Xiamen University (XMU), founded in 1921 by renowned patriotic overseas Chinese leader Mr. Tan Kah Kee, was the first Chinese university established by an overseas Chinese person.  

Xiamen University currently comprises Siming Campus, Zhangzhou Campus, Xiang’an Campus and XMU Malaysia. XMU consists of a graduate school, six academic divisions, 34 schools and 17 research institutes. Its disciplinary system covers 12 disciplinary categories, including philosophy, economics, law, education, literature, history, science, engineering, medicine, management, art and cross-disciplines. XMU boasts five first-level and nine second-level national key disciplines. There are 32 postdoctoral programs. In 2022, six XMU disciplines – education, chemistry, marine science, biology, ecology and statistics – were included in the nation’s list of disciplines for achieving world-class status.

XMU currently has a faculty of over 3,000, of whom 75.1% are full or associate professors. There are 36 academicians (including 19 with dual appointments), four fellows of the World Academy of Sciences, two members of the Academic Division of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and 41 heads of national key R&D programs, 28 “distinguished professors under the Chang Jiang Scholars Program”, two “specially appointed scholars”, 23 “national outstanding young scholars”, 62 recipients of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, 39 “leading scholars under the National Special Support Program for High-Level Talent”, 24 “top-notch young scholars”, and 67 recipients of the National Science Fund for Outstanding Young Scholars. Moreover, XMU boasts 12 national innovative research groups, two central projects in fundamental disciplines under the National Natural Science Foundation, nine innovation teams under the Ministry of Education (MOE), and six faculty members who are “national renowned teachers”. 

XMU currently has an enrollment of more than 45,000 students, including over 21,000 students in bachelor’s degree programs, 19,000 in master’s degree programs, and 5,000 in doctoral degree programs. XMU’s internal quality assurance (IQA) system was included UNESCO’s Program of Exploring Good Principles and Innovative Practices in IQA Systems in Higher Education, becoming the only university in not only China and but also East Asia to be selected for the program. XMU received one first prize and 15 second prizes at the sixth, seventh and eighth National Awards for Teaching Achievements in Higher Education. Eight of its disciplines were included in MOE’s Exceptional Students Training Program 2.0 for Fundamental Sciences, and 11 programs (13 projects) were included in MOE’s Excellent Talent Cultivation Program. Moreover, 64 programs of study at XMU were selected for achieving national first-class status, and 44 courses were included the nation’s first group of first-class undergraduate courses. Additionally, XMU has been designated by MOE as a demonstration center for the teaching and research of ideological-political courses, two of its courses have been designated by MOE as model ideological-political course. At present, XMU has six national-level experimental teaching demonstration centers, three national-level virtual simulation experimental teaching centers, one national-level clinical teaching and training demonstration center, and three national-level field practice education centers for university students. In 2018-2022, 46 XMU professors served on the MOE Academic Steering Committee for Higher Education Institutions.

XMU has more than 300 research institutes, including six National Key Laboratories, two National-level Collaborative Innovation Centers, one National Engineering Technology Research Center, one National Engineering Laboratory, five National-Regional Joint Engineering Research Centers (Laboratories), two National Innovation Platform for Industry-Academia Integration, one National Field Scientific Observation Research Station, one National High-End Think Tanks, one MOE Integrated Tackling Major Projects Platform, six MOE Key Laboratories, three MOE Engineering Research Centers, one MOE Field Scientific Observation Research Station, five MOE Key Centers for Research in Humanities and Social Sciences, one Collaborative Innovation Center by MOE and Fujian Provincial Government, one Ministry of Culture and Tourism Key Laboratories, one National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine Key Laboratories.

XMU implements a comprehensive global outreach strategy. The University has signed cooperation agreements with 265 overseas universities and is engaged in substantive exchanges and cooperation with 53 world-renowned universities. Actively involved in international Chinese education, XMU has built 14 Confucius Institutes, one Chinese Language and Culture Research Center, and 42 Confucius Classrooms in 12 countries on five continents, the highest numbers with the most extensive geographic coverage among Chinese universities on the List of “Double First-Class” Universities. Moreover, XMU is a leading center of Taiwan research and is on the forefront of cross-Strait academic and cultural exchanges. In July 2014, XMU Malaysia broke ground, making XMU the first Chinese university to open an international campus. Hailed as a jewel on the crown of the “Belt and Road Initiative”, XMU Malaysia offers 22 bachelor’s degree programs, seven master’s degree programs and four doctoral degree programs. It currently has an enrollment of more than 6,800 students and a faculty and staff of over 500. Most of the students come from the 38 countries and regions along the “Belt and Road”.

Academic requirements (may list the adopted subjects of each college)

• Unified Examination Certificate (UEC)  
• STPM
• A-level
• Diploma

Language Proficiency Certificate

(1) Chinese proficiency requirements for Chinese-medium programs

Applicants for programs in the humanities, economics, management and law need to have a Chinese proficiency certificate of HSK band 5 with a score of 210 or above; applicants for programs in sciences, engineering and medicine should have a certificate of HSK band 4 with a score of 210 or above. Applicants who have taken all courses in Chinese during their high school studies are exempt from the HSK certificate requirement, but a medium-of-instruction certificate from the high school should be furnished.

(2) English proficiency requirements for English-medium MBBS program

Applicants should present a TOEFL iBT certificate with a score of 80 or above, or an IELTS Academic certificate with an overall score of 6.0. XMU's DI Code for TOEFL is C310. Applicants who have taken all courses in English during their high school studies are exempt from the TOEFL iBT or IELTS certificate requirement, but a medium-of-instruction certificate from the high school should be furnished. Native English speakers are exempt from this requirement.

Tuition:  Study Cost (https://admissions.xmu.edu.cn/Admissions/Costs.htm)

Accommodation: 

(1) Siming Campus: The international student apartments on the Siming campus offer 2-person rooms, with daily accommodation fees per bed ranging from RMB 35 to RMB 65. Students need to apply for the housing. The monthly rental of apartments off campus is around RMB 2,500 per room.

(2) Xiang’an Campus: Students on the Xiang’an campus will be accommodated in suites, each of which comprises 4 double-rooms. The accommodation fee is ranging from RMB 1600 to RMB 4000 per academic year.

Insurance: RMB 800 per year.

Application Fee: 400 RMB

Living costs: RMB 1,000-1,500 per month

Part-time work: None

Career paths in China after graduation: None

Name of Scholarship:  Chinese Government Scholarships, China Studies Program (CSP) Ph.D. Fellowships, International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship, Fujian Provincial Government Scholarship, Xiamen Tan Kah Kee Scholarship, Xiamen University Scholarships

Chinese Government Scholarships

Full scholarship covers tuition, on-campus accommodation, living allowance (RMB 2,500/month for bachelor’s programs; RMB 3,000/month for master's programs and general scholar’s visiting programs; RMB 3,500/month for doctoral programs and senior scholar’s visiting programs) and insurance.

Partial scholarship covers one or several items under full scholarships.

Please refer to XMU’s Admissions Office (http://admissions.xmu.edu.cn) and China Scholarship Council (http://www.campuschina.org) for details.

China Studies Program (CSP) Ph.D. Fellowships

Full scholarship covers tuition, living allowance, research funding, round-trip international airfare (economy class; to be reimbursed on the basis of actual expense incurred), medical insurance, expenses for group activities and cultural experience, the joint research Ph.D. programs also includes international round-trip travel to China by foreign supervisor (economy class).

International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship

Full scholarship covers tuition, on-campus accommodation, living allowance (RMB 2,500/month for Chinese Language Programs; RMB 3,000/month for MTCSOL Program) and insurance.

Fujian Provincial Government Scholarship

Scholarship value is as follows: RMB 30,000 for bachelor’s programs; RMB 40,000 for master’s programs; RMB 50,000 for doctoral programs.

The University will select the best candidates from the pool of students who have passed the review to apply for the scholarship again in the following year. The shortlisted candidates will be submitted to the Fujian Provincial Department of Education for final approval.

Please refer to XMU’s Admissions Office (http://admissions.xmu.edu.cn) for details.

Xiamen Tan Kah Kee Scholarship

Scholarship covers tuition, on-campus accommodation, insurance and monthly living allowance.

Scholarship value is as follows: RMB 50,000/year for bachelor’s programs; RMB 60,000/year for master’s programs; RMB 70,000/year for doctoral programs.

Please refer to XMU’s Admissions Office (http://admissions.xmu.edu.cn) for details.

Xiamen University Scholarships

Partial scholarship (first-class) covers tuition and living allowance (RMB 3,000/month for master's programs; RMB 3,500/month for doctoral programs).

Partial scholarship (second-class) covers tuition only.

Please refer to XMU’s Admissions Office (http://admissions.xmu.edu.cn) for details.