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
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 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 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 2024 Program Catalogue above.
4. Charging Standards
6. Application Materials
1) Photocopy of the passport. The passport must have an expiry date after September 2024, 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 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, 2023. 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, 2023.
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, 2023.
8) Study Plan of no less than 1000 words. 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.
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 admission 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 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 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, 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: [email protected]
