Application guide

Cost of studying and living in China

Tuition, accommodation, food and city-by-city student budgets, plus the setup costs people forget.

ItemTypical annual cost (CNY)Notes
Tuition, bachelor's20,000 – 50,000Arts and humanities at the lower end, engineering and medicine higher
Tuition, master's25,000 – 60,000Frequently waived by a scholarship or a supervisor's grant
Tuition, MBBS (English-taught)45,000 – 80,000Five or six years, with clinical practice in years four to six
University dormitory5,000 – 20,000Shared room at the lower end, single studio at the top
Private rent, one-bedroom24,000 – 90,000Shanghai and Beijing at the top of the range
Food18,000 – 36,000Campus canteens are the single biggest saving available
Health insurance600 – 1,000Required for scholarship holders and for the residence permit
Books, materials and printing1,000 – 3,000Higher in studio-based and clinical programmes
Residence permit and paperwork400 – 1,200Annual renewal, including the medical check

Monthly student budgets by city

CityMonthly budget (CNY)What it buys
Changchun, Harbin2,100 – 3,200Dormitory room, canteen meals, local transport, modest spending money
Wuhan, Xi'an, Chengdu, Zhengzhou2,400 – 3,600The best value combination of a top-ranked university and low living costs
Nanjing, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Qingdao3,000 – 4,500Balanced costs with strong internship markets
Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Suzhou3,500 – 5,500Higher rent, better industry access
Beijing, Shanghai4,500 – 7,000Highest rent in the country, and the highest concentration of internships

The costs people forget

  • Document authentication: notarisation or apostille plus certified translations can cost more than the application fees themselves, especially for applicants from countries with no apostille convention in force.
  • The medical examination in your home country and again in China, plus the residence permit fee, the first-year insurance premium and the campus card deposit.
  • A return flight in the peak August–September window, which for long-haul routes can exceed the first-year tuition of a provincial university.
  • The exchange-rate buffer: budget 5–10% on top of your figures, because tuition is fixed in renminbi while your savings may not be.
  • The first month: bedding, a mobile plan, a SIM card, a bank account, a bicycle and a deposit on accommodation if you live off campus. Plan for a single expensive month.

How to bring the number down

  • Live in a university dormitory for at least the first year, and take the campus canteen seriously — food and housing are where the difference between a CNY 2,500 and a CNY 6,000 month comes from.
  • Target a provincial or university scholarship rather than only the CSC. Partial awards that waive tuition are far less competitive and remove the largest single cost.
  • Consider a project 985 university outside the first-tier cities. Tuition is broadly similar, but rent and daily costs are often 40–60% lower.
  • Ask about research assistantships, teaching assistantships and supervisor grants. Funded positions in science and engineering are usually advertised through the school rather than the central admissions page.

City-by-city guides

What each student city costs and what living there is like.

All city guides →