What is the CSCA? The 2026 guide for international applicants

The CSCA (China Scholastic Competency Assessment) is the entrance exam for international students applying to bachelor's programmes in China. Students in China take the gaokao, and many US universities use the SAT. Chinese universities use the CSCA in a similar way to assess international applicants.

Who needs to take the CSCA

From the 2026/2027 academic year, applicants to bachelor's programmes at Chinese Government Scholarship universities must take the CSCA. Harbin Institute of Technology, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and many other universities ask for CSCA scores. Each university lists its requirements in its admissions guide for international students.

The five subjects

The CSCA has five subjects: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, STEM Chinese and Humanities Chinese.

• Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry: 48 questions in 60 minutes per subject.
• STEM Chinese and Humanities Chinese: 80 questions in 90 minutes per subject.
• Every question is multiple choice with one correct answer, and each subject is scored out of 100.
• Paper language: Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry are offered in Chinese or English. The two Chinese subjects are in Chinese only.

Several universities require the paper language to match the teaching language of the programme, so read the admissions guide before you choose a language.

Which subjects you take

Your major and the teaching language of the programme decide your subjects:

• Everyone takes Mathematics.
• Science and engineering majors add Physics or Chemistry, as the programme requires.
• Chinese-taught programmes add STEM Chinese or Humanities Chinese.
• For Chinese Government Scholarship applicants, csca.cn lists Mathematics and a Chinese subject as required, with no exception for English-taught programmes. Scholarship applicants should confirm the subject list with their university.

Typical combinations on university subject lists:

• Computer science: Mathematics and Physics for an English-taught programme; STEM Chinese, Mathematics and Physics for a Chinese-taught programme.
• Chemical engineering: Mathematics and Chemistry for an English-taught programme; STEM Chinese, Mathematics and Chemistry for a Chinese-taught programme.
• Humanities and social sciences: Mathematics for an English-taught programme; Humanities Chinese and Mathematics for a Chinese-taught programme.

Your target university's subject list decides the final set.

What the questions cover

By our analysis of real papers, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry cover the Chinese high-school curriculum of grades 10 and 11. The questions follow the notation and topic emphasis of Chinese textbooks, which differ from IB, A-Level and many national curricula. In Mathematics, about half of the questions cover functions, sets and algebra, and about a quarter cover trigonometry and vectors. With 48 questions in 60 minutes, you have 75 seconds per question.

Format, sittings and fees

Most candidates take the CSCA online at home, on their own computer, with a phone or tablet as a second camera. Test centres are opening step by step in some countries. Where do you take the CSCA? explains both formats.

There are six sittings from November 2026 to June 2027, and each one takes two days:

• 14/11/2026 to 15/11/2026
• 19/12/2026 to 20/12/2026
• 23/01/2027 to 24/01/2027
• 13/03/2027 to 14/03/2027
• 24/04/2027 to 25/04/2027
• 26/06/2027 to 27/06/2027

One subject costs CNY 450, and two or more subjects cost CNY 700. Results come within 10 business days of the sitting. The exam guide shows the registration window and steps of each sitting.

How universities use the score

Each university sets its own score requirements, and the CSCA score is one part of the review alongside your school grades, language certificates and interview. Some universities accept scores only from specific sittings or set a deadline for submitting them, so choose a sitting whose results arrive before your application deadline.

How to start

1. Find the subject list for your major in the admissions guide of each target university.
2. Choose a sitting whose results arrive before your earliest application deadline, and register on csca.cn when its registration window opens.
3. Take a real past paper under timed conditions on CSCA Start to see your starting level.
4. Practise your weak topics in the free question bank, where every question has a worked solution.