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How to check whether a Chinese university may enrol international students

Sources checked · Unofficial summary

To check whether a Chinese university may enrol international students, first confirm its full Chinese name in the Ministry of Education's national list of higher education institutions, as of 17 June 2026. That list does not record international enrolment, so the next step is the university's own published admission prospectus for international students, which Article 11 of Order No. 42 requires it to make. This page sets out the checks in order, and the Chinese texts are described from the official documents named in the Sources list.

For how this directory is organised, see this directory's section page. The English on this page is this site's own translation of the Chinese texts; the English titles of documents are also this site's renderings, and the official texts and lists are in Chinese.

Checklist

  1. Open the national list page of the Ministry of Education, which gives the position as of 17 June 2026.
  2. Open attachment 1, the list of regular higher education institutions.
  3. Find the institution's full Chinese name in the 学校名称 column.
  4. Compare that name with the name you have.
  5. Read the 学校标识码 column for the institution's identification code.
  6. Read the 办学层次 column for its level of education.
  7. Confirm the result against the current official list before you rely on it.

What the national list shows

The page states that the national list records 3,196 higher education institutions as of 17 June 2026. The page gives 2,952 regular higher education institutions, including 1,412 undergraduate institutions and 1,540 higher vocational (junior college) institutions, and it gives 244 adult higher education institutions. The page says that Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan higher education institutions are not included.

Counting the header line of attachment 1, the list has seven columns:

Column (as printed) English label used here
序号 Serial number
学校名称 Institution name
学校标识码 Institution identification code
主管部门 Competent authority
所在地 Location
办学层次 Level of education
备注 Remarks

None of these seven columns is headed as a field on international students. An entry on the list therefore does not show that a school enrols international students in a given programme.

What Order No. 42 requires a university to publish

The Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security, in force from 1 July 2017) apply their Chapters 2 to 5 to higher education institutions, according to Article 2. For preschool, primary and secondary schools, Article 2 refers to the rules of the province, autonomous region or municipality.

Article 11 says that a university formulates and publishes its own international student admission prospectus. It admits international students under the conditions and procedures in that prospectus.

Article 10 says that a university decides its international student enrolment plan and programmes itself, in line with its conditions and training capacity, unless state rules provide otherwise.

Article 23 says that a university shall make public its basic information, its teaching information, its admission prospectus and its system for international student management and services, so that international students can get information conveniently.

Article 8 says that a university that recruits international students shall file for the record, following the matters and procedures set by the education administration under the State Council. This page does not link to any published record of those filings.

What the 2018 quality standards require

The Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial), issued by Ministry of Education notice 教外〔2018〕50号 dated 3 September 2018, are addressed to universities. Section 2.1 says that a university shall provide admission information that includes at least the following:

  • basic information about the school, such as the city and the school's conditions;
  • programme information, such as level of study, training objectives, length of study, degree awarded, and rules on transfer between schools and between majors;
  • admission procedures and requirements, such as application deadlines and methods, entry standards, examination methods, financial guarantee requirements, handling of violations, and the admission timetable;
  • financial rules and policies, such as fee standards, payment methods and refund policy;
  • campus life, such as dormitory or apartment conditions and how to apply for them, food, medical care, insurance, transport, sports and cultural activities, and student clubs;
  • contact details and complaint and reporting channels.

Section 2.1 lists fee standards and refund policy as items to publish. It gives no fee amount.

Outside services

Section 2.7 says that a university's international student admission work shall strictly follow state rules, and that a university may not entrust any external organisation or individual to act as its agent. Where a university uses external services for admission information and consultation, section 2.7 says that it shall follow the principles of prudence, standardisation, openness and transparency, and shall carry out its supervision duties under state rules or norms.

Use of the words 大学 and 学院

The 2021 opinions of the Ministry of Education and seven other departments on regulating the registration and use of the names 大学 (university) and 学院 (college) (教发〔2021〕5号) say in paragraph 1 that a university is examined and approved, or filed for the record, by the education administration under the State Council, and that a name may be used only after approval.

Paragraph 3 says that, apart from approved universities and colleges, their internal bodies, and bodies they founded and registered under law, other organisations may not use 大学 or 学院 on signboards, in advertising, or in other outward publicity.

Questions people ask

Does an entry on the national list mean that a university accepts international students?

No. The list has seven columns, and none of them is a column on international students. An entry shows the institution's name, identification code, competent authority, location and level of education, as printed in attachment 1 of the 17 June 2026 list.

Where do I find a university's rules for international students?

Article 11 of Order No. 42 says that a university formulates and publishes its own international student admission prospectus, and admits students under the conditions and procedures in that prospectus. Article 23 says the university shall make its admission prospectus and its international student management and service system public.

Can an agent handle a university's international student admission?

Section 2.7 of the 2018 quality standards says that a university may not entrust any external organisation or individual to act as its agent for international student admission.

Does the national list cover Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan?

No. The page of the national list says that Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan higher education institutions are not included.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary, is not published by the Ministry of Education or any university, and promises no admission outcome; the official Chinese text and the current official list prevail if they differ.

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