Unofficial guide
HSK Exam Guide

English-taught degrees in China: is any Chinese required?

Sources checked

For graduation, yes. The Ministry of Education's 2018 trial standard sets Chinese-level targets for students in programs taught in a foreign language, but those targets are levels of the International Chinese Language Proficiency Standards (国际汉语能力标准), not HSK levels. The same standard names no Chinese entry level for these programs. The Chinese Government Scholarship guide leaves language requirements to each university.

What the Ministry standard says

The document is 《来华留学生高等教育质量规范（试行）》, issued in 2018 as 教外〔2018〕50号. The official text is in Chinese. The points below are unofficial English translations.

  • Language goals. For programs taught in a foreign language, international students should be able to use that language to study and do research in their field. By graduation, bachelor's students' Chinese should reach at least level 4 of the International Chinese Language Proficiency Standards. Master's and doctoral students' Chinese should reach at least level 3.
  • Entry standard (section 1.2). For programs taught in a foreign language, the university should state the foreign-language ability it requires in its entry standard. Section 1.2 names no Chinese level for these programs. For programs taught in Chinese, the same section sets level 4 of the Standards as the Chinese requirement for entry.
  • Training plans. The standard says a training plan for international students should include Chinese-language ability requirements and required courses on general knowledge of China (中国概况类课程).

The language goals passage and section 1.2 do not mention the HSK test. This article does not treat any HSK level as a Ministry requirement.

What the scholarship guide says

The Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship, published by the China Scholarship Council (Campus China), has two passages on programs taught in another language.

  • Eligibility, item 11. The applicant must "meet the admission requirements of the university of preference in terms of language proficiency and academic ability, among others, when applying for a program taught in a language other than Chinese." The list gives no Chinese level for these programs.
  • Language qualification certificates, item 5. Applicants for programs taught in other languages "are required to provide relevant language proficiency certificates, such as IELTS or TOEFL score reports, in accordance with the requirements of each university." The passage gives IELTS and TOEFL as examples only.

The eligibility list gives HSK levels in items 8 to 10 only. Each of those items is for a Chinese-taught program:

  • HSK Level 3 for a Chinese-taught general scholar program (excluding Chinese language majors)
  • HSK Level 3 for a Chinese-taught senior scholar program
  • HSK Level 4 for a Chinese-taught master's or doctoral program

What the sources do not settle

The Ministry passages set levels for graduation. They do not set a Chinese entry level for foreign-language programs.

The scholarship guide refers the language requirement to each university. This article does not say what any university asks. Check the admission rules of the university you plan to apply to.

The guide text used here has no publication date.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary; it is not published by Chinese Testing International, the Center for Language Education and Cooperation or the Ministry of Education, and the official page prevails if they differ.

HSK Help Desk