One of China’s best-known universities is making headlines for a surprising job requirement — a PhD to manage its canteen.

On May 22, Southeast University in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, posted a vacancy for a canteen office manager. The role involves keeping an eye on how food is made, working with food vendors, making sure food is safe, and handling everyday paperwork.

Though the job tasks sound pretty normal, the qualifications are anything but.

The university’s job listing says that candidates must have a doctoral degree (PhD), be good at English, and know how to use office software. It also says that having past experience in a similar job will help, and preference will be given to members of the Communist Party.

Southeast University is part of China’s group of elite schools known as the “985” and “211” universities. These universities are seen as the top 39 in the country, on par with big names like Tsinghua and Peking University.

Getting a job at these schools is often seen as a way to land future career opportunities, which could explain the tough job requirements.

Experts say this is part of a wider trend happening in China, called “educational inflation”. That means jobs that once needed only a bachelor’s degree are now asking for a master’s or even a PhD.

In public sector or government-linked jobs, this is especially common because of the job security and benefits they offer.

So while it may sound unusual, this canteen job is part of a bigger picture of rising expectations in China’s job market.

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