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To further explore and improve the doctoral selection mechanism, in accordance with the "Shenzhen University 2025 Doctoral Student Enrollment Regulations" and the "Shenzhen University 2025 Doctoral Student Enrollment Implementation Plan," and based on the actual situation of the School of Artificial Intelligence, the implementation plan for the second round of enrollment of master-doctoral students and "application-assessment" doctoral students in 2025 is hereby announced as follows:

I. Basic Principles

(I) Selective admission, ensuring quality, and prioritizing quality over quantity.

(II) Stimulating intrinsic motivation for improving student quality through appropriate competition among supervisors and disciplines.

(III) The entire process should be open, fair, and impartial.

II. Admission Major, Admission Method, and Planned Enrollment Number

The college's doctoral program for 2025 is Computer Science and Technology, with a planned enrollment of 7 students. The admission method is a combined master's and doctoral program and an "application-assessment" system. The standard study period is 4 years, and the study mode is full-time. Students who demonstrate excellent performance during their doctoral studies and meet the graduation requirements may apply for early graduation.

III. Application Requirements

(I) Applicants must meet all the requirements stipulated in the *Shenzhen University 2025 Doctoral Program Admission Regulations*.

(II) Foreign language 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 (550 or above for the old TOEFL);

3. IELTS score of 6 or above;

4. PETS Level 5 certificate;

5. GRE score of 1200 or above (310 or above on the new standard);

6. Obtained a master's or doctoral degree from an English-speaking country or region;

7. Published an English academic paper as the first author (or with the supervisor as the first author and the applicant as the second author) in an international English journal.

(III) Applicants applying through the "application-assessment" system must meet the following conditions:

1. Meet the requirements of (I) and (II) in the application conditions.

2. Hold a master's or doctoral degree, or be a current master's graduate from a domestic university (must obtain the master's degree before doctoral enrollment). Those holding a master's degree certificate from an overseas university must have it certified by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE) and submit an certification report. Applicants currently studying overseas and not yet having obtained a master's degree must provide proof of enrollment from their university (stating the expected time of obtaining the master's degree); if admitted, they must provide their master's degree certificate and the CSCSE certification report before the specified time (or first provide an explanatory letter from the CSCSE, and then provide the certification report before enrollment); otherwise, their admission will be cancelled.

3. Except for applicants whose master's degree is from a university ranked in the top 200 globally (must be listed in at least two of the four major rankings: ARWU, QS, THE, and USNEWS), applicants must have at least one formally published, authorized, or otherwise socially recognized achievement in their applied discipline (excluding dissertations). The achievement should have independent and complete content and form, and can be presented in various forms, including but not limited to the following:

(1) If the achievement is an academic paper, it should be a formally published (including online) CSRankings paper, or an international or Chinese paper recommended by CCF, or an SCI or EI paper in a computer-related field, with the applicant as the first author, co-first author, or second author and the graduate supervisor as the first author;

(2) If the achievement is an invention patent, it should be one of the authorized foreign invention patents, PCT patents, or domestic invention patents, with the applicant as the first inventor or second inventor and the graduate supervisor as the second inventor. One inventor;

(3) If the achievement is a software copyright, it must be a registered software copyright, with the applicant as the first or second copyright holder and the graduate supervisor as the first copyright holder (for professional master's students, the software copyright must be in the name of the applicant as the first copyright holder)

(4) If the achievement is an academic work, it must have been formally published, with the applicant as one of the authors, and the content independently written by the applicant must be no less than 10,000 words;

(5) If the achievement is a research award, it must be awarded by a certificate issued by a municipal-level or higher administrative agency or a nationally recognized professional association, and the applicant must be among the top 6 (including the 6th) award recipients.

(IV) Applicants applying through a combined master's and doctoral program must meet the following conditions:

1. Meet the requirements of (I) and (II) in the application conditions.

2. Current second-year full-time master's students (enrolling in September 2023) at this university, whose current master's program is related to or closely related to the applied program, who have passed all first-year courses stipulated in the master's program curriculum with excellent grades, possess strong academic research capabilities and the potential to achieve innovative results, and have the consent and recommendation of their master's supervisor.

IV. Selection Process

(I) Individual Application

Applicants must contact their prospective supervisor in advance, submit their application, and obtain the supervisor's approval before applying.

1. Online Registration. Eligible applicants must register online through the China Graduate Admissions Information Network. Online registration deadline: 24:00 on June 5, 2025.

2. Submission of Materials.

Hard copy materials: Applicants must submit the following application materials, arranged with a table of contents in the order listed below, and bound into a booklet. Mail these materials via EMS (or SF Express) to the School of Artificial Intelligence, Shenzhen University (Address: Room 1004, Zhizhen Building, Canghai Campus, Shenzhen University, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China; Attn: Ms. Yang; Tel: 0755-26946884). Please indicate "Doctoral Application Materials" on the mailed document. To ensure completeness, incomplete or unbound materials will not be accepted.

Electronic materials: Applicants must submit a single PDF file containing all application materials (including the table of contents) to the admissions email address of the department they are applying to: mingyinY@szu.edu.cn. The email subject and attachment file name should be formatted as "Name + Applying for Doctoral Program in XX Major + Contact Number".

(Both hard copy and electronic version are required)

Unless otherwise specified, the following items are required for both Master-PhD combined program applicants and applicants under the "application-assessment" system:

(1) "Online Application Information Summary Form for Doctoral Degree Candidates" (Applicants should log in to the China Graduate Admissions Information Network (http://yz.chsi.com.cn/bsbm) to register online, print it out, and sign it for confirmation);

(2) Master-PhD combined program applicants should submit the "Shenzhen University 2025 Master-PhD Combined Program Application Form," and applicants under the "application-assessment" system should submit the "Shenzhen University 2025 Application-Assessment" form. (2) Application form for doctoral degree program under the "core" system;

(3) Applicants for combined master's and doctoral programs or current master's graduates should submit the "Shenzhen University 2025 Doctoral Graduate Political Review (Performance) Materials," which should be filled out by the Party Committee of their respective college (this item is not required at the time of application, but must be submitted according to the form requirements after passing the re-examination);

(4) Photocopies of degree and diploma certificates (current master's graduates must submit proof of enrollment from their graduate school or graduate management department; current master's students of this university do not need to submit this); applicants for combined master's and doctoral programs should submit a photocopy of their student ID (which should include the student's personal information and photo). (5) Original master's course transcript (must be stamped with the official seal of the graduate student academic affairs department); applicants for the combined master's and doctoral program should submit the original transcript of the first academic year issued by the Graduate School;

(6) Master's thesis (current master's students may provide an abstract and table of contents, etc.; applicants for the combined master's and doctoral program do not need to submit this);

(7) Written recommendation letters from at least two experts with the title of associate professor or above (or equivalent professional title) in the field of the applied discipline (the recommendation letters must use the template provided by our university and must be signed and stamped);

(8) Submission of the doctoral degree to be pursued. (9) Scientific research plan (no less than 3000 words, see application form);

(10) Proof of foreign language proficiency (National College English Test Band 4 or 6 certificate, new TOEFL score report, IELTS score report, degree certificate of all-English taught degree program, English academic papers, etc.);

(11) Copies of award certificates, copies of publicly published academic papers, proof of patents and other original achievements;

(12) Physical examination certificate issued by a Grade III Class A hospital or above (not required for applicants for the combined Master's and Doctoral program);

(13) Copies of both sides of the second-generation ID card.

Applicants guarantee the authenticity and accuracy of the above materials. Applicants who provide false or inaccurate information will have their examination and admission qualifications revoked upon verification, and will not be allowed to apply for doctoral programs at our university in the future.

(II) Qualification Review

After receiving the applicant's materials, the college will organize no fewer than 3 people to conduct a qualification review against the application requirements and report the review results to the Graduate Admissions Office. The Graduate Admissions Office will conduct random checks on the review results, and the college will then publicly announce the results. (III) Supervisor Recommendation

The college will submit the applicant's materials to the supervisor the applicant is applying to. The supervisor will review the materials, provide recommendations, and rank the applicants who have also applied to them. This stage should respect the supervisor's autonomy in student recruitment, and supervisors should generally recommend applicants to the next stage at a ratio not exceeding 1:3.

(IV) Initial Review of Materials and Determination of the Assessment List

The college will establish an expert group to carefully review the applicants' materials according to the established implementation rules, conduct an initial evaluation of the applicants' research and innovation capabilities, and perform screening. Based on the supervisors' preferences, the college will determine the list of applicants who will proceed to the re-examination assessment stage (interview and professional written examination) according to a certain differential re-examination ratio. Applicants without a supervisor's recommendation will not proceed to the re-examination assessment stage. The list of applicants to proceed to the re-examination assessment stage will be published on the official website of the National Engineering Laboratory for Big Data System Computing Technology.

(V) Re-examination and Assessment (including professional written examination)

The college will organize experts to conduct the re-examination and assessment. The specific time and location of the assessment will be notified to candidates in advance. Specific requirements are as follows:

1. The assessment content includes four parts: foreign language proficiency, professional competence, research potential, and comprehensive ability. The focus is on assessing the applicant's scientific research and innovation capabilities, whether they possess the potential and qualities required for doctoral training in this first-level discipline, and their comprehensive abilities in analyzing, solving problems, and innovating. The professional competence assessment will be in the form of a professional written examination, assessing the applicant's basic knowledge and professional competence. In addition, the applicant's ideological and political, psychological, and moral qualities will also be assessed.

The total score for the assessment is 500 points. Those scoring below 300 points will not be admitted.

2. During the assessment, each applicant must present a personal profile, academic performance, research projects, research achievements, and a research plan for their proposed doctoral studies. Recommending supervisors may provide supplementary information, but must recuse themselves during the discussion and scoring.

3. The assessment process must be standardized. The interview time should be no less than 20 minutes, and there must be on-site recording, scores, and comments. The entire assessment process must be video-recorded for future reference. The Graduate School/Discipline Inspection Commission may send personnel to observe the process if deemed necessary.

4. The professional written examination and interview will, in principle, be conducted offline. The professional written examination will assess the applicant's basic knowledge and professional competence. The subject of the professional written examination is "Advanced Algorithm Design and Analysis."

5. Candidates must present their second-generation Resident Identity Card (including the new version of the temporary identity card) when attending the professional written examination and interview. Those with incomplete or missing documents will not be allowed to enter the interview room.

V. Supervision Mechanism

(I) Information Disclosure. For the combined Master's and Doctoral programs and the "application-assessment" admission method, information collection must be accurate, disclosure procedures standardized, and content released in a timely manner, in accordance with the Ministry of Education's requirements for information disclosure. The Graduate School and each admitting college (department, center, laboratory) will proactively disclose admission policies, admission regulations, admission plans, admission major catalogs, applicant qualifications, application procedures, admission results, consultation and appeal channels, and major violations and their handling results, according to their respective responsibilities. If the list of candidates to be admitted changes during the公示 period, a specific explanation must be provided for the changes, and the changes must be publicly announced separately for 10 working days. Applicants not included in the公示 period will not be admitted.

(II) Applicants must provide truthful application materials. If an applicant is found to have submitted false materials, cheated, or engaged in other disciplinary violations, they will be dealt with seriously according to relevant national laws, regulations, and Ministry of Education provisions, depending on the severity of the offense. The applicant will be solely responsible for any resulting consequences, including non-admission or other related repercussions.

(III) All assessment members must adhere to academic and professional ethics. For any admissions colleges (departments, centers, laboratories) or individuals found to have problems, penalties will be imposed, depending on the specific circumstances, including reduction of enrollment quotas, suspension of admissions, revocation of supervisor qualifications, and public criticism.

(IV) The Graduate School and the University's Discipline Inspection (Supervision) Office have established the following hotline and email address for reporting violations related to admissions:

Hotline: 0755-22671162 (Discipline Inspection (Supervision) Office), 0755-26536177 (Graduate Admissions Office);

E-mail: jiwei@szu.edu.cn (Discipline Inspection (Supervision) Office), szuyz@szu.edu.cn (Graduate Admissions Office).

VI. Other Instructions

1. The final interpretation of the admissions regulations rests with the School of Artificial Intelligence (National Engineering Laboratory for Big Data System Computing Technology), Shenzhen University.

2. This set of rules is organized and implemented by the School. For any questions, please contact Ms. Yang: mingyinY@szu.edu.cn; 0755-26946884.

School of Artificial Intelligence, Shenzhen University

May 26, 2025