Chinese level needed to enter a Chinese-taught programme: the national minimum

The entry standard for international students in a discipline or major taught in Chinese must require Chinese proficiency at least at Level 4 of the International Chinese Proficiency Standards. This requirement appears in section 1.2 of the Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial).

The English renderings of the Quality Standards and Order No. 42 are this site's translations of their Chinese texts.

What “Level 4” means

Section 1.2 uses the name “Level 4” under the International Chinese Proficiency Standards. It gives no corresponding HSK level.

Teaching in a foreign language

For a discipline or major taught in a foreign language, section 1.2 says that a higher education institution must clearly state the required foreign-language ability in its entry standard for international students.

Entry and graduation levels

At graduation, an international student in a discipline or major taught in Chinese must have Chinese proficiency at Level 5 of the International Chinese Proficiency Standards. This is the graduation target in Part One, under “Language ability”.

Section 1.2 separately sets the entry requirement at at least Level 4.

Remedial Chinese conditions

Article 18 of Order No. 42 identifies Chinese as the basic teaching language in higher education institutions' education of international students.

The same article says that a school may provide necessary remedial conditions for an international student whose Chinese proficiency falls below the level required for study. Article 18 names no numbered proficiency level.

Sources

• Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial) — Ministry of Education of the PRC
• Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students, Order No. 42 — Ministry of Education of the PRC, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Public Security

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 or any university, and is not legal advice; if it differs from the official text or the current notice of the university or authority handling your case, the official text and that current notice prevail.