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 2023 CSU Graduate Programs.xlsx

Some programs may have specified application requirements and those requirements shall 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 or its equivalent and should be under 35 years old.

For Doctorate degrees, applicants should have a master's degree or its equivalent 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 cannot meet the requirement of Chinese competence shall take a one-year preparatory course of the Chinese language and meet above HSK requirement before embarking on their 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 2023 Program Catalogue above.

4. Charging Standards

Please refer to 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 who are admitted without insurance funded must purchase the insurance at their own expense. Uninsured students cannot register.

6. Application Materials  

1) Photocopy of the passport. The passport shall expire after September 2023, if the validity of the applicant's current passport does not meet the requirement, please apply for a new passport before submitting the application.

2) Photocopy of Physical Examination Record. Applicants should strictly check the items in accordance with the requirement 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, 2022. The original piece is required during registration.

3) Photocopy of Highest graduation certificate or notarized Chinese/English-translated certificate. If the applicant is currently a student, the pre-graduation certificate issued by the school is required. Non-Chinese/English documents must be attached with notarized Chinese or English translations.

4) Stamped Transcript from the undergraduate program or notarized Chinese/English-translated transcript. Those transcripts shall be issued and sealed by the attending university's academic affairs office, graduate school, or student management department.

5) Non-criminal record or Chinese/English-translated document with an official stamp. The issue date shall be after October 1, 2022.

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, 2022.

8) Study Plan of no less than 1000 words. Please clarify your research background, method, content, significance, etc.

9) CURRICULUM VITAE and video of self-introduction. Applicants are required to upload a video of self-introduction within one minute, and those who have got 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 CSU_Prof_s_contact.pdf)

12) 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. 

If there is any fraud in the application materials, the application will be disqualified. In registration, all the original documents will be reviewed and the admission shall be canceled if there is any fraud or inconsistency.

7. Application Procedures

Step 1: Online Application

Log in to the website of School of International Education, CSU: https://intl.csu.edu.cn/index.htm. Then click "APPLY NOW", 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, 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 admission email. THE FINAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT IS SUBJECT TO THE ADMISSION NOTICE RECEIVED! Besides, the admission notice and visa application form will be sent accordingly.

Application status will be informed in the CSU International Student Service System. Please check the Application System inbox and your email on time.

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 China 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, and most prospective candidates will be enrolled according to the application materials. THE FINAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT IS SUBJECT TO THE ADMISSION NOTICE RECEIVED. Please check the email you receive.

4) 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: +86-731-88836392, +86-731-88836410

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

• Medical major consultation:

Tel: +86-731-82650391

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

Fax: +86-731-88836737  

Email: admissions@csu.edu.cn

Websites:

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

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