The proportion of liberal arts classes in high schools has shown a declining trend in recent years and may continue to decrease in the future, influenced by several key factors:
Admission Policies and Major Restrictions:
Reduction in Liberal Arts Enrollment by Universities: Fudan University has clearly reduced its liberal arts enrollment ratio from 30%–40% to 20%, forming a new structure where "liberal arts, sciences, medicine, emerging engineering disciplines, and interdisciplinary studies" each account for 20%. This adjustment reflects universities' growing emphasis on emerging and interdisciplinary fields, with admission quotas being shifted toward these areas.
New College Entrance Examination Subject Requirements: Under the new college entrance examination model, science and technology, engineering, agriculture, and medical (STEMAM) majors generally require students to take both "Physics + Chemistry," which limits the ability of liberal arts students who have not chosen these subjects to apply for such majors. For instance, starting from 2024, 90.16% of STEMAM majors in provinces across the country that have adopted the new college entrance examination system require "Physics + Chemistry" as mandatory subjects. Zhejiang province is no exception to this trend.
Employment Prospects and Market Demand:
Narrow Employment Opportunities: Liberal arts majors often face significantly greater challenges in employment compared to science and technology fields. Most liberal arts disciplines do not involve technical training and lack tangible products or research outcomes that can be showcased, unlike the sciences which often produce concrete results and innovations. As a result, when students are deciding between liberal arts and science tracks, they frequently use future employment prospects as a key criterion. Even some of the more academically gifted liberal arts students may opt to switch to science fields due to concerns about job opportunities.
Changes in Social Demand:
To vigorously develop industrial technology, there is inevitably a greater demand for science and engineering talents compared to liberal arts in China. In order to adapt to the needs of current economic development, colleges and universities are increasing the proportion of students admitted to science and engineering programs accordingly.
Student Preferences and Parental Attitudes:
Tendencies in Subject Selection: Due to the policy requiring "Physics + Chemistry" for many majors, some students from liberal arts backgrounds and their families are considering switching to these subjects. However, the transition is challenging due to difficulties in course alignment and catching up with the curriculum, making the actual shift quite difficult for many. On the other hand, there are students who opt for liberal arts because they find science subjects more challenging. Nonetheless, liberal arts students still face considerable competition and pressure overall.
Influence of Parental Attitudes:
Parents often take factors such as future job prospects and college admission rates into account when guiding their children in choosing subjects, leading them to prefer that their children pursue science-related fields.
