1. What is the CSCA Exam?

Historical Background:

With the increasing number of international students, Chinese education authorities have shifted their focus towards improving the quality of incoming students since 2019. To establish a standardized selection system, relevant departments initiated preparations for the International Entrance Exam in 2021, and officially established this policy in 2025.

From August to September 2025, China has officially established the “China Scholastic Competency Assessment (CSCA)” to create a unified and authoritative admission standard for international undergraduates, ensuring fairness, improving quality control, and supporting the “Study in China” brand. Starting from 2026, all applicants for undergraduate programs at Chinese Government Scholarship universities must take the test before submitting their applications, and the test result paper shall serve as one of the required materials for university admission review. This article shows you all useful information you have to know.

2. Test-Takers

On October 12, 2025. Undergraduate students enrolled in Chinese Government Scholarship universities will take the test.

On December 21, 2025. The first global CSCA examination will be held.

Starting from 2026, all applicants for undergraduate programs(for both scholarship and self-funded program applicants) at Chinese Government Scholarship universities(list can be found at part VIII of this article) must take the test before submitting their applications, and the test result paper shall serve as one of the required materials for university admission review.

Starting in About 2028 (planned), all undergraduate applicants to Chinese universities will be required to take the exam, and China will establish minimum standards for undergraduate admissions.

• CSCA Humanities Chinese Syllabus | CSCA STEM Chinese Syllabus | CSCA Mathematics Syllabus | CSCA Physics Syllabus | CSCA Chemistry Syllabus
• Previous Test Papers For Reference
• Learn CUCAS Mock Test | Take Mock Test Directly

Below are feedbacks from students who have taken the CSCA exam:

• The tests include some basic questions from junior high school and senior high school.
  From a Myanmar student who took the CSCA exam on October 12, 2025.

• The system is simple; you can go back to the previous question and change your answer if you want, but before you submit. About the exam scope:
  Chemistry: Topics include questions such as the molecular formula of calcium chloride, identifying oxides in chemical reactions, the products formed, and other conceptual questions.
  Mathematics: Topics include arithmetic and geometric sequences, ellipses, slopes, eccentricity, trigonometric function values such as sin 30°, cos, and tan, as well as inverse functions, even and odd functions (for example, multiple-choice questions asking which one is an even function or which equation represents a standard circle).
  From another Myanmar student who took the CSCA exam on October 12, 2025.

To better help you understand the difficulty level of the exam, AUFIN has conducted a sampling analysis of CSCA scores from 40 students and performed a corresponding assessment

3.1 Test Run in Oct 2025

Offline

Take the exam in a classroom via computer; the exam paper consists of multiple-choice questions (based on current information)

Both Chinese and English test papers are provided. Mathematics is a compulsory subject, while Physics and Chemistry are optional subjects. Each university may decide, based on the student‘s major, whether to require them to take the optional subjects.

Students who have taken the Chinese Government Scholarship preparatory program graduation exam at any of the 17 designated preparatory universities(Including Tianjin University, Nanjing Normal University, Shandong University, Central China Normal University, Tongji University, Beijing Language and Culture University, Northeast Normal University, Beijing International Studies University, Capital Normal University, and the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE)) are exempt from the test.

Below is the detailed arrangement; each test lasts 1 hour.

3.2 The First Global CSCA Examination on Dec 21, 2025

The exam will primarily be taken online at home. The first offline testing centers (centralized computer-based or paper-based) will be established in Vietnam and Thailand.

Note: If there is a test center in your area, you are not eligible to register for the Remote-proctored Home-based Test (RHT).

Subjects:

The test includes four subjects: Specialized Chinese, Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry.

Specialized Chinese is divided into two categories: Humanities Chinese and Science(STEM) Chinese. Applicants for undergraduate programs taught in Chinese must take the corresponding test according to their chosen major. Applicants for undergraduate programs taught entirely in English are exempt from the Specialized Chinese test. Applicants for the Chinese Language major may be exempted if they can provide a valid HSK Level 4 certificate.

Mathematics is a compulsory subject and serves as an important basis for assessing applicants’ academic foundation and logical reasoning ability; all applicants are required to take the test.

Physics and Chemistry are optional subjects, and each university may decide whether to require them according to its training needs. In principle, applicants for science, engineering, agriculture, or medical majors must take at least one test of the two subjects. More details about test subjects can be found below:

Test Language:

Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry are offered in both Chinese and English test papers, and applicants may choose the language version according to the language of instruction required, or requirements of their intended university.

Test Arrangements:

The first test is scheduled for December 21, 2025, and registration will open at 14:00 (Beijing Time) on 10 November 2025 and close on November 28, The Internet Speed Test function will be available from December 2 to December 5 (Beijing time). All candidates must enter the registration system to perform the speed test. The test schedule is as follows (Beijing Time):

The specialized Chinese test includes question types such as character recognition, cloze exercises, word distinction, paragraph construction, sentence completion, and reading comprehension.

3.3 Starting From 2026

Online + offline

Online + offline (centralized computer-based or paper-based test) testing formats, and establishing offline testing centers in major source countries for undergraduate students studying in China, including India, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and Kazakhstan. And the plan is to achieve full coverage of testing centers in the top 20 source countries within 2-3 years.

Starting from 2026, the test will be offered regularly, five times a year, in January, March, April, June, and December. The 2026 exam dates are: January 25(Registration Period: December 23, 2025 – January 10, 2026) and March 15 (other sessions to be announced).

The tests in December, April, and June will primarily cover the Asia-Pacific region, while those in January and March will focus on Europe and the Americas, to ensure that candidates in different time zones worldwide can choose suitable test dates.

When preparing the 2026/2027 admission guides for international students, all Chinese Government Scholarship universities must specify that the "Test Score Report for China Scholastic Competency Assessment" is a required application document and clearly indicate the test subjects and requirements that applicants must meet for their undergraduate programs.

Score Line:

Universities will receive test results and must use the scores as a quantitative measure of applicants' academic abilities across different countries and educational backgrounds. They may also independently set admission cut-off scores based on their specific circumstances.

Registration Time:

Registration is scheduled to open from early to late November 2025, and the specific dates and procedures will be announced on the CSCA official website (www.csca.cn).

Method:

Registration methods include online registration as the primary option, completed through the CSCA official website (www.csca.cn) with support for both Chinese and English. Some overseas test centers offer offline registration assistance for candidates in areas with limited internet or technical conditions. The specific test centers and service details will be announced separately.

Documents required for registration: Photo and Valid ID.

How to Register

Test Fees:

The fee is RMB 450 for a single-subject test and RMB 700 for two or more subjects.

The payment system supports major domestic and international methods, including Alipay, WeChat Pay, UnionPay, VISA, and MasterCard

(Refund policy for reference).

What to Do After You Have Made Your Payment?

Step 1: Check and Confirm your Registration (Check sample).

Step 2: Review Your Registration Details Again (Check sample).

If there are any mistakes, you can apply to correct them for free once before your admission ticket is generated.

After that, you cannot make any changes. You will need to complete an application form(sample for reference)

and submit it, along with supporting documents such as your passport and proof, to cscaservice@cscdf.org. It may take about 5 days to process the correction.

Check how to correct your registration information for CSCA (for reference).

How to take CSCA Test Online - Step-by Step Guide:

Step 1: Download the admission ticket

Sample & Guide for Admission Ticket

Step 2: Download the CSCA test software, please download latest version in the CSCA platform |

Step 3: Preparation: Including device, exam environment setup(two cameras will be required), test network.

Step 4: Join Proctored Mock Test before test day(If you have multiple passwords you can choose one of them).

Step 5: On Test Day: Do equipment and environment setup, then enter admission ticket no. and password to sign in to the software you downloaded from step 2, and complete the test.

Check guide about how to take CSCA test

CSCA exam interface for reference

All CSCA subjects are scored on a 100-point scale, and the results serve as a reference for universities, which set their own admission standards based on their program requirements. Scores for online-at-home and on-site computer-based tests will be released within 7 working days after the exam(Based on current data, it may take approximately 10 to 14 days. For example, the results for the December 21 test were released around January 2, 2026.), while paper-based test scores will be released within 14 working days. Universities may also view students’ relative percentile rankings among global test-takers to understand their academic standing internationally and enhance the precision of candidate selection.

Once the results are released, you can download your CSCA transcript. Results for all subjects will be combined into a single document

(Refer to the CSCA Results Sample)

Need help ? contact scholars@aufin.org