A thesis should advance knowledge, not status

Two well-known Chinese writers lost their master's degrees within three days.

Renmin University of China revoked Jiang Fangzhou's degree on July 13 after finding academic misconduct in her thesis. Two days later, Northwest University confirmed plagiarism in the academic papers of poet Jia Qianqian. Shaanxi Normal University, which had awarded her a master's degree, withdrew it after its academic committee found misconduct.

The cases drew wide attention because both women were well-known public figures. Jiang rose to fame as a teenage literary prodigy. Jia, the daughter of celebrated novelist Jia Pingwa, had built careers in poetry and academia. Both drew authority from words and creativity. That's why the findings — that writers expected to come up with original work had broken one of the most basic rules of intellectual life — came as a shock.

Their conduct deserves condemnation. However, the deeper question concerns what their theses were meant to achieve. A thesis is meant to mark the beginning of serious inquiry. A student identifies a question, follows the evidence, tests an argument and tries to offer an answer. Curiosity drives the work. A degree follows.

Credentialism flips that order. The degree becomes the goal, and the paper becomes a hurdle on the way to it. For some, another academic title strengthens a résumé. For others, it lends authority to an established public image. Research no longer serves the pursuit of knowledge. It serves the pursuit of status.

The damage spreads quietly. Students who spend months reading, researching and revising find their work placed beside papers built on borrowed words. When universities approve weak or plagiarized theses, private misconduct gains institutional legitimacy. Degrees lose some of their meaning. Public trust also suffers when work that once passed supervision, review and defense later collapses under scrutiny.

It's clear from these cases that plagiarism checks were already failing before the AI era. Jiang's thesis was reported on July 3. Renmin University of China found no misconduct on July 5, only to reverse that conclusion on July 13.

In the AI era, when polished academic prose can be produced in seconds, blurring the line between genuine research and convincing imitation, such misconduct will become harder to catch.

As words become easier to generate, original thought becomes more valuable. A thesis should add to knowledge, not merely secure a degree or burnish a reputation.

The author is a writer with China Daily.