Entrance tests and assessment for international graduate applicants in China

Yes, expect to be tested or assessed. Article 12 of Order No. 42 requires a higher education institution to examine the admission qualifications and financial guarantee documents of foreign applicants and to give them an examination or assessment. The rules quoted on this page put that examination or assessment in the university's hands rather than describing one common national exam: each university sets and publishes its own requirements and evaluation methods.

There is no promise attached to this. Admission is the university's decision, and Article 12 adds that a school may not recruit an applicant who does not meet the admission conditions it has set.

All three documents quoted here are published in Chinese; the English wording on this page is this site's own translation.

What Order No. 42 requires

Order No. 42 — the Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students, issued by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security — was signed on 20 March 2017 and entered into force on 1 July 2017 (Article 48). Chapters 2 to 5, which include Article 12, apply to higher education institutions (Article 2).

Article 12 covers three things at once:

• the university examines the applicant's admission qualifications;
• the university examines the proof of financial guarantee;
• the university conducts an examination or assessment of the applicant.

It then states two consequences: admission of international students is decided by the university, and applicants who do not meet the admission conditions may not be recruited.

The Ministry of Education press Q&A published with the Order on 2 June 2017 explains this as a quality measure: it describes "checking the quality of the student intake" at the admissions stage by requiring schools to examine or assess the international students they intend to recruit, and not to recruit those who do not meet the conditions. The Q&A is an explanation of the Order, not a rule itself.

What the Quality Standards add

The Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial), issued as the attachment to Ministry of Education notice 教外〔2018〕50号, are addressed to universities: they say what a university must set, publish or do. The opening of section 2 requires universities to publish admissions information truthfully, accurately and completely, to follow standardised, open and fair principles in recruitment and admission, and to set up sound management systems that prescribe reasonable examination and assessment methods.

Section 2.2 is the core provision on testing:

• universities must give international applicants an entrance examination or assessment, to ensure that admitted students reach the intended entry standard;
• universities should (宜) develop and implement entrance examinations suited to their own circumstances, either alone or jointly with other universities;
• on the basis of studying education in their main source countries, universities must clearly specify the academic level requirements and the evaluation methods for admission;
• they must assess an applicant's academic level from the academic grades and academic achievements obtained during the applicant's education, from results in Chinese education examinations, and from results in credible foreign education examinations.

Section 2.3 covers the decision itself: the university decides admission according to clearly defined procedures and rules, on the basis of the entrance examination or assessment results, taking national needs and the public interest into account comprehensively, and it must keep written records of important matters in the admissions process and archive them properly.

Document	Provision	What it requires
Order No. 42	Article 12	Examine qualifications and financial guarantee documents; test or assess; the university decides admission; applicants who do not meet the conditions may not be recruited
Quality Standards	Section 2 (opening)	Publish admissions information truthfully, accurately and completely; prescribe reasonable examination and assessment methods
Quality Standards	Section 2.2	Entrance examination or assessment; clear academic requirements and evaluation methods; assessment from prior grades and achievements, Chinese education exam results and credible foreign exam results
Quality Standards	Section 2.3	Admission decided under written procedures and rules, on examination or assessment results, with written records kept

The Standards also refer to levels of the International Chinese Proficiency Standards; the provisions quoted on this page do not express those levels as HSK levels.

How to read your own programme's requirements

The provisions above tell you what must happen, not which paper you will sit. A university may use a written test, an interview or a review of documents; which one applies to your programme is the university's choice and is stated in the university's own admissions materials.

Two planning suggestions, not requirements:

• Read the admissions materials of the programme itself before anything else, and note which of the three forms it uses and which evidence of academic level it asks for.
• Gather material that maps onto the categories in section 2.2 — transcripts and any academic output from your previous studies, plus results of any Chinese or credible foreign education examinations you have taken — and keep your financial guarantee documents ready, since Article 12 requires the university to examine them.

For general application sequencing, see /applying/.

Questions people ask

Is there one national entrance exam for international students?

The provisions quoted on this page place the examination or assessment with the university. Order No. 42 Article 12 requires the university to test or assess applicants, and section 2.2 of the Quality Standards says universities should develop and implement entrance examinations themselves or jointly with other universities. The form used by a specific programme is not covered by the provisions quoted here; it comes from the university's own published admissions materials.

Does passing the examination or assessment guarantee admission?

No. Article 12 states that admission is decided by the university, and section 2.3 states that the decision is made on the basis of the examination or assessment results while comprehensively taking national needs and the public interest into account. Nothing in these provisions converts a result into an entitlement.

What evidence of academic level is used?

Section 2.2 names three sources: the academic grades and academic achievements obtained during the applicant's education, results in Chinese education examinations, and results in credible foreign education examinations. The same section requires the university to state its academic level requirements and evaluation methods clearly.

Can several universities use the same entrance examination?

Section 2.2 says universities should (宜) develop and implement entrance examinations either on their own or jointly with other universities, so joint development is contemplated by the Standards. Which universities do so is not stated in these provisions.

Is the admissions decision recorded?

Yes. Section 2.3 requires universities to make written records of important matters in the admissions process and to archive them properly.

Does the university look at finances as well as academic level?

Yes. Article 12 requires the university to examine the applicant's financial guarantee documents alongside admission qualifications and the examination or assessment. What counts as sufficient proof is not specified in the provisions quoted on this page.

Sources

• Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (Order No. 42) — Ministry of Education of the PRC (moe.gov.cn)
• Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial), notice 教外〔2018〕50号 — Ministry of Education of the PRC (moe.gov.cn)
• Ministry of Education press Q&A on Order No. 42, 2 June 2017 — Ministry of Education of the PRC (moe.gov.cn)

Checked 11 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary, is not published by or affiliated with the Ministry of Education, the China Scholarship Council, CHSI or any university, is not legal advice, and if the official text or the current notice of the university or authority handling your case differs from anything above, the official text and that notice prevail.