The Communication University of China (中国传媒大学), which is one of the country’s top universities in creative industries and arts, is discontinuing 16 of its undergraduate degrees.
The news broke on March 6 when the party secretary of the Beijing-based university, Liao Xiangzhong (廖祥忠), said he was axing traditional subjects like translation, photography, visual communication design, arts management, and even the nationally ranked comics programme.
Liao, who was attending the Two Sessions (两会), told media the era of “human-machine collaboration” (人机分工) has arrived, and that higher education must be “completely restructured” (全面优化) to adapt and remain relevant.
The sweeping cuts sparked widespread debate on social media, with comments like:
“Has AI made these degrees obsolete?”
“这些专业要被AI淘汰了吗？”
Liao also took to social media to calm nerves, posting:
"There's no need to panic"
不必惊慌
To which many students responded:
“But what are we going to do?”
“我们怎么办？”
On the evening of March 9, an open letter signed by some students of the university began circulating on social media.
One passage was shared widely:
“When we saw the news, we were completely stunned. We applied to the Communication University because of these programmes.
Now they’re being cut just like that. Will our diplomas still be recognised? What will happen to our remaining classes?
And when we apply for jobs after graduation, will potential employers think we have also been eliminated in this game since our majors have been scrapped?”
看到新闻的那一刻，整个人都是懵的。我们当初考上中传，是冲着这些专业来的。现在说砍就砍，我们的学位还有效吗？接下来的课怎么上？毕业找工作，用人单位看到我们专业没了，会不会觉得我们是“被淘汰的人”？
Related
The recent axing of subjects at Communication University is not an isolated case.
In January this year, Jilin University updated its undergraduate programmes, with 19 of its 141 degrees no longer accepting new students. Including subjects in the arts like broadcast television directing, music performance, product design, environmental design, and visual communication design.
And last year, two of China’s top universities in Shanghai saw similar cuts to arts degrees. East China Normal University stopped enrolling students in painting, sculpture, and arts education, while Tongji University cut a number of design programs.
Many young people in China believe AI is already well on the way to replacing humans in these creative fields.
While other voices in the debate say that the knowledge and skills in disciplines like foreign languages, photography, and translation, are still needed and cannot be replaced by AI, as one article suggests:
“What translation conveys is not just the literal meaning of language, but also the cultural depth.
What photography captures is not just images, but the dialogue between people and nature, the meeting of souls.
What AI replaces is low-value, formulaic production. Not the entire industry.”
“翻译传递的不仅是语言的本意，更是文化底蕴的传递；摄影拍的不仅是图片，更是人与自然的对话、人与人的心灵交融。AI替代的是低效的、照本宣科式的创作，而不是这一整个行业。”
As the story continued to gain widespread attention online, Communication University weighed in, saying it’s not just cancelling these 16 subjects; it’s adapting what it teaches to fit changes in technology and the world of work, and the axed subjects will be merged into other degrees.
Photography is being merged into film photography and production. Visual communication design is being folded into advertising. And new degrees in intelligent image arts, intelligent audio-visual engineering, and intelligent engineering and creative design are replacing the scrapped comics programme.
But that’s little consolation for the students currently in those degrees, or those who are considering pursuing these professions as careers.
A widely shared article captured the mood, invoking a well-known slang term for degrees with no future:
It’s foreseeable that in the next round of university curriculum reforms, majors that are overly technical or too narrow in scope risk becoming the new “pitfall majors”.
可以想见，在新一轮的高校专业改革中，那些过于工具化，过于单一的专业，恐怕就会成为新的“天坑专业。”
So that’s what we’re exploring this week!
Favourite Five
1. 绝学 jué xué
rare or lost skill, rare expertise
很不幸，我的专业成了绝学 - Unfortunately, my major has essentially become a lost art following the recent cuts. [1]
Note: used sarcastically here.
2. 一口气 yì kǒu qì
in one go, all at once
中国传媒大学一口气撤销翻译、摄影、漫画等16个本科专业和方向 - The Communication University of China abolished 16 undergraduate majors and disciplines, including translation, photography, and comics, all in one go. [1]
3. 天坑专业 tiān kēng zhuān yè
pitfall major; a major with poor career prospects
那些过于工具化，过于单一的专业，恐怕就会成为新的“天坑专业” - Majors that are overly technical or too narrow in scope risk becoming the new “pitfall majors”. [3]
4. 大刀阔斧 dà dāo kuò fǔ
bold and decisive, sweeping
如此大刀阔斧的专业调整，瞬间引发舆论热议 - Such sweeping curriculum reform instantly sparked public debate. [3]
5. 一去不复返 yí qù bú fù fǎn
gone forever, never to return
学习某个专业就能轻松找到工作、高枕无忧的时代已经一去不复返 - The era where a certain major guaranteed easy job search and peace of mind is gone forever. [3]
Consuming the Conversation
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Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
6. 优化 yōu huà
optimise, improvement
这并非简单取消专业，而是实施系统性专业优化 - We’re not simply removing certain majors. Rather, this is a strategic redesign of our academic offerings. [1]
7. 焦虑 jiāo lǜ
anxiety, worried
同样的焦虑，正在更多考生和家长中蔓延 - The same anxiety is spreading among more and more students and parents. [1]
8. 动摇 dòng yáo
waver, shake
当AI开始批量生产作品，这条路的“确定性”开始动摇了 - Now that AI can churn out work in bulk, this career path doesn’t feel like a safe bet anymore. [1]
9. 风向 fēng xiàng
trend, direction
“风向”是怎么变的 - How has the trend changed? [1]
10. 撤销 chè xiāo
abolish, revoke
专业被撤销，会不会被理解为“这个专业不行了”？ - If a major is scrapped, will people simply assume that this field has become obsolete? [2]
11. 过时 guò shí
outdated, obsolete
这不是16个专业的事，是上千个年轻人突然发现自己学的东西，被时代宣布“过时”的事 - It’s not just about those 16 majors; it’s about thousands of young people suddenly realizing that what they’ve been studying has been declared obsolete. [2]
12. 淘汰 táo tài
eliminate, be phased out
用人单位看到我们专业没了，会不会觉得我们是‘被淘汰的人’？ - When employers see that our majors are scrapped, will they think we have also been eliminated in this game? [2]
13. 惊慌 jīng huāng
panic, alarmed
廖祥忠通过媒体回应了四个字：不必惊慌 - In an interview with the media, Liao Xiangzhong responded with four words: no need to panic. [2]
