The microelectronics college of Shanghai's prestigious Jiao Tong University is making the nation's first salary pledge for its excellent postgraduates to show its confidence in its new full-time postgraduate program, the school announced yesterday.

The SJTU School of Microelectronics will offer a full-time Master of Engineering program in microelectronics this year, the country's first full-time program in this field.

School vice president Fu Yuzhou said in today's Shanghai Morning University that his school will ensure the top 30 percent of this year's enrollees, who will be its first crop of graduates from this new full-time program, a first-year salary above 70,000 yuan (US$8,464) for their first jobs after graduation in early 2008. If their actual salary doesn't meet that promise, the school will make up the difference.

While showing confidence in the market response to Jiao Tong's graduates, the school also hopes the promise will attract more excellent students to its full-time microelectronics program.

In China, this undergraduate program is generally offered on a part-time basis, according to Fu.  "We are testing the waters with the new full-time program," he said.

With the results of this year's national postgraduate enrollment examinations having been publicized, enrollment is still underway.

(Shanghai Daily March 22, 2005)