master-to-doctoral continuous study and application-assessment admission methods, information collection must be accurate, disclosure procedures standardized, and content released promptly in accordance with the Ministry of Education’s requirements for information disclosure. The Graduate School and each admitting college (department, center, laboratory) shall proactively disclose admission policies, regulations, plans, program catalogs, applicant eligibility, application procedures, admission results, consultation and appeal channels, major violations, and handling outcomes according to their division of labor. The college shall promptly publicize the relevant implementation rules, enrollment numbers, and related information of all applicants participating in the assessment on its website. If there are changes to the proposed admission list during the publicity period, a specific explanation must be provided for the changed portion, and the changed content shall be separately publicized for 10 working days. Applicants not publicized shall not be admitted.
(2) Applicants must provide application materials truthfully. Any violations or fraud during application or assessment will be dealt with seriously in accordance with the “Measures for Handling Violations in National Education Examinations” and relevant regulations. For current students, their institution will be notified and disciplinary action taken, up to expulsion; for employed candidates, their employer will be notified for disciplinary action as appropriate. Any consequences, including failure to be admitted, arising therefrom shall be borne by the applicant.
(3) All assessment members must comply with academic and professional ethical standards. For admitting colleges (departments, centers, laboratories) and individuals with issues, sanctions such as reduction of enrollment quota, suspension of recruitment, revocation of supervisor qualification, and public criticism will be imposed depending on the circumstances.
(4) The Graduate School and the university’s Discipline Inspection (Supervision) Office have established the following channels for reporting admission violations:
Discipline Inspection (Supervision) Office: 0755-22671162, jiwei@szu.edu.cn
Graduate School Admissions Office: 0755-26536177, szuyz@szu.edu.cn
VI. Additional Notes
1. The college shall comprehensively determine the admission ratio for application-assessment and master-to-doctoral continuous study based on program realities and application situation.
2. In principle, each supervisor may admit only 1 doctoral student in 2026.
3. After the Ministry of Education officially issues the 2026 doctoral enrollment plan, a second round of application-assessment and master-to-doctoral continuous study admissions will be launched in due course.
4. For relevant documents and templates, please refer to:
“Implementation Plan for Doctoral Admissions at Shenzhen University in 2026”
https://yz.szu.edu.cn/info/1042/14186.htm
“Shenzhen University 2026 Graduate Admissions Regulations”
https://yz.szu.edu.cn/info/1042/14166.htm
Relevant templates download:
https://yz.szu.edu.cn/info/1021/13264.htm
College of Mechatronics and Control Engineering, Shenzhen University
Optoelectronic and Mechanical Engineering and Applications Doctoral Program
January 28, 2026
Prepared by: Xing Fengfei
First Review and Proofreading: Xing Fengfei
Second Review and Proofreading: Gong Feng
Third Review and Proofreading: Wu Zongze
