Meaning:

Short for “延期毕业” (yánqī bìyè), this term means “to postpone graduation.” Traditionally, bachelor’s degree candidates and master’s degree candidates don’t usually request their school boards to postpone graduation. They will graduate after completing all the courses required for their degree program and having their thesis approved by their school and their thesis committee. The tasks are not that demanding and most students can handle them. However, it’s common these days for doctoral candidates in Chinese universities to postpone their graduation, because many schools in recent years have raised their criteria for graduation by requesting that candidates have more than one thesis published in top Chinese or international journals. Some students also voluntarily choose to postpone graduation to allow themselves a longer period to find jobs, as some companies and government departments tend to favor new graduates in recruitment.

Example:

A: 你男朋友毕业工作了吗？

Nǐ nánpéngyou bìyè gōngzuò le ma？

Have your boyfriend graduated and started to work?

B: 还没有，他在学校参与的一个研究项目还没完，延毕了。

Hái méiyǒu，tā zài xuéxiào shíyànshì cānyǔ de yīgè yánjiū xiàngmù hái méi wán，yánbì le。

Not yet. The research project he has participated in at his university is not yet complete, so he has postponed graduation.