What is the CSCA test? A short guide for Arab students
What the CSCA test for studying in China is, who needs it, which subjects it covers, how to prepare, and where to find its official dates and fees.
If you plan to study for a bachelor's degree in China, your university may ask for a CSCA result. This short guide explains what the test is, who needs it and how to prepare.
What is it?
CSCA is organised by the China Scholarship Council (CSC), according to its official website csca.cn. It measures an international student's language ability and academic foundation before undergraduate study in China, and participating universities use the result as a reference for admission and for assessing scholarships. There is no single national pass mark: each university decides which subjects it asks for in each major, and which score it accepts.
Who needs it?
Mostly students applying for a bachelor's degree at a university that uses the test, including applicants for the Chinese Government Scholarship at that level. Master's, PhD and language-year programs don't usually ask for it. The requirements of the program you apply to have the final word, so read them on its page.
Which subjects?
The subjects include mathematics, physics, chemistry, and Professional Chinese in a sciences and a humanities version. No program will ask you for all of them; the university picks what each major needs:
- Chinese Government Scholarship, bachelor's: mathematics and Professional Chinese (sciences or humanities, depending on the major), plus physics, chemistry or both if the university asks for them.
- Chinese-taught programs: mathematics and Professional Chinese, plus physics, chemistry or both depending on the program.
For the mathematics, physics and chemistry papers, you choose the paper language, Chinese or English, as the published instructions describe.
Dates, registration and fees
The dates of each session, how to register and the official fees are published only on the official website, csca.cn, and the fee is paid there, to no one else. Your exact time and place are set by the admission ticket you receive after registering. These details can change from one session to the next, so check the official site before you plan.
How to prepare
- Find out which subjects your program asks for, on the program's own page.
- Measure your current level with a practice test in each required subject.
- Go through the official syllabus published on csca.cn and focus on your weak points.
- Practise questions in the paper language you will choose, against the clock.
EventyChina and Eventy Academy are an independent preparation provider, not part of the test's organiser. Our practice tests are free and written by us. They estimate your level but do not decide your eligibility; the university decides that, by its own rules.