Chinese man, 29, with four PhDs and several master’s degrees probed for dubious credentials

BEIJING (SCMP): A young Chinese man has astonished mainland social media with his remarkable academic accomplishments, which include two postdoctoral degrees, four PhDs, four master’s degrees, and more than 20 memberships in academic organisations.

Zhao Zijian, 29, sparked intense public debate after the Inner Mongolian National Culture and Art Research Institute announced his appointment as a researcher and shared his incredible academic credentials.

Zhao stated that he earned doctoral degrees in performing arts, psychology, education, and biblical studies. He specifically mentioned two institutions where he completed his doctoral studies: a “Catholic university” in South Korea and Lyceum of the Philippines University, a private school.

He also claimed to hold multiple master’s degrees in communications, Buddhist studies, and mindfulness studies from the University of Hong Kong, Baptist University, and both the University of Zaragoza and Miguel de Cervantes European University in Spain.

In addition to his degrees, Zhao has 22 memberships in various academic societies spanning diverse fields such as economics and medicine, and he has published 24 “high-level” academic articles, aggregating an impact factor of “28+” – a metric indicating how frequently the articles were cited in a given year.

Many people questioned Zhao’s academic credentials as being “against common sense”, since most PhDs typically take at least four years to complete.

Zhao Zijian’s recent appointment as a researcher at the Inner Mongolian National Culture and Art Research Institute ignited significant public discourse, particularly around his impressive academic credentials. – Photo: The Paper / SCMP

The institute stated that it had suspended its collaboration with Zhao and launched an investigation into his academic qualifications.

On October 12, Yin Fujun, the head of the institute, informed China Newsweek that no “obvious counterfeiting” was found. He confirmed that all of Zhao’s four master’s degrees passed official verification from the Chinese Service Centre for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE).

However, only one of Zhao’s PhDs had passed verification, while one was still in the process, and Yin mentioned that Zhao “did not plan to verify the other two”.

Yin noted that Zhao met their requirements for the researcher position and expressed regret for the trouble caused to him.

Zhao has not addressed the ongoing controversy.

Online commentators raised concerns about the legitimacy of his academic credentials.

It has come to light that some of his degrees were obtained online, and Miguel de Cervantes European University is not listed on the official verification roster.

The CSCSE had also designated the Lyceum of the Philippines University’s Batangas Campus, where Zhao’s psychology department operates, as one of the 13 lower-ranked overseas institutions that require rigorous verification as of July this year.

The discussions surrounding Zhao highlight the increasing importance of academic achievement for one’s future career endeavours in a competitive society. – Photo: Shutterstock / SCMP

Many of the 22 academic memberships he claimed were public or student memberships, which can be obtained with a membership fee.

“What is the point of having so many titles without making actual contributions to academic research?” questioned one online observer.

China has been intensifying its efforts to crack down on academic short cuts that some individuals have used to advance their careers in academia.

In August last year, a government-affiliated research organisation on university information and Renmin University of China co-published a directory that categorises overseas universities and their social sciences programmes as a guide to assess education quality.

In 2022, a university head in southern China’s Hunan province was dismissed after the institution spent over 18 million yuan (US$2.5 million) sending 23 educators to Adamson University in the Philippines to obtain doctoral degrees in just 28 months. – SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST