ABSTRACT
The mobility of doctoral graduates shapes both early-career trajectories and the geography of research talent. In China, doctoral training, research resources and high-value employment opportunities are concentrated in a limited number of cities, so the transition from doctoral education to first employment is closely structured by educational hierarchy and regional inequality. Using a 2025 survey of doctoral graduates matched to city-level indicators of economic, research and digital capacity, this study examines doctoral mobility through the linked locations of origin, training site and employment. It distinguishes between the likelihood of taking employment outside the PhD city and the gains associated with destination sorting among inter-city movers. The findings show that graduates’ location after doctoral training is central to subsequent mobility outcomes. Among movers, origin-to-employment gains are explained primarily by the extent to which the employment city exceeds the PhD city in economic, research and digital capacity. Remaining in the PhD city may still involve substantial spatial advantage, because apparent immobility can reflect an earlier move into a stronger training location. Mobility is also socially differentiated, with gender, age, marriage, institutional background, overseas exposure and sectoral pathways associated with distinct patterns of destination access and mobility gains. The study conceptualizes doctoral mobility through the relationship among origin, training site and employment location. It also suggests that talent policy should address the spatial concentration of doctoral training and research capacity alongside post-graduation recruitment.