It is a general way of educating PhD Students in top international universities, an essential part of comprehensively examining students’ research abilities and potential, and an important tool of regulating education process management and enhancing education quality to conduct mid-term test for PhD students. To enhance education quality of PhD students, mid-term test for PhD students in grade 2014 is regarded as an important part of degree and education of graduates in this academic year by Xiamen University. Colleges/schools have started the mid-term test from this semester according to the arrangement of graduate school. College of Life Sciences holds important position in XMU’s teaching and researching. It is so brilliant in discipline construction and talents education that many papers written by its PhD students have received or nominated National Hundred Excellent Doctoral Papers. Being the first in XMU to formulate and execute education program based on the education pattern of top international universities, the quality of PhD students in College of Life Sciences has improved notably. In 2015, PhD students in College of Life Sciences have published 5 papers on world-renowned academic journal Nature or its series, representing over 70% of the whole papers published on journals at the same level by graduates.

To further improve the quality of PhD students, follow the law of educating talents and regulate the management of educating process, College of Life Sciences carried out mid-term test for PhD students enrolled in 2014 in this week. College of Life Sciences made great preparation for a smooth mid-test. In September, Regulations of Mid-Term Test for PhD Students in College of Life Sciences Xiamen University which set overall rules for the method, jury composition and proposition of unqualified percentage of the test was issued after repeated discussions and modifications by the committee of professors. Under the principle of supervisor avoidance, a group of responsible and academic distinguished teachers was selected as juries and the PhD students to be tested were randomly grouped according to their majors and research areas. In order to help students doing good report of mid-term test, Prof. Ouyang Gaoliang, vice dean of College of Life Sciences in charge of graduate work, gave a special lecture to explain the regulations and requirements of the College and to share experiences with students about preparations for the mid-term test. To further reach unanimous understanding and standard, Changjiang Scholar and Dean Lin Shengcai held a preparatory meeting for directors in every test group the day before the test. He repeatedly emphasized that mid-term test must be implemented well and the purpose was to motivate students to better research and study fulfillment instead of eliminating. Mid-term teat was both an essential tool to ensure quality and an important part of construct quality culture. 52 PhD students in grade 2014 attended the teat on December 17^th. They were divided into 6 groups being tested simultaneously, each group affiliated with 7 judges and 1 secretary. Every PhD student reported the research situation to the judges, including research basis (background), research content, methodology, progress, existing preliminary achievements, expected findings and major innovative points. The judges then posted questions as to the report and it was quite a heated discussion. However, what mattered were constructive suggestions given by the judges.

Based on their research progress, report, response to the questions and research potentiality, 39 PhD students passed the test after judges’ discussion. The other 13 students would attend a second test after 6 months.

        Graduate school attaches such great importance to the mid-term test that every test in colleges/schools will be arranged teachers of teaching guidance group or people concerned to follow and inspect the whole process, acquiring the exact executive situation of the test in every college/ school and dealing with problems or troubles during the test. Executive dean of graduate school Tao Tao says the apply-verify system adopted in PhD students admission in recent years helps to select students with real research potential on the one hand, but poses new challenges for ensuring education quality on the other hand. Xiamen University will raise the admission proportion of BD-PhD study and MD- PhD study, which further demonstrates the irreplaceable function of mid-term test in PhD students’ education quality. College of Life Sciences has done practical work in this respect and played a good leading role. Having gone through such a process, students will take study and research more seriously. Thus mid-term test will exert far-reaching influence in graduate education of XMU.