Degree Category: Academic Degree

Education Level: Doctor's Degree Candidate

Granted Degree: Doctor degree of Engineering

Educational Positioning and Objectives

Adhering to the disciplinary culture of "Integrating Thought and Action, Blending Knowledge into Art" and based on the talent development characteristics of being "Comprehensive, Excellent, and Leading," Tongji Transportation cultivates high-level innovative talents who achieve well-rounded development in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education. The program aims to nurture a new generation capable of shouldering the great task of national rejuvenation, developing future societal pillars and professional elites.

1.Cultivate Patriotism and Integrity:Possess love for the motherland, uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and support the socialist system; abide by laws and regulations, demonstrate sound character and conduct; maintain physical and mental health.

2.Master solid and comprehensive foundational theories as well as systematic and in-depth specialized knowledge; possess the ability to independently conduct academic research; achieve innovative results in the academic research field; have a global perspective, along with strong collaboration, organization, and leadership skills.

3.Be capable of independently undertaking work in areas such as research, education, entrepreneurship, and investment financing within specific disciplinary directions like transportation planning and management, transportation infrastructure engineering, vehicle utilization engineering, traffic information and control and traffic safety and environment. Cultivate the perfect abilities in innovation and creation, lifelong learning, international cooperation, and organizational management, becoming future-oriented innovative high-level talents who can contribute to advancing the construction of a strong transportation nation.

Disciplinary Directions

01 Road and Airport Engineering:Focus on pioneering theoretical breakthroughs, major technological innovations, and solutions to complex engineering problems in roads and airports, emphasizing interdisciplinary integration, originality, and industry leadership.

02 Road Safety and Environmental Engineering:Focus on cutting-edge scientific issues related to road traffic system safety and environmental sustainability, highlighting theoretical innovations and technological breakthroughs in complex human-vehicle-road-environment coupling systems.

03 Urban Rail and Railway Engineering:Focus on frontier scientific challenges in the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of rail transit systems, emphasizing theoretical and technological advancements in human-vehicle-track-structure-environment coupled systems.

04 Intelligent Transportation Systems Engineering:Focus on pioneering theories and applied innovations in autonomous driving, intelligent connectivity, and collaborative control, leveraging artificial intelligence to drive the innovative development of intelligent transportation systems.

05 Transportation Planning, Design, and Operation Management:Conduct innovative research on the frontier directions and key challenges in constructing integrated three-dimensional transportation networks, refining transportation design, and optimizing operational management.

06 Transportation Data Science and Engineering:Dedicate efforts to innovative research on traffic big data analytics and modeling, AI-driven decision-making, and the development of large-scale traffic models, tackling core theoretical and technical challenges.

07 Rail Transport System Design, Smart Operation, and Intermodal Transport:Concentrate on the frontiers of rail transit and logistics systems, integrating multiple transportation modes to conduct innovative research in system design, smart operations, and multimodal transport.

08 Rail Transit Equipment and Systems Engineering:Address forward-looking scientific issues and groundbreaking technological innovations in rail transit systems, tackling strategic technical challenges such as high-speed and heavy-haul transport, intelligent maintenance, and energy efficiency.

09 Vehicle Propulsion and Control:Focus on frontier issues in the propulsion and control of rail and maglev transport vehicles, innovating key technologies such as power systems and intelligent control.

Degree Awarding Standards

The degree awarding standards for this discipline include criteria for ideological quality, course/credit requirements, knowledge standards, competency standards, thesis standards, and academic publication standards. To apply for the degree, candidates must meet at least the following conditions:

1.Must not have obtained enrollment eligibility or graduation certificates through illegal means, and must not have committed any serious illegal acts during the degree candidacy period.

2.Must have passed all required course assessments and earned the required credits.

3.Must have completed the degree thesis and passed the thesis defense.

4.Must meet the academic publication standards for degree application as set by the discipline.

5.The degree thesis and any academic publications submitted for the degree application must not involve academic misconduct.

Among these, the academic publication standards are as follows:

Academic Doctor's degree candidates must satisfy one of the following conditions:

The applicant has published three academic achievements, including no fewer than two Category A papers and at least one Chinese journal paper for Chinese students (for specific publication requirements, please refer to the relevant guidelines). The following equivalent academic achievements in the field of transportation engineering may be converted into one Category A paper (with a maximum of one converted paper per applicant).

• One authorized invention patent (the candidate must be the first inventor; or the supervisor is the first inventor and the candidate is the second).

• One provincial/ministerial-level second-class prize or above in science and technology awards (no ranking requirement for the applicant).

• One disciplinary competition award: Gold or Silver award in the China International College Students' 'Internet+' Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, the 'Challenge Cup' National Undergraduate Curricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition, or the 'Challenge Cup' China College Students' Business Plan Competition (the candidate must be ranked within the top three); First prize in the China Graduate Mathematical Modeling Contest (the candidate must be ranked within the top three).

• If the applicant has one Category A academic journal paper accepted for publication, and their dissertation has received blind reviews from two experts with scores of 90 or above, the accepted academic paper may be counted as one published Category A paper. Each student is eligible to apply for this conversion only once.

Relevant Notes

1.Publication Requirements:The applicant must be the first author (including cases where the supervisor or co-supervisor is the first author and the applicant is the second author) or the corresponding author for an international academic journal (the same paper can only be used for one graduate's degree application). The paper must be published in a journal or academic conference recommended by the Academic Degree Sub-committee of Transportation Engineering (see attached list). Furthermore, the affiliation for both the first author and the graduate applicant must include both the Tongji University College of Transportation Engineering and a laboratory under the College of Transportation Engineering (for specific laboratory affiliation requirements, refer to the "2025 Doctor's Degree Awarding Standards for the Transportation Engineering Discipline").

2.Review of Academic Achievements:Academic achievements must be reviewed and approved by the Transportation Engineering Discipline Committee prior to the thesis defense. Interdisciplinary papers or other academic achievements published in journals or conferences listed in the recommended catalog of the relevant Tongji University Academic Degree Sub-committee that require recognition may be considered as degree-application papers after being certified by the Academic Degree Sub-committee of Transportation Engineering.

3.Off-Campus Supervisors:Under the premise that the off-campus adjunct doctoral supervisor serves as the primary supervisor, academic achievements with the on-campus co-supervisor (registered and filed with the college) as the first author and the student as the second author may be recognized.

4. Affiliation Requirement:Published papers, authorized invention patents, government science and technology awards, and disciplinary competition awards must list Tongji University as the first publication/authorization/award-winning unit.

5. International Students:International students following the same academic system and training mode are subject to the same academic requirements and academic level standards stipulated in these discipline degree standards.

For detailed degree awarding standards, please refer to the "2025 Doctor's Degree Awarding Standards for the Transportation Engineering Discipline" formulated by the Academic Degree Sub-committee of Transportation Engineering.

Duration of Study

The duration of study for full-time academic doctor's degree candidates is 4 years, with a maximum study period not exceeding 7 years.

Curriculum and Credit Requirements

Academic doctor's degree candidates are required to complete a minimum of 20 credits, which include:

·4 credits from compulsory public courses,

·4 credits from compulsory specialized courses,

·2 credits from selective specialized courses,

·10 credits from compulsory components (including 1 credit for thesis topic selection, 2 credits for thesis writing and academic norms, 2 credits for Tongji Advanced Lectures, 3 credits for mid-term assessment, 1 credit forAcademic Report on Phased Research Results, 1 credit for International Academic Exchange).

Training and Assessment Requirements:

·Qualifying Examination:Upon completion of coursework, doctoral students may take the doctoral qualifying examination. Those who pass may proceed to the dissertation topic selection phase. The content of the qualifying examination should cover fundamental theories in the discipline, scientific frontiers, research capabilities, academic progress since enrollment, and research development. The examination score is calculated as: Coursework results × 40% + Comprehensive ability assessment score × 60% (with a failing ideological and political performance resulting in automatic disqualification). The assessment results are categorized as "Pass" or "Fail". Students who "Pass" the qualifying examination may continue with subsequent doctoral research and studies. Those who do not pass the initial assessment may apply to retake the qualifying examination.

·Dissertation Topic Selection:This is a mandatory component. The dissertation topic for academic doctoral students should address international academic frontiers or major national strategic needs, aiming to solve scientific problems of significant theoretical or practical value. The dissertation topic selection process is centrally organized by each department according to the university's timeline, generally to be completed no later than the third semester after enrollment, and cannot be postponed without compelling reasons. Departments/centers will rank the topics based on the selection assessment results. Candidates who fail the initial topic selection must apply to reconvene a topic selection presentation after six months. If they fail again, it will be deemed as voluntary termination of studies, resulting in dismissal. If there are major changes to the dissertation research topic during the research process, a new topic selection presentation must be held. Failure to pass the reassessment will also result in dismissal.

·Mid-term Comprehensive Assessment:This is a mandatory component. Conducted at the mid-point of the graduate program, it provides a comprehensive evaluation of the student's ideological quality, academic progress, and professional capabilities, identifying issues and shortcomings to solidify the foundation for subsequent research and dissertation work. The mid-term comprehensive assessment for doctoral students is centrally organized by respective departments, generally to be completed no later than the fourth semester after enrollment, and cannot be postponed without compelling reasons. Assessment results are recorded by the school/college into the academic management information system with the following grade distribution: a maximum of 40% "Excellent," a maximum of 80% combined "Excellent" or "Good," and a minimum of 20% "Pass" or "Fail." Students who fail the initial assessment may apply for a re-assessment after six months. Failure to pass the re-assessment will result in dismissal.

·Academic Report on Phased Dissertation Results:This is a mandatory component. Doctoral students may hold their Academic Report on Phased Dissertation Results anytime from the dissertation topic selection stage until before the pre-defense. The supervisor is responsible for organizing a public Academic Report on Phased Dissertation Results, with an assessment panel including the supervisor and comprising at least three members. Each doctoral student must deliver at least six public Academic Reports on Phased Dissertation Results, open to all university faculty and students, before the pre-defense, with an interval of no less than two months between consecutive reports. Specific requirements are implemented according to the "Implementation Rules for the Whole-Process Quality Assurance of Graduate Student Dissertations by the Transportation Engineering Academic Degree Evaluation Sub-Committee."

·International Academic Exchange:This is a mandatory component. International Academic Exchange must be completed before the pre-defense. It includes various academic exchange activities such as overseas study visits, joint training programs, training, academic conferences, internships, research activities, and competitions. Upon completion, students must write a summary report and submit it to obtain the corresponding credit.

·Pre-defense:Doctoral students may apply for the pre-defense after their dissertation has been reviewed and approved by their supervisor. The expert panel must be reviewed and approved by the student's department. The supervisor must recuse themselves from the pre-defense. The defense secretary compiles the expert opinions and conclusions and provides feedback to the supervisor. The doctoral student must revise the dissertation based on the pre-defense expert opinions, and may only apply for the university blind review after the revisions have been approved by both the supervisor and the head of the expert panel. Specific requirements refer to the "Implementation Measures for the Management of Graduate Student Dissertations or Practical Achievements in the Transportation Engineering Discipline."

·University Blind Review:The university blind review involves the anonymous assessment of the dissertation. Each graduate student has two opportunities for the university blind review before the defense. Specific requirements refer to the "Implementation Measures for the Management of Graduate Student Dissertations or Practical Achievements in the Transportation Engineering Discipline."

·Thesis Assessment and Defense:The dissertation undergoes quality review organized by the School of Transportation Engineering and the Transportation Engineering Discipline Committee. The basic requirements, writing format, assessment procedures, defense organization, and defense procedures for the dissertation shall comply with theTongji University Dissertation Writing Standards, theTongji University Regulations on Academic Degree Conferment, and theTongji University Guidelines for Dissertation Topic Selection, Assessment, and Defense.

·The confidentiality management of classified degree theses and degree applications shall be implemented in accordance with the "Tongji University Regulations on the Management of Classified Graduate Students and Classified Degree Theses" (Tongji Yan [2018] No. 65).