China’s schools have virtually any program imaginable. Business, economics, engineering and medicine are the most popular among international students, but anything from literature and history to law and politics are available.

Chinese upper education is divided into three major parts: Bachelor’s, Master’s and doctorate degree students. Bachelor’s degree students study for 4 – 5 years, Master’s degree students study for 2 – 3 years and doctorate students study for 3 – 4 years.

Short-term or non-degree study students can come to study topics including Chinese cooking, Chinese traditional medicine, architecture, painting, calligraphy and more.

Below is a list of different types of programs and their requirements:

Chinese Language Proficiency Test (HSK)

In general, students must be at least 18 years old and in good health. Applicants for the Spring semester should apply between September 15 and February 15, while Fall semester applicants should apply between February 15 and May 15. Note that each individual school may have a particular application deadline.

Students wishing to enrol in a program in which Chinese is the medium of instruction must obtain a minimum score on the HSK test. This is an internationally-recognized test of Chinese language ability for non-Chinese. It generally takes 1 – 2 years of intensive study for an international student to learn enough Chinese to study in a program that uses Chinese in the classroom. The exact amount of time required depends on the students’ study habits and the level of Chinese he needs to obtain for his or her particular program.

Another important aspect of your course of study is what kind of requirements your chosen program has. While some universities offer English-language instruction for various programs, the majority of Chinese institutions use Chinese in the classroom.

Once you understand what kind of what type of degree you’ll be pursuing (if any), it’s time to decide what subject you’ll study. Different majors have different tuition fees so it is important to plan this into your budget.

Below is a list of majors and their typical tuition fees:

Many students are on a tight budget and need to carefully plan how much money they’ll spend while studying. Luckily China is a very inexpensive place to live and rent, food and daily expenses are all affordable.

Below is an estimation of basic living costs at a Chinese university: