Undergraduate Academic Proficiency Test for International Students in China (CSCA)
Starting from the 2026/2027 academic year, applicants seeking to pursue a bachelor’s degree in China must take the “Chinese Undergraduate Study Ability Assessment” (hereinafter referred to as CSCA) before submitting their applications.
The Chinese Undergraduate Study Ability Assessment (CSCA) is a standardized examination designed for international students planning to study for a bachelor’s degree in China.
CSCA is organized by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) and jointly developed with experts from Chinese universities. It aims to assess students’ language proficiency and academic foundation, helping them better prepare academically for undergraduate studies in China. At the same time, CSCA scores serve as an important reference for Chinese universities in undergraduate admissions and scholarship evaluations.
By comprehensively evaluating students’ language skills and subject knowledge, CSCA helps them better understand their current level and prepares them for smoothly adapting to undergraduate programs in China.
Widely recognized by Chinese universities, CSCA focuses on assessing both language and subject abilities, enhancing students’ competitiveness and providing an academic basis for university admissions and scholarship reviews.
Applicants must log in to www.csca.cn to register.
The registration process is as follows.
Step 1,Prepare the following items.
1. Photo: Please ensure you have reviewed the photo requirements and tested your photo before registration.
2. Valid ID: You will need to provide information from a valid government-issued identification document during online registration.
3. Credit card: After completing registration, please make payment using one of the system’s accepted methods.
Step 2,Check the exam dates, format, and test centers.
Step 3,Create an account and register online.
Note: Applicants must first create a CSCA account before they can register or check their results.
Subjects vary depending on the university and major, with the following core categories:
Humanities majors: Primarily examine humanities Chinese.
Economics, trade, and management majors: Economic and trade Chinese, mathematics.
Science, engineering, and agriculture majors: Science and engineering Chinese, mathematics, physics or chemistry (choose one).
Traditional Chinese medicine majors: Humanities Chinese.
Western medicine majors: Medical Chinese, mathematics, chemistry.
Note:
1. For the required compulsory test subjects for your intended major, please contact your preferred university for confirmation.
2. Mathematics, physics, and chemistry are offered in both Chinese and English; candidates should select the appropriate language according to the university’s admission requirements.
The global inaugural CSCA exam will be held on December 21, 2025, with registration opening in November 2025.
Applicants intending to enroll in September 2026 must register for either the December 21, 2025, or January 25, 2026, CSCA exam. Each session offers two specialized Chinese tests (humanities Chinese and science/engineering Chinese) and three foundational subjects (mathematics, physics, and chemistry), allowing students to register for one or more subjects in a single exam.
Starting in 2026, CSCA will enter its regular operational phase, establishing fixed exam cycles and organizing five sessions annually in January, March, April, June, and December.
Currently, CSCA is primarily conducted as an at-home online exam, while gradually setting up offline test centers (either centralized computer-based testing or paper-and-pencil testing) in key source countries and regions.
In 2025, CSCA will establish its first batch of offline test centers in Vietnam and Thailand, creating a hybrid online–offline exam arrangement. Additional test centers in other countries and regions are being steadily built.
All CSCA subjects use a percentage scoring system, and scores serve as a reference; individual participating universities set their own admission standards based on their specific program requirements.
The release time of scores varies depending on the exam format. Scores for at-home online exams and centralized offline computer-based exams are released within seven working days after the test, while paper-and-pencil exams release scores within fourteen working days.
Candidates can check their scores on the CSCA website.
Depending on the number of subjects registered:
1 subject: 450 yuan
2 or more subjects: 700 yuan
Applicants can download the syllabi for each subject from the CSCA website to prepare for the exam (https://csca.cn/testprep/examsv).
Starting in 2026, all applicants for Chinese government scholarships to study at the undergraduate level must take the exam before submitting their applications, and exam scores will become one of the mandatory materials for university admissions review.
Plans are underway to require all undergraduate applicants to Chinese universities to take the exam starting in 2028, and minimum admission standards for undergraduate studies will be established.