Chinese university graduate loses master’s degree and supervising academic fired after thesis revealed to be completely plagiarised
- A 2016 thesis by a graduate of Beijing Institute of Technology was stolen in the same year and republished by a graduate of Hunan University
- The case has again shone a spotlight on China’s rampant academic plagiarism problem
A graduate of one of China’s top 10 engineering research universities has had his master’s degree revoked and his supervising tutor fired after his dissertation was found to be a word-for-word copy of another person’s work.
Except for some slight differences in the keywords and acknowledgement, the thesis of Chen Jie, who graduated from Hunan University (HNU) in central China in 2016 with a master’s degree, was exactly the same as that of another graduate from the Beijing Institute of Technology（BIT), according to statements from both institutions.
Tang Kelong, a professor in journalism who tutored Chen back then, was disqualified as a research supervisor, HNU said in a statement on Wednesday.
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Both HNU and BIT are well-known universities in China that receive special support from the government under its “985 Project”, an initiative to create “world first-class universities”.
