The N.E.T. Program Award Committee is honored to announce Master’s student in Sociology Minghao Tang as this year’s recipient of the third annual N.E.T. Award for Academic Excellence. For Tang, the N.E.T. Award represents a “great motivation to me and provides a spiritual encouragement that will also help me practically as an investment in my future career.”
Minghao Tang is currently entering his second year as a Master’s candidate in Sociology under the supervision of professor Xiaogong Wu, Director of the Center for Applied Sociological and Economic Research (CASER) at NYU shanghai. Tang’s most recent work, “Meritocratic Myth in Mind? Social Class and Shifting Beliefs about Meritocracy among College Students in China” is currently under peer review in the journal Sociology of Education and focuses on shifts in college students’ meritocratic beliefs during their college years and how this process is shaped by social structure.
Building on previous work by N.E.T. and CASER researchers, Tang’s study delves in the representative survey data in China (i.e., Beijing College Student Panel Survey, BCSPS) and cross-national survey data (i.e., International Social Survey Program, ISSP). Though increased education tends to correlate with higher socio-economic status, in recent decades Higher Education Expansion (HEE) has also led to unintended consequences. “As more people are getting highly educated, people are finding that the value of their education and diploma is seeming to decrease.” Tang comments, “This conclusion is not only found in China, but also in the global context.”
Tang’s research path has been aided by close collaboration with leading faculty including Dr. Xiaogang Wu, Dr. Jia Miao, Dr. Angran Li. “Dr. Angran Li has very close interactions with me and we’ve worked together on several research projects , including my current project, which is under his mentorship. I’ve learned so much from him including writing statistical code, how to organize my research papers, and how to refine my English writing skills,” Tang notes. “Dr. Jia Miao has also given me many informative suggestions for my research and has set an excellent example for me to find a path in sociological research.”
As a member of the N.E.T. community, Tang notes the significance of NYU’s Global Network of resources such as the NYU library, which, Tang comments, “have been incredibly helpful in finding references and improving my academic writing.” Alongside open access, one of N.E.T.’s most valuable resources is its people. “I have very close relationships with my peers in the N.E.T. program and especially in CASER. We meet on a regular basis, and this semester, we’ll meet at NYU Shanghai every two weeks to talk about our current projects and share insights about our work. It’s a great support network and I really appreciate this program and the N.E.T. community.” According to Tang, academic conferences and meetings such as the International Sociological Association-Research Committee on Social Stratification and Mobility (ISA-RC28) Conference, which NYU Shanghai hosted recently, offers “a precious chance to meet scholars from all over the world - I learned so much.” Reflecting on his decision to enroll, Tang comments, “Though I received offers from other institutions, I chose N.E.T., because, in my opinion, it is one of the best graduate programs of sociology in China.”
The N.E.T. Program Award Committee commend the hard work and determination that Minghao Tang has demonstrated as a student and wish to encourage the continued success of his research.