The Evolution of Undergraduate Major Setting Policies Since the Reform and Opening up: From the Perspective of Gradualism

Abstract

This article takes the perspective of incrementalism to explore the evolution of my country's undergraduate major setting policies since the reform and opening up. The policy is in line with the characteristics of gradualism, relying on the three-level catalog framework, and has gone through three stages: "restoration and rectification (1978-1998, unified catalog), market-oriented exploration (1999-2013, introducing the market to expand autonomy), and high-quality adjustment (2014 to present, focusing on the 'four new' and interdisciplinary subjects)". Currently, there are problems such as professional homogeneity and lag in dynamic adjustment. In the future, it is necessary to promote policy upgrades within a progressive framework by innovating interdisciplinary mechanisms, building early warning closed loops, optimizing four-dimensional collaboration, and deploying new productivity-adapted majors.