HSK Exam Guide China's Ministry of Education standard on the Chinese level of international students
China's Ministry of Education sets the Chinese-language level of international students in its 2018 trial Quality Standard for Higher Education of International Students in China (Notice No. 50). At graduation, a student on a Chinese-taught programme should reach Level 5 of the International Chinese Language Proficiency Standards; a student on a foreign-language-taught programme should reach at least Level 4 as an undergraduate or at least Level 3 as a master's or doctoral student.
What the document is
The Ministry of Education issued the Notice on Printing and Distributing the Quality Standard for Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial) (教外〔2018〕50号) on 3 September 2018. The attached standard, the Quality Standard for Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial) (《来华留学生高等教育质量规范（试行）》), is the ministry's first quality standard made specifically for international-student education. It is the nationwide basic rule that guides and regulates universities in running international-student education, and the basic basis for internal and external quality-assurance activities. Provinces and universities may build local or institutional supporting rules on top of this document.
Chinese level by programme and stage
The Standard states levels in the International Chinese Language Proficiency Standards (《国际汉语能力标准》). The entry and graduation Chinese levels differ by the language of instruction.
| Programme | Level at entry | Level at graduation |
|---|---|---|
| Taught in Chinese | At least Level 4 | Level 5 |
| Taught in a foreign language | The entry-requirement passage sets no Chinese level; it says universities should clearly state the required foreign-language ability in admission standards | Undergraduate: at least Level 4. Master's or doctoral: at least Level 3 |
For Chinese-taught programmes, the entry-requirement section says the Chinese-ability requirement in admission standards should be at least Level 4 of the Standards. The language-ability section says that at graduation the Chinese ability should reach Level 5 of the Standards.
For foreign-language-taught programmes, the entry-requirement section says universities should clearly state the required foreign-language ability; it names no Chinese level at entry. The language-ability section says that at graduation undergraduates' Chinese ability should be at least Level 4 and master's and doctoral students' Chinese ability should be at least Level 3.
Training plan and thesis language
The training-plan section says a student's specialised training plan should include a Chinese-proficiency requirement and a compulsory requirement for China-overview courses. It also says universities should not set national-defence education or military courses, including military theory teaching and military skills training. Universities should arrange enough suitable Chinese courses and China-overview courses to meet students' course needs.
The thesis section says universities should encourage and support international students to write their degree theses in Chinese. A university's degree committee should set the specific language requirements for the thesis-writing and defence stages under the Measures for the Administration of Schools' Recruitment and Training of International Students (《学校招收和培养国际学生管理办法》).
On the HSK test
The language-ability, entry-requirement, training-plan and thesis sections quoted above do not mention the HSK test, an HSK level or an HSK score. They state levels only in the International Chinese Language Proficiency Standards.
Sources
- 教育部关于印发《来华留学生高等教育质量规范（试行）》的通知（教外〔2018〕50号） — Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China
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.