How Chinese universities admit international students: who sets the rules
Sources checked · Unofficial summary
International applicants are admitted by the university itself. Under Article 12 of Order No. 42, a university examines the applicant's entry qualifications and economic guarantee proof, examines or assesses the applicant, and decides admission. The national and provincial education authorities set the overall rules and supervise the work, but the admission decision belongs to the school.
This page explains which provisions give each body its role. For how to check a university's details, see this directory's section page. The directory is an unofficial reference and does not publish admission data. Admission details for each university are in its own admission prospectus. The English on this page is this site's translation of the Chinese texts; the Chinese texts prevail.
Who sets the national rules
Order No. 42 is the Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (学校招收和培养国际学生管理办法), issued jointly by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security. It took effect on 1 July 2017.
- Article 4 gives the State Council's education department overall management of international student work. It makes the national policy for recruiting and educating international students, guides and coordinates provincial education departments and schools, and may entrust management and services to other units and industry organisations. Foreign affairs and public security departments handle their own duties under the same article.
- Article 5 gives provincial education departments guidance, coordination and supervision of international student work in their region. The policy-study duty in that article names pre-school, primary and secondary education, not higher education.
What a university does
Order No. 42 gives the university the main steps:
- Article 6 requires schools that recruit international students to establish systems for recruitment, training, management and services. The school is responsible for recruiting and training them.
- Article 7 says a higher education institution with the required teaching conditions and training capacity recruits international students on its own under national rules.
- Article 8 requires such an institution to file for the record (备案) under the matters and procedures set by the State Council's education department.
- Article 10 lets the university set its own international student plan and majors according to its conditions and capacity, unless other national rules apply.
- Article 11 requires the university to formulate and publish its prospectus under national admission rules, and to admit students under the conditions and procedures in that prospectus.
- Article 12 requires the university to examine the entry qualifications and economic guarantee proof of foreign applicants, and to examine or assess them. It says the school decides admission. A school may not admit an applicant who does not meet the admission conditions.
Article 12 names no examination subject and no score line.
Which programmes the Order covers
Article 9 of Order No. 42 lists the categories of international student that a higher education institution may enrol:
| Type | Categories named in Article 9 |
|---|---|
| Degree education (学历教育) | Junior college students; undergraduates; master's postgraduates; doctoral students |
| Non-degree education (非学历教育) | Preparatory students; advanced study students (进修生); research scholars |
The Higher Education Law
Article 67 of the Higher Education Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国高等教育法), as amended in 2018, says that a person from outside China who meets national conditions and completes the required procedures may enter a Chinese higher education institution to study, do research, take part in academic exchange or teach. The state protects that person's lawful rights.
Article 67 names no university and no programme.
The 2018 quality standards
The Ministry of Education issued the Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial) (来华留学生高等教育质量规范（试行）) in notice 教外〔2018〕50号, dated 3 September 2018. The standards are trial standards addressed to higher education institutions. They set out what a university must publish, set or do.
- Section 2 says a university must publish admission information truthfully, accurately and comprehensively. Admission must follow norms, openness and fairness. The university must set reasonable examination or assessment methods and admit students who have academic ability and development potential.
- Section 2.1 lists the information a university should provide to applicants. The list includes admission procedures and requirements, and financial rules, which it gives as tuition standards, payment methods and refund policies. Section 2.1 gives no amount.
- Section 2.2 requires a university to examine or assess applicants for entrance. It says a university should develop and carry out its own entrance examination, alone or with other institutions, and should set the academic standard and assessment method for each applicant group.
- Section 2.3 requires a university to decide admission results under clear procedures and rules, based on examination or assessment results, and with due regard to national needs and the public interest. The university must keep written records of major admission matters and archive them.
Section 2 sets no minimum score and no language level.
Document by document
| Document | Date | Addressed to | What it covers on admission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order No. 42 (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Public Security) | In force from 1 July 2017 | Provincial and national education bodies; schools | Roles of the education authorities (Articles 4 and 5); school autonomy, filing, prospectus and admission decision (Articles 6 to 12) |
| Higher Education Law of the PRC (Ministry of Education) | Amended 2018 | Individuals and institutions | Entry of individuals from outside China (Article 67) |
| Press Q&A on Order No. 42 (Ministry of Education) | 2 June 2017 | Public explanation | Explains the Order; not itself a rule |
| Quality Standards, trial (Ministry of Education, notice 教外〔2018〕50号) | 3 September 2018 | Higher education institutions | Information, examination and admission records (sections 2 to 2.3) |
What the Ministry's press Q&A says
The Ministry's press Q&A of 2 June 2017 explains that Order No. 42 gives universities more autonomy. It says a university may recruit international students on its own once it has the teaching conditions and capacity, may set its plan and majors, and decides admission through examination or assessment. The Q&A is an explanation of the Order. It is not a rule in its own right.
Questions people ask
Who decides whether an international applicant is admitted to a Chinese university?
Under Article 12 of Order No. 42, the university decides. It examines the applicant's entry qualifications and economic guarantee proof and examines or assesses the applicant before deciding admission.
Does Order No. 42 name the universities that may admit international students?
No. Article 7 says a higher education institution with the required conditions and capacity recruits international students on its own under national rules. The Order names no individual university. For a university's own admission conditions, see its admission prospectus, which Article 11 requires it to publish.
Who may enter a Chinese higher education institution from outside China?
Article 67 of the Higher Education Law says a person from outside China may enter a higher education institution to study, do research, take part in academic exchange or teach, if the person meets the national conditions and completes the required procedures. The state protects that person's lawful rights.
Sources
- Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (Order No. 42). Ministry of Education of the PRC, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security.
- Ministry of Education press Q&A on Order No. 42, 2 June 2017. Ministry of Education of the PRC.
- Higher Education Law of the People's Republic of China. Ministry of Education of the PRC.
- Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial), notice 教外〔2018〕50号. Ministry of Education of the PRC.
Checked 11 October 2026.
This page is an unofficial summary, is not published by the Ministry of Education or any university, promises no admission outcome, and the official Chinese text and the current official list prevail if they differ.