English taught bachelors in China: what the rules say about language

Article 19 of Order No. 42 allows universities that have the conditions to offer some professional courses taught in a foreign language. Article 18 of the same Order makes the common Chinese language the basic teaching language for international students. The provisions below set out each rule separately, so you can see what each one says.

Order No. 42 and the Quality Standards are Chinese texts. The English wording on this page is this site's translation of the Chinese text.

Article 18 and Article 19: the teaching language

Article 18 says that the common language and script of the People's Republic of China is the basic teaching language for universities that recruit and educate international students. It adds that a university may provide necessary remedial conditions for an international student whose command of that language falls short of the level needed for study.

Article 19 says that universities that have the conditions may offer professional courses taught in a foreign language to international students. Article 19 uses the words "foreign language" and names no particular language, so English is not named in the provision. Article 19 refers to professional courses. It does not say that a whole bachelor's degree may be taught in a foreign language. Article 19 also does not list the conditions a university must meet.

Article 16: Chinese and China overview

The second paragraph of Article 16 says that Chinese and China overview shall be compulsory courses in degree education. Article 16 applies to international students in degree education, and the paragraph does not limit this requirement to any one language of instruction.

Quality Standards 1.2: language ability at entry

The Quality Standards are trial standards addressed to higher education institutions. They say what a university must set or publish.

Section 1.2 says that, for disciplines taught in Chinese, the Chinese-language ability required at entry shall be at least level 4 of the International Chinese Proficiency Standards.

For disciplines taught in a foreign language, section 1.2 says that the university shall state in its entry standards the foreign-language ability required. Section 1.2 gives no foreign-language level for these disciplines. It also sets no Chinese entry level for disciplines taught in a foreign language.

Quality Standards Part One: language ability at graduation

Part One sets graduation targets. For disciplines taught in a foreign language, international students shall be able to use that foreign language to carry out study and research in the discipline, and to work in the field in that language.

Part One also says that, at graduation, the Chinese ability of an undergraduate in these disciplines shall be at least level 4 of the International Chinese Proficiency Standards. For master's and doctoral students in these disciplines, Part One sets at least level 3.

The standards use the International Chinese Proficiency Standards scale. This page does not convert those levels to any other test scale.

Section 6.2: training plan

Section 6.2 says that a training plan for international students shall include the Chinese-ability requirement and the compulsory requirement for China overview courses.

Section 6.2 also says that the university shall arrange enough suitable Chinese courses and China overview courses to meet international students' course needs. Section 6.2 gives no number of Chinese or China overview credits or hours.

Article 19: thesis and defence language

Article 19 has a separate rule for the degree thesis. For international students in higher degree education in a foreign language, the thesis may be written in the corresponding foreign language. The thesis abstract shall be in Chinese.

Article 19 leaves the choice of defence language to the university. It says that whether the thesis defence uses a foreign language is decided by the university.

What the rules leave to the university

Article 19 says that universities that have the conditions may offer foreign-language professional courses. The article does not say who checks the conditions.
Section 1.2 requires the university to state the foreign-language ability required in its entry standards.
Section 6.2 requires the training plan to include the Chinese-ability requirement and the China overview requirement.
Article 19 leaves the thesis defence language to the university.

As a suggestion, and not a rule, you can compare the language section of a university's admissions brochure with these provisions before you apply. The brochure is where a university publishes its own language requirement.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026

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