Bachelor's student: the undergraduate category and the bachelor's degree standard

An undergraduate student (本科生) is an international student who receives bachelor-level degree education at a higher education institution in mainland China. Article 9 of the Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security) lists undergraduate students as one of the degree-education categories. For the wider range of degree types, see Universities and degrees.

Definition

Under Article 9 of Order No. 42, the categories of degree education (学历教育) for international students at higher education institutions are:

• junior college students (专科生);
• undergraduate students (本科生);
• master's degree students (硕士研究生);
• doctoral students (博士研究生).

Article 9 sets the non-degree education categories as preparatory students (预科生), advanced students (进修生) and research scholars (研究学者).

What the official text says

The English wording of the Chinese texts below is this site's own translation of the Chinese text.

Order No. 42, Article 9. Stated in the Definition section above.

Order No. 42, Article 16. International students shall take part in courses according to the curriculum and teaching plan of the higher education institution, and shall take the graduation examinations or assessments required by the rules. The institution shall record their academic results and daily performance truthfully. Chinese language and general knowledge of China shall be compulsory courses in higher academic education (高等学历教育). Political theory shall be a compulsory course for international students who study philosophy or political science.

Degree Law, Article 19 (the bachelor's standard). A bachelor's degree is awarded where a person who has received undergraduate education:

1. passes the prescribed course assessments or completes the corresponding credits;
2. passes the graduation review, such as the graduation thesis or graduation design, or similar graduation stages;
3. shows that the degree candidate has reached the following levels: - (1) a good grasp of basic theory, specialised knowledge and basic skills in the discipline or professional field; - (2) a preliminary ability to undertake academic research or professional practice work.

Degree Law, Article 24 (who decides). An application for a bachelor's degree is reviewed by the degree evaluation committee (学位评定委员会), which makes a resolution on whether to award the bachelor's degree.

Degree Law, Article 44 (foreign individuals). A degree-awarding institution awards the corresponding degree to a foreign individual who applies for a degree, under the academic, scholarly or professional requirements and procedures set by this Law. Where a degree-awarding institution awards degrees abroad, the relevant provisions of this Law apply. A foreign educational institution that awards degrees in mainland China shall comply with the laws and regulations of China. Recognition of degree certificates issued by foreign educational institutions shall be handled strictly in accordance with the relevant state provisions.

Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship, section IV (conditions of that scholarship only). Two items concern undergraduate study:

• Item 2 sets the requirement to be an academically excellent holder of a high school diploma or its equivalent, under the age of 25, when applying for an undergraduate program.
• Item 7 sets the requirement to take the "China Scholastic Competency Assessment (short as CSCA)" and upload a valid score report when applying for bachelor programs.

These are conditions of the Chinese Government Scholarship. They are not general admission rules.

Related terms

• Non-degree categories (Article 9, Order No. 42)
• Master's degree students (Article 9, Order No. 42)
• Doctoral students (Article 9, Order No. 42)
• Degree evaluation committee (Article 24, Degree Law)
• Degree-awarding institution (Article 44, Degree Law)
• Chinese Government Scholarship
• China Scholastic Competency Assessment (CSCA)
• Student visa (X1)

Sources

• Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (Order No. 42), Ministry of Education of the PRC
• Degree Law of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of the PRC
• Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship, China Scholarship Council (Campus China)

Checked 11 October 2026.

This entry is an unofficial summary. It is not legal or immigration advice, and it is not published by the bodies named. If the official text or the instructions of the body handling your case differ from this entry, the official text and those instructions prevail.