In China, the field of civil engineering has transitioned from being popular to becoming less favored, resulting in some of the top Chinese universities being forced to close down their civil engineering departments due to the inability to admit a sufficient number of students.
For decades, with the advancement of infrastructure construction in China, there was a high demand for talents in the construction industry, making civil engineering a popular major in universities across the country.
However, with the slowing development in the housing and infrastructure industry in China, the recruitment demand and income in the industry have shrunk, leading to a gradual decline in students’ interest in pursuing a degree in civil engineering. The scores for admission to civil engineering majors at top engineering universities in China have significantly dropped in recent years, along with a decrease in the number of admitted students.
According to an unnamed teacher cited by the South China Morning Post, the School of Civil Engineering at Tongji University has reduced the number of undergraduate admissions in the past four to five years.
Previously, Tongji University’s School of Civil Engineering was the top choice for high-scoring students applying to change majors within the university, but in recent years, the situation has reversed, with more students transferring out than transferring in.
Similarly, Hunan University has faced a similar situation. Out of the 440 students who applied to change majors in 2022, nearly 100 came from the School of Civil Engineering, the highest among all departments, without a single student applying to transfer into the department. Changsha University of Science and Technology saw 125 students transferring out of the Civil Engineering department in 2023, and Xiangtan University had 63 students transferring out in 2024.
According to an official report from the China Science Times in 2022, before 2008, there were 392 colleges offering civil engineering programs; by 2022, this number had risen to 572. However, these figures are now moving in the opposite direction.
In August 2024, Shandong University announced the cancellation of seven majors including civil engineering and hydropower engineering. China University of Petroleum notified the withdrawal of nine undergraduate majors including architecture; earlier this year, Beihang University also canceled the master’s degree program in civil water conservancy.
Furthermore, the admission scores for civil engineering at many universities have also significantly decreased. According to a survey by China Education Online, most universities have seen a noticeable decline in scores for civil engineering majors. Tongji University’s admission ranking in Shandong has dropped by more than 400 positions, and China University of Geosciences has fallen by 5000 places.
Multiple media reports indicate that this shift reflects the sluggishness in China’s real estate market. The downturn in the industry has resulted in a reduction in employment opportunities, with many civil engineering graduates finding it difficult to secure relevant jobs. In a challenging environment with tough job prospects, civil engineering is on a downward trajectory.
The latest data shows that real estate investment in the first seven months of 2024 dropped by 10.2% compared to the previous year, with a 10.1% decrease from January to June.
A report released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in February indicated that the stagnation in the real estate market has entered its third year, with new housing construction in China plummeting by over 60% from pre-pandemic levels, marking the fastest decline in history.
The report also predicts that with China’s declining population and slowing urbanization, the demand for new housing in the coming years will decrease.
Businesses and professionals are feeling the prolonged impact of the real estate “winter.” A civil engineer who graduated from university in 2016 has been working at a subsidiary of the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC). He told the South China Morning Post that his income has declined compared to five years ago, especially in terms of bonuses.
In terms of revenue, CSCEC is the world’s largest construction company and ranks as the eighth-largest general contractor globally based on overseas sales.
A regional project manager working in southeastern Anhui Province mentioned that his annual bonus in his previous position was around 100,000 yuan, but now he can only receive a maximum of 50,000 to 60,000 yuan.
“I consider myself lucky to maintain my job,” he said.
He graduated during the prosperous period of the Chinese real estate industry. Since 2022, commercial construction has significantly decreased, resulting in fewer projects for his company. Currently, the company is undertaking more government projects, such as hospitals and exhibition halls.
Some engineers are forced to switch to more promising industries like sustainable energy or data centers, which still have some demand for construction. Others have decided to prepare for civil service exams to secure a stable job.
However, despite China’s impressively vast infrastructure and real estate developments, the quality is not on par with the quantity.
Yuan Yongding, former director of the World Economic and Politics Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, revealed at a forum at Tsinghua University that despite the substantial investment in China’s infrastructure, the quality significantly lags behind.
He pointed out that even the sewers in the bustling areas of Beijing cannot compare with those in Milan, highlighting a significant gap in China’s infrastructure in these aspects.