1. Categories

Master candidates: 3 years; All students must earn required credits, pass all the exams, and finish the oral defense of their dissertation before they can receive graduation certificates. After the diploma review, the diploma will be granted.

Doctoral candidates: 4 years; All students must earn required credits, pass all the exams, and finish the oral defense of their dissertation before they can receive graduation certificates. After the diploma review, the diploma will be granted.

2. Program Catalogue

See details in 2025 Graduate Programs in CSU.xlsx

Some programs may have specified application requirements and those requirements must be satisfied. Please check the program catalogue.

3. Eligibility

1) Excellent Non-Chinese citizens, with no criminal records and in good health. Applicants shall have a strong academic background and innovative research capabilities.

2) For Master's degrees, applicants should have a bachelor's degree and should be under 35 years old.

For Doctorate degrees, applicants should have a master's degree and should be under 40 years old.

3) Language Eligibility: Students who apply for Chinese-taught programs should obtain a minimum score of 260 in HSK4 for science and engineering programs and 200 in HSK5 for arts, social science, and medical programs.

Students who apply for English-taught programs should obtain a minimum score of 6 in IELTS or 85 in TOEFL.

Those who meet one of the following conditions are exempt from proving their linguistic competence:

a) Applicants whose first language or the official language of the country is Chinese or English.

b) Applicants who have taken a degree program taught in Chinese or English.

4) Some programs have their own application requirement, and applicants shall be qualified before applying. For details, see the 2025 Program Catalogue above.

4. Charging Standards

Please refer to 2025_Charging Standards of Central South University.pdf

5. Financial Support

According to the regulations of the Ministry of Education of P. R. China, international students must purchase medical insurance while studying in China. International students admitted without insurance funding must purchase the insurance at their own expense. Uninsured students cannot register.

6. Application Materials  

1) The homepage of the passport (Over one-year availability), and the page of the latest Chinese visa (If any).

2) Highest graduation certificate (notarized Chinese/English document only). Applicants who will graduate in June, are required to provide a pre-graduation certificate issued by current schools.

3) Stamped transcripts of bachelor’s degree, and master’s degree (if any) (notarized Chinese/English document only). Those transcripts shall be issued and sealed by the attending university's academic affairs office, graduate school, or student management department.

4) Physical Examination Record. Applicants should strictly check the items following the requirements of Physical Examination Record.pdf. Incomplete records or those without the signature of the attending doctor, the official stamp of the hospital, or a sealed photograph of the applicants are invalid. The date shall be after October 1, 2024. The original piece is required during registration.

5) Non-criminal record with an official stamp in Chinese/English. The issue date shall be after October 1, 2024.

6) Valid HSK Transcript for Chinese-taught programs and IELTS\TOEFL for English-taught programs or other documents to prove your linguistic competence.

7) Two different recommendation letters from professors/associate professors with detailed contacts. The signature date shall be after October 1, 2024.

8) Study Plan of no less than 1000 words. (e.g. CSU study plan.docx) Please clarify your research background, method, content, significance, etc.

9) C.V. Letter and video of self-introduction. Applicants are required to upload a video of self-introduction within one minute, and those who have HSK certificates must use Chinese to introduce themselves. The video must be in MP4 format with a capacity of less than 40MB.

10) Acceptance Letter for International Students (e.g.  Acceptance Letter.docx), published essays, or any other supporting materials. (Please see contacts at "Download")

11) Statement of not receiving any scholarships or forms of funding. e.g. Personal Statement.docx

Please note that supporting materials like a professor's acceptance letter and published essays may increase the probability of admission.

Uploaded supporting documents must be clear, authentic, and valid. Applicants are recommended to use a professional device to scan the relevant documents. Applicants shall bear the consequences caused by unclear or unidentifiable uploaded materials.

7. Application Procedures

Step 1: Online Application

Log in to the system of School of International Education, CSU: https://csu.17gz.org/, fill in the application form, and submit it.

Step 2: Initial Review and application fee payment

School of International Education will have an initial review of the applicant's identity, language ability, physical, and mental conditions, etc. When the applicants pass the initial review, please pay the application fee of CNY 500 on the unified payment platform of CSU according to the email (WeChat, Alipay, and UnionPay are available);

Please complete the application fee payment within two weeks, otherwise the application cannot continue. If you fail to pass the initial review, NO NEED to pay the application fee.

Step 3: Academic Review

Relevant schools will conduct an academic review for applicants to comprehensively examine their academic background, scientific research ability, or innovation potential.

Step 4: Result Release

Based on the application and review situation, the final admission result will be released via email. THE FINAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT IS SUBJECT TO THE ADMISSION NOTICE RECEIVED! The admission notice and visa application form will be sent accordingly.

Application status will be informed in the CSU International Student Service System. Please ensure that the registered email address is accurate, and keep yourself informed by checking the Application System constantly.

8. Notes

1) The materials mentioned above shall be provided in English or Chinese. Materials in any other language should be notarized in Chinese or English.

2) If residents of the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan who have emigrated to other countries apply for admission as international students after immigration, they must hold a valid foreign passport or nationality certificate for more than four years, and proof of renunciation of Chinese nationality is required.

3) The application fees will not be refunded and materials will not be returned regardless of admission results.

4) The fall semester usually starts at the end of August or early September every year. For exact registration dates, please refer to the Admission Notice. The original graduation certificate and original language proficiency certificate will be checked upon registration. Those who fail to provide the corresponding certificates will be disqualified from enrollment.

5) All scholarship students shall participate in the scholarship annual review based on academic and daily performance during the previous academic year, and students will continue to enjoy the scholarship after passing the review. Otherwise, the scholarship will be suspended/terminated.

9. Contacts

Admission Office, School of International Education, CSU

Non-medical major consultation:

Tel: +86-731-88836410

Email: admissions@csu.edu.cn

Address: Library 214, Main Campus of Central South University, 932 Lushan South Road, Changsha City, Hunan Province

Medical major consultation:

Tel: +86-731-82650391

Email: csuglobal@csu.edu.cn

Address: Office 708, Xiaoqian Building, Xiangya  New Campus, Tongzipo Road, Changsha City, Hunan Province

Fax: +86-731-88836737  

Websites:

https://intl.csu.edu.cn/zwb.htm (Chinese)

https://intl.csu.edu.cn/index.htm (English)