New master's program molds top anti-corruption investigators

Anti-corruption is arguably grabbing more headlines than any other subject at the moment, especially since the new generation of leaders vowed to crack down on both "tigers" and "flies."

Equally attention-grabbing and controversial is the attempt to produce a team of highly-skilled professionals to fight corruption, as the first batch of 24 students graduated this summer from a master's class in "anti-corruption."

For the last three years, these students have learned all about investigation of graft crimes at the Renmin University of China's Law School. Fifteen of the 25 graduates have now obtained positions inside procuratorates, which handle the investigation of corruption cases in China.

Despite doubts that this is all hype rather than a real solution to corruption, the purpose of the program is to help build a more professional anti-corruption team, said professor He Jiahong from Renmin University who initiated the program.

How it works

The three-year Juris Master's program has been conducted in cooperation between the university and the Supreme People's Procuratorate since 2010. Senior officials and prosecutors from anti-corruption departments are invited to teach and mentor the students on an individual basis.

People from different backgrounds can apply for the JM program at the university and pick the area they want to focus on at the beginning of each fall semester. The classes of 2014 and 2015 each have 18 students and are about evenly split between male and female.

He said the program looks for candidates with strong overall performances, especially logic and analytical skills.

But motivation is also a key factor. He recalled that he interviewed a student back in 2010 whose family had been involved in a lawsuit and lost. "He said that they lost the suit because they didn't know anybody within the procuratorate, and that he applied so they would gain such a connection," said He. Needless to say, the student didn't get in.

Students with backgrounds in economics, accounting, computer science and journalism, for example, have an advantage as some of their skills can come in handy when investigating corruption cases, said He. But the course is open to everyone - one of the students in the class of 2013 came in with a degree in veterinary sciences.

Students have to learn both the basics of law majors and take specific courses about investigation. There are many practical skills for them to pick up, such as gathering physical evidence, lifting fingerprints and interrogation skills, among others.

The school even bought a polygraph, or a lie detector, to teach students how it works. Last year they built a mock interrogation room for students to role play while the rest of the class observes behind a one-way mirror.

Officials and prosecutors have given exclusive four-hour seminars to talk about anti-corruption in practice. These talks are only open to the "anti-corruption major" students and the class is not allowed to discuss anything said during those seminars with outsiders.

During the last year of the program, students interned in different departments within the procuratorate system with some even participating in actual investigations.