The education of international students in New China began in 1950, and has witnessed great development in recent years. Statistics show that 363 universities in 31 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities (not including Taiwan Province, Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions) received 61,869 students from 169 countries to study in China in 2001.

Chinese universities provide both diploma education and non-diploma education, with the former including senior and junior undergraduate students, Master Degree students, and PhD Students, and the latter including trainees and research scholars.

Chinese universities teach different types of students with different methods. Junior undergraduate students are required to study for two or three school years according to teaching programs, together with their Chinese counterparts in the same class, and conferred diplomas after they pass examinations.

Senior undergraduate students are required to study for four or five school years according to teaching programs, and taught separately or together with their Chinese counterparts according to subject requirements. And meanwhile, some optional courses are cut to cater to varying conditions of each student, or separate courses are added to meet different needs. These students are conferred bachelor’s degree after passing examinations and graduation thesis.

Master degree students are required to study for two or three school years according to teaching programs. International students have to finish all courses set in teaching plans under the guidance of their tutors and pass examinations and graduation defense before being conferred master’s degree.

PhD students are required to study for two or three school years according to teaching programs. International students have to finish all courses set in teaching plans under the guidance of their tutors and pass examinations and graduation defense before being conferred doctor’s degree.

Visiting students are required to study for one or two school years and are taught either separately or together with their Chinese counterparts according to their subjects. They are conferred refresher certificates after passing examinations or proficiency assessment.

Senior Visiting Students are required to study for one or two school years. The school must offer a tutor for each of them to direct their research according to different research projects. They are conferred refresher certificates after finishing their studies and research programs.

Research scholars are offered a liaison teacher each according to their research projects. They have to depend mainly on themselves for research, and the research time is decided according to the requirement of monographic research projects.

Chinese language learners, who are equal to graduates from high schools in China, are usually required to study for one or two school years, and are conferred refresher certificates after finishing their studies.

Chinese universities encourage international students to come to China and study for master’ and doctor’s degrees. Some universities are able to offer courses directly in foreign languages.