The Mrs. Degree

Listen to Today's Edition:

China this month began its first university degree program in all things related to marriage, including planning and matchmaking services, an initiative aimed at boosting the country’s falling birth rates and alleviating labor and other issues due to an aging population, CNBC reported.

Starting next month, students can enroll in a four-year program in marriage services and management at the Beijing-based Vocational University of Civil Affairs. The program will teach students how to engage with “the entire cycle of marriage and family,” according to Yu Xiaohui, the dean of the university’s School of Wedding Culture and Media Arts.

The course will include a variety of matrimony-related subjects, such as sociology, designing wedding venues, the economics of the marriage industry, and family policies. Students will also have the opportunity to intern for agencies specializing in weddings and marriage counseling.

The new institution – established under China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs – comes as the country grapples with demographic changes.

China is experiencing a rapidly aging population due to increased life expectancy and a falling fertility rate.

Despite government efforts over the past decade to relax the one-child policy, the birth rate has continued to decline. In 2023, the total population decreased by more than two million, bringing it to 1.41 billion.

New marriages increased more than 12 percent last year – ending a nine-year downward streak. Even so, more than 50 percent of Chinese people between the ages of 25 and 29 remain unmarried.

The topic of declining birth rates has also prompted questions about reproductive rights in the populous nation.

Last week, a Beijing court ruled against an unmarried Chinese woman, who had attempted to freeze her eggs six years ago, the Associated Press noted.

Teresa Xu, 36, approached a hospital in 2018 to ask about freezing her eggs. But the doctor denied the procedure after discovering her unmarried status and advised her to prioritize motherhood.

She took the matter to court which ruled against her in a 2022 decision and the appeal of the last verdict. According to the court, the hospital did not violate Xu’s rights when it denied her access to egg-freezing services.

In China, hospital regulations require that a woman be married so that they can freeze her eggs.

Still, the court’s verdict hinted at future policy changes: “As our country’s policy on births is adjusted, relevant medical and health laws, regulations, diagnosis and treatment standards and medical ethics standards may also change accordingly.”