English-taught study on a China scholarship: the language proof each notice asks for
Sources checked · Unofficial summary
You will almost certainly have to show proof of English, but there is no single national score. The Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship asks applicants to programmes taught in a language other than Chinese to provide relevant language proficiency certificates, such as IELTS or TOEFL score reports, "in accordance with the requirements of each university"; it states no minimum of its own. Two other notices do name a number: the MOFCOM Scholarship-CSC Program and the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship each set the bar at IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 80.
What the Chinese Government Scholarship guide actually says
The guide covers the question in two places.
On eligibility, item 11 requires an applicant to "meet the admission requirements of the university of preference in terms of language proficiency and academic ability, among others, when applying for a program taught in a language other than Chinese."
On documents, item 5 says: "Applicants for programs taught in other languages are required to provide relevant language proficiency certificates, such as IELTS or TOEFL score reports, in accordance with the requirements of each university."
So the guide names the kind of document and hands the number to the university. Read alongside it, the same guide sets fixed scores only for Chinese-taught study: HSK (Level 3) for general scholar and senior scholar programmes, and HSK (Level 4) for master's and doctoral programmes. There is no parallel HSK-style threshold written into the guide for English.
One extra requirement applies if you are applying for a bachelor's degree, whatever the teaching language: the guide requires applicants to take the China Scholastic Competency Assessment (CSCA) and upload a valid score report, with test subjects to be confirmed with the target institution (the guide gives the CSCA site as www.csca.cn).
Two practical cautions about this page: it carries no publication date and no academic year, and in the saved text one word of the University Program sentence is masked, so nothing should be read into that sentence beyond what is legible.
The notices that state a score
| Notice | What it requires | Teaching language |
|---|---|---|
| MOFCOM Scholarship-CSC Program | "sufficient in English which meets the academic requirements of the program, be equivalent to IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 80 and above level" | Winners must register for English-taught programmes (Master's 2–3 years, PhD 3 years) |
| ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship (ACYLS) | "Proficient in English (i.e., must possess an IELTS score of at least 6.0 or a TOEFL score of at least 80 points)" | English; candidates strongly advised to register for English-taught programmes, and proficiency must meet the requirements of the applied programmes |
The 6.0 / 80 figure comes from those two documents only. It should not be carried over to other programmes as if it were a general rule.
Note also the second layer in each: MOFCOM ties the score to "the academic requirements of the program", and ACYLS adds that English proficiency "must meet the language requirements of the applied programs". A programme can therefore ask for more than the floor written in the notice.
Notices that require English but give no score
The Youth of Excellence Scheme of China Program notice states its teaching language as English, supports master's students, enrols 200 students, and in principle runs a 12-month curriculum with a full scholarship (some programmes follow a "1+1" pattern, with the first academic year in China and the second year writing up in the home country before returning to defend). It states no IELTS or TOEFL score. Where the notice is silent, the number is not filled in by another programme's rules.
For that notice, the 2026 intake deadline was 23:59 on 31 March 2026 (GMT+8); that date has passed, and no notice for the following intake was on the page when it was checked.
Who sets the number you have to hit
The regulation behind all of this leaves teaching language to institutions. Article 19 of the Administrative Measures for the Enrolment and Education of International Students by Schools (Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Public Security) provides that qualified higher education institutions may offer degree programmes taught in a foreign language; a dissertation may then be written in that language, with the abstract in Chinese, and whether the defence is held in the foreign language is decided by the school. The order has been in force since 1 July 2017 under its Article 48. The measure is published in Chinese; any English wording here is a reader's translation, not an official one.
The practical consequence is that two places can set your score: the scholarship notice, where it states one, and the university, which every notice points back to. Check both before you book a test.
Questions people ask
Do I need IELTS or TOEFL for a scholarship to study in English in China?
Yes, you need to provide some English language document. Under the Chinese Government Scholarship guide, applicants to programmes taught in a language other than Chinese must provide relevant language proficiency certificates, such as IELTS or TOEFL score reports, in accordance with the requirements of each university.
Does the Chinese Government Scholarship guide set a minimum IELTS score?
No number appears in it. The guide defers to the university: certificates are required "in accordance with the requirements of each university", and eligibility item 11 asks you to meet the university's own admission requirements on language proficiency.
Is IELTS 6.0 the threshold for every programme?
No. That figure is stated in the MOFCOM Scholarship-CSC Program notice (IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 80 and above) and in the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship guidebook (at least IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 80). Other notices may state no score at all.
I already studied in English — do these notices waive the test?
None of these documents mentions a waiver, a medium-of-instruction letter, or an exemption. The guide says to provide relevant certificates per university; whether a given university accepts something other than IELTS or TOEFL is not stated in these texts, so it has to be asked of the university.
Does the Youth of Excellence Scheme of China list an IELTS score?
No. Its notice states the teaching language as English and describes the enrolment number, duration and coverage, but it gives no IELTS or TOEFL score.
When are the deadlines?
The documents differ. The MOFCOM page states no academic year or deadline date and tells applicants to consult the application receiving authority for the deadline of each year. The ACYLS guidebook gives no application deadline date, though its focal point list is headed "As of 2026". The Youth of Excellence Scheme notice covered the 2026 intake, with an online deadline of 31 March 2026. The Chinese Government Scholarship guide page carries no date.
Sources
- Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship, China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- MOFCOM SCHOLARSHIP-CSC Program (Enrollment Guide), China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- Guidebook to the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship, China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- Youth of Excellence Scheme of China Program Chinese Government Scholarship, China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- 《学校招收和培养国际学生管理办法》(Administrative Measures for the Enrolment and Education of International Students by Schools), Order No. 42, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (moe.gov.cn)
Checked 10 October 2026.
This page is an unofficial summary and is not published by the bodies named above; where it differs from the official notice, the official notice prevails.