China: Higher Education

Higher Education

Overview

Information on key aspects of a country’s education system, including governance, instructional language, and other structural features defined by national or regional regulations.

Ministry Responsible

Ministry of Education

Language of Instruction

Standard Chinese (Mandarin), in most cases

Academic Calendar

2 semesters

Fall semester: September to January

Spring semester: February to June/July

Quality Assurance and Accreditation

The principal quality assurance and accreditation bodies.

No.	Quality Assurance and Accreditation Body	Institution Type
1	Ministry of Education (MOE)	All higher education institutions
2	Education Quality Evaluation Agency (EQEA), MOE	All higher education institutions
3	Department of Degree Management and Postgraduate Education, Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council (ADCSC)	All higher education institutions

Admissions

No.	Institution Type	Entrance Examination	Administering Body
1	Regular higher education (universities, colleges)	Gaokao (National College Entrance Examination )	Ministry of Education Provincial governments
2	Adult higher education programs (divisions/departments within universities and adult institutions)	Adult Gaokao (National Adult University Entrance Examination)	Ministry of Education Provincial governments
3	Postgraduate programs	Chinese Graduate Student Entrance Examination	Ministry of Education Local provincial educational authorities Individual universities

Institutions

Types and number of officially recognized institutions providing secondary education.

No.	Institution Type	Number of Institutions	Qualifications Offered	Quality Assurance and Accreditation
1	Academic higher education institutions providing postgraduate programs	596 (2022)	Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree Doctoral degree	Ministry of Education
2	Research institutions providing postgraduate programs	234 (2022)	Master’s degree Doctoral degree	Ministry of Education
3	Academic higher education institutions	1,239 (2022)	Bachelor’s degree	Ministry of Education
4	Professional higher education institutions	32 (2022)	Bachelor’s degree	Ministry of Education
5	Vocational higher education institutions	1,489 (2022)	Zhuanke Graduation Certificate	Ministry of Education
6	Adult higher education institutions	253 (2022)		Ministry of Education

Source: Ministry of Education, People's Republic of China

Academic Qualifications

Not all awards or study patterns are included.

No.	Degree Name	Admissions Requirements	Length of Program	Graduation Requirements	Post-graduation Pathways
1	Zhuanke Graduation Certificate	High school (or senior secondary school) graduation certificate, and Gaokao (National College Entrance Examination)	2 to 3 years	90 to 100 credits (2-year program) 120 to 130 credits (3-year program) Graduation assignment	Access to: 2- to 3-year “top-up program” that leads to a Benke Graduation Certificate and a bachelor’s degree
2	Benke Graduation Certificate, and Bachelor’s degree	High school (or senior secondary school) graduation certificate, and Gaokao (National College Entrance Examination)	4 years 5 years (engineering and medicine)	160 to 190 credits of coursework in three areas: general compulsory courses general elective courses specialty compulsory courses Self-study program Examinations (usually twice per year) in certain subjects (students not meeting full requirements are only awarded Benke Graduate Certificate)	Access to: second bachelor’s degree master’s degree
3	Second bachelor’s degree (post-Benke)	First bachelor’s degree Institution-specific examination	2 years	2 years of study after the first bachelor’s degree	Access to: public sector employment
4	Graduation Certificate for Master’s Program, and Master’s degree	Benke Graduation Certificate Chinese Graduate Student Entrance Examination Interview Professional experience (for some professional programs)	2 to 3 years	32 to 36 credits, including: 10 credits in core subjects 15 credits in a specialty Remaing credits in elective courses Defense of a thesis	Access to: doctoral degree
5	Graduation Certificate from Doctoral Program, and Doctoral degree	Master’s degree Subject examinations, including in a foreign language Age limit of 45	3 to 5 years	15 credits Comprehensive examination Research and defense of a doctoral thesis	Access to:

Technical Qualifications

Not all awards or study patterns are included.

No.	Degree Name	Admissions Requirements	Length of Program	Graduation Requirements	Post-graduation Pathways
1	Zhuanke Graduation Certificate	High school (or senior secondary school) graduation certificate, and Gaokao (National College Entrance Examination), or Adult Gaokao (National Adult University Entrance Examination)	2 to 3 years	90 to 100 credits (2-year program) 120 to 130 credits (3-year program) Graduation assignment	Access to: 2- to 3-year “top-up program” that leads to a Benke Graduation Certificate and a bachelor’s degree

Grading System

Examples of the most commonly used grading scales.

No.	Letter Grade	Descriptor	Percent Range
1	A	Excellent	90 to 100%
2	B	Good	75 to 89%
3	C	Satisfactory or Fair	64 to 74%
4	D	Pass	60 to 63%
5	F	Fail	0 to 59%

Enrollment

Total Enrollment

Total enrollment in a specific level of education, regardless of age.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics

Gross Enrollment Ratio

Total enrollment in a specific level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the eligible official school-age population corresponding to the same level of education in a given school year.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics

International Benchmarks

Academic Ranking of World Universities

China

222 institutions in the top 1,000

Global Rank

1 of 63

Source: ShanghaiRanking Consultancy

QS World University Rankings

China

59 institutions in the top 1,000

Global Rank

3 of 90

Source: QS Quacquarelli Symonds

Times Higher Education World University Rankings

China

70 institutions in the top 1,000

Global Rank

3 of 74

Source: Times Higher Education

Higher Education

Overview

Ministry of Education

Standard Chinese (Mandarin), in most cases

2 semesters Fall semester: September to January Spring semester: February to June/July

Quality Assurance and Accreditation

Admissions

Institutions

Academic Qualifications

Technical Qualifications

Grading System

Enrollment

Total Enrollment

Gross Enrollment Ratio

International Benchmarks

Academic Ranking of World Universities

222 institutions in the top 1,000

1 of 63

QS World University Rankings

59 institutions in the top 1,000

3 of 90

Times Higher Education World University Rankings

70 institutions in the top 1,000

3 of 74

2 semesters

Fall semester: September to January

Spring semester: February to June/July