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Gain insights into the China higher education framework, academic culture, teaching methods, and grading system to prepare for your studies.
4 to 6 years at Zhejiang University (ZJU)
Mostly taught in Chinese, with some English-taught programmes.
2 to 3 years
Taught in Chinese or English. Many top universities offer English-taught master's.
3 to 4 years at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU); 4 or 5 at Peking University (PKU)
Some departments take bachelor's holders straight into a PhD.
Chinese universities award bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. On 17 June 2026, China had 1,412 undergraduate institutions among 2,952 regular higher education institutions.
Regular higher education institutions are of two kinds: undergraduate institutions and higher vocational (junior college) schools.
Universities and colleges that award bachelor's degrees and above.
•1,412 on 17 June 2026
Schools that teach job skills.
•1,540 on 17 June 2026
Institutions for adult learners.
•244 on 17 June 2026
Needs a high school diploma. From 2026/2027, international applicants also need a China Scholastic Competency Assessment (CSCA) score (a school-subject test for bachelor's applicants).
Needs a bachelor's degree.
Needs a master's degree. Some departments take bachelor's holders.
Most programmes are taught in Chinese. Top universities also run English-taught programmes. Tsinghua University has 40 English-taught master's and doctoral programmes for 2027.
Degree programmes start in September. There are two terms: autumn and spring.
Early September to late January (ZJU language programmes)
The year starts in September.
Spring term
ZJU's language programmes also take new students in the spring term, which runs into summer.
Each university sets its own dates.
China's Ministry of Education (MOE) keeps a yearly list of higher education institutions.
The Ministry of Education lists recognised universities. If your degree is from outside China, it must be checked by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE). At SJTU, you need its report before online registration.
Check the MOE list.
On 17 June 2026: 3,196 higher education institutions, including 2,952 regular ones. The list is in Chinese.
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