Frequently Asked Questions on Studying in China

Project 211 (Chinese: 211工程; pinyin: èryāoyāo gōngchéng or èryīyī gōngchéng) was a project of National Key Universities and colleges initiated in 1995 by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, with the intent of raising the research standards of high-level universities and cultivating strategies for socio-economic development. During the first phase of the project, from 1996 to 2000, approximately US$2.2 billion was distributed. 

By 2008, China had 116 institutions of higher education (about 6 percent) designated as 211 Project institutions for having met certain scientific, technical, and human resources standards and offering advanced degree programs. Project 211 schools take on the responsibility of training four-fifths of doctoral students, two-thirds of graduate students, half of students from abroad and one-third of undergraduates. They offer 85% of the state's key subjects, hold 96% of the state's key laboratories, and consume 70% of scientific research funding. According to the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2018/19 and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019/20, most of these universities in the Project 211 are ranked among the top 1000 universities worldwide. 

The name for the project comes from an abbreviation of the slogan "面向21世纪，办好100所高校 (In preparation for the 21st century, successfully managing 100 universities)". One hundred was the approximate number of participating universities. 

Since 2014, Project 211 was less mentioned and gradually succeeded by a new project called plan 111 (Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities). 

In September 2017, a related plan called the Double First Class University Plan was announced. It was unclear whether this plan represents a new way of ranking universities in China, or replaces Project 211 and Project 985. 

Project 985 (Chinese: 985工程; pinyin: Jiǔbāwǔ gōngchéng) was a project that was first announced by CPC General secretary and Chinese President Jiang Zemin at the 100th anniversary of Peking University on May 4, 1998, to promote the development and reputation of the Chinese higher education system by founding world-class universities in the 21st century. The name derives from the date of the announcement, May 1998, or 98/5 according to the Chinese date format. The project involves both national and local governments allocating large amounts of funding to certain universities in order to build new research centers, improve facilities, hold international conferences, attract world-renowned faculty and visiting scholars, and help Chinese faculty attend conferences abroad. According to the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2018/19 and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019/20, most of the 39 universities in Project 985 are considered as among the top 500 universities in the world. 

In 2009, the original 9 founding member universities of Project 985 formed the C9 League, which is referred to as the Chinese equivalent of the US Ivy League. By the end of the second phase of the project, 39 universities were sponsored. It was announced in 2011 that the project had closed, and no new schools would be able to join. 

In September 2017, a related plan called the Double First Class University Plan was announced. It was unclear whether this plan represents a new way of ranking universities in China, or replaces Project 211 and Project 985. 

The World First Class University and First Class Academic Discipline Construction (Chinese: 世界一流大学和一流学科建设), combined together and known as Double First Class (Chinese: 双一流; pinyin: shuāngyīliú), is a tertiary education development initiative designed by the People's Republic of China government, in 2015, which aimed to comprehensively developing elite Chinese universities and their individual faculty departments into world-class institutions by the end of 2050. 

The full list of the sponsored universities and disciplines was published in September 2017, which includes 42 Double First Class Universities (36 Class A schools and six Class B schools) and 465 first class disciplines spread among 140 schools (95 Double First Class Disciplines Universities) including the first class universities. According to the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2018/19 and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019/20, most of the 42 double first class universities are considered as among the top 500 universities in the world and most of these 95 double first class disciplines universities are ranked among the top 1000 universities worldwide. 

It was unclear whether this plan represents a new way of ranking universities in China, or replaces Project 211, Project 985, or the C9 League.

As of 2019, there are a total of 2,956 colleges and universities in China, of which some 300 are allowed to enroll international students, because these 300 universities are well-funded and usually are ranked near the top. 

There are some 100 universities that are in partnership with NHC, of which most are located in first-tier or second-tier cities in China.  

Studying abroad is an important matter for students, so both parents and students are very careful in choosing schools and majors.

While it is certainly a basic course of action to search for information online, make your choice and then submit your application yourself, the vast majority of applicants encounter difficulties in the process of applying on their own. 

Time Zone Challenges. The time zone challenges are not easy to overcome especially when students living in countries far away from China are required to have an interview with the university enrollment officers. 

Language barriers. Most students studying in China come from non-English speaking countries, so there is a language barrier when communicating with the enrolling directors.

Lack of Accurate Information. This is the most significant factor affecting the application results. China is a vast country, there are vast differences across its more than 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. China is a vast country; therefore, each province or autonomous region is different from one another in terms of level of economic development, types of climate, living environment and habits. It is probably not wise for applicants who have insufficient knowledge about China and Chinese universities to make an important decision about their future plan. While some students underestimate their competitiveness and miss their chance to get into a better university, other students attempt to take on a challenge impossible to overcome as the university of their choice is highly competitive based their academic performance and end up failing. Some go to studying in cities they actually do not like or choose a major they have little interest in, but find it difficult to transfer to another institute or to have their discipline changed; while some students blindly trust their ‘goodwilled’ agency and ask them to take care of their scholarship applications without proper background check and therefore waste both their time and money. 

Therefore, when considering your plan to study in China, we recommend that you should go for an experienced consultant offering you professional full service, which will both boost your odds and save you tremendous time and money.

Like in the US, there are two intake seasons at universities in China as well: namely Spring and Fall. 

Usually, the application season for the Spring Intake (only language programs are available for the Spring Semester) commences in September and ends in the middle of February of the following year, with the announcement of results in early March. However, the application season for the Fall Intake starts from the end of November till the end of May. As for the final results, they shall be released during a period from mid-July to mid-August. If, however, students are going to apply for a short-term program, or a short-term-non-degree program, to be exact, e.g. summer camp programs, Chinese cultural experiencing program, short-term Chinese language programs, the application is usually open all year round unless otherwise specified in the university announcement. Students are encouraged to contact NHC for accurate information on when to start preparing for their applications.  

It is up to the universities to decide whether or not their applicants are subject to an entrance examination. However, statistics tell us that more than 75% of universities do not require international students to take an entrance exam, except some very top universities which conduct their own examinations (PBT, paper-based tests) or interviews. Students are advised to contact NHC consultants for more details on this topic.

The fees vary by region and university. If the student is applying for a non-degree program, e.g. basic language programs, advanced language programs, foundation programs, etc., the annual tuition fees shall range from 14000 to 20000 in CNY. 

But for social science degree program (e.g. history, literature, education, etc.), the annual tuition fees should go from 18000 to 26000 in CNY and 30000 to 35000 in CNY for a natural science program (e.g. physics, mathematics, chemistry, computer science, etc.), 27000 to 35000 in CNY an art degree program(music, painting, design, etc.), 30000 to 60,000 in CNY for a medical degree program.

Not an easy job to have you transferred to another university. If you want to transfer to another university/college, you are expected to contact usually the School of International Education (SIE) of the university you intend to transfer to, submit your application documents as required, inform the enrollment officer about your intention and wait for the result. If your application is approved, then contact the director of student affairs office of the school you are studying at, convincing him/her that you have valid and decent reason to transfer to another university. If your request is approved, the school will issue you a transfer certificate which shall be requested by the university you are going to next. Remember, always make an appointment in advance. Usually it is relatively easier for students transfer from a high-ranking university to low-ranking one, not vice versa. Therefore, your very first choice matters. Contact NHC to see what universities are best for you and make your application stand out in the first place.