PhD in China for international students: conditions and process

To enter a doctoral programme in China, an international student needs a master's degree or equivalent. The Quality Standards set this as the minimum entry requirement. The university then decides admission under the conditions and procedures of its own admissions brochure, and it must examine or assess each applicant. The English wording of Order No. 42, the Quality Standards and the Degree Law in this article is this site's translation of their Chinese texts.

Which category a doctoral student belongs to

Order No. 42, Article 9, lists the categories of international students who study for a degree: "junior-college (associate-level) students, undergraduate students, master's degree students and doctoral students." The same article lists the non-degree categories as "preparatory students, advanced students and research scholars." This article covers the doctoral category only.

Minimum education

Quality Standards, section 1.1, states the minimum education for each level. For doctoral entry it says: "Doctoral entry requires a master's degree or equivalent." The section adds, as a reference, the wording "successful completion of specific ISCED 2011 level 7 courses."

Section 1.1 also says that where an intergovernmental mutual recognition agreement on degrees sets entry conditions for the other country's students, the signed agreement is applied.

Language

Quality Standards, section 1.2, sets the language requirement by teaching language.

For programmes taught in Chinese, the Chinese ability required at entry must be at least level 4 of the International Chinese Proficiency Standards (《国际汉语能力标准》). This is the standard's own level scale. It is not converted into any other test here.
For programmes taught in a foreign language, the university must state in its entry standards the foreign-language ability it requires.

Section 1.2 gives no numerical level for programmes taught in a foreign language. The university sets that level in its own entry standards.

Entrance examination or assessment

Quality Standards, section 2.2, has two parts.

The first part says that a university must hold an entrance examination or assessment for applicants and must ensure that the students it admits reach its set entry standard. It also says that a university is encouraged to develop and run its own entrance examination for international students, either alone or jointly with other universities.

The second part says that a university must set its academic-level requirement and assessment method for entry, based on its study of the education systems of its main source countries. It must assess each applicant's academic level on the basis of three things:

academic results and academic achievements gained in the applicant's education;
results in Chinese national education examinations;
results in foreign education examinations that have public credibility.

Application and decision by the university

Order No. 42, Article 11, says that a university formulates and publishes its own international student admissions brochure, and that it recruits international students under the conditions and procedures stated in that brochure.

Order No. 42, Article 10, says that a university decides its own international student enrolment plan and its programmes, unless the state provides otherwise.

Order No. 42, Article 12, sets three duties and one decision:

The university must review the entry qualifications and the economic guarantee certificate of each foreign applicant.
The university must examine or assess each foreign applicant.
The university decides the admission of international students.
The university must not admit an applicant who does not meet the admissions conditions.

As a planning suggestion, not a rule, read the admissions brochure of each university early. Article 11 makes that brochure the document that sets the conditions and procedures for the university's own recruitment.

What a doctoral degree certifies

Degree Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 21, states when a doctoral degree is awarded. The candidate must complete the required course assessment or credits, complete academic research training or professional practice training, and pass a dissertation defence or a defence of practical outcomes. The candidate must also show the following:

a solid and comprehensive grasp of basic theory, and systematic and in-depth specialist knowledge, in the discipline or professional field;
for academic degree candidates, the ability to carry out academic research independently; for professional degree candidates, the ability to carry out professional practice work independently;
for academic degree candidates, innovative results in academic research; for professional degree candidates, innovative results in professional practice.

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.