CSCA Professional Chinese 2026–27: Humanities vs STEM and Format
CSCA Professional Chinese: 80 questions in 90 minutes, Chinese only, Humanities or STEM track. Required for Chinese-taught programs; English-taught exempt.
CSCA Professional Chinese is the academic Chinese test of the CSCA: 80 single-choice questions in 90 minutes, in Chinese only, scored 0 to 100. It comes in two tracks, Humanities Chinese and STEM Chinese, and you take the one that matches your major. You need it only for Chinese-taught programs; English-taught applicants are exempt.
- Official names: 文科中文 (Humanities Chinese) and 理科中文 (STEM Chinese, also translated as Science Chinese)
- Format: 80 single-choice questions, 90 minutes, scored 0–100
- Language: Chinese only; there is no English version
- Question types (official): character recognition, word selection, word discrimination, building paragraphs, sentence completion and reading comprehension
- Who takes it: applicants to Chinese-taught undergraduate programs
- Who is exempt: applicants to English-taught programs; some universities also accept HSK Level 4 instead for Chinese Language and related majors
- Pace: about 67 seconds per question on average
- Not the same as HSK: it tests Chinese for university study, not general Chinese
Professional Chinese is one of four subjects in the CSCA exam for international undergraduate applicants. The other three, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, can be taken in English. Professional Chinese cannot, because its whole purpose is to check whether you can follow first-year university classes taught in Chinese.
What is the CSCA Professional Chinese test?
The official 2025 syllabi describe the goal clearly. The Humanities track checks that you can understand first-year humanities lectures in Chinese, take notes, skim and scan academic texts for key words, and read simple specialist books with the help of a dictionary. The STEM track checks that you can tell academic Chinese apart from everyday Chinese, read university textbooks in subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing, and discuss technical ideas with Chinese teachers and classmates.
In other words, it is a test of Chinese for studying, not Chinese for daily life. You can be comfortable ordering food, chatting with friends and passing a general language exam, and still find the vocabulary of a law reading or a physics experiment hard. That gap is exactly what this test measures. For how this paper fits with the rest of the test, see our CSCA exam 2026–27 guide.
CSCA Humanities Chinese vs STEM Chinese: which one should you take?
Take the track your target program lists. Universities publish which test each major needs, and the official notice asks applicants to Chinese-taught programs to take the version that matches their major category. Both tracks share the same format and question types; what changes is the subject matter of the reading material. For the full map of majors to papers, see CSCA subjects by major.
- Humanities Chinese: 80 questions, 90 minutes. Topics draw on literature, philosophy, law, education, history and the arts, covering majors such as Chinese language and literature, political science, sociology, journalism and communication, foreign languages, music, drama and film, fine arts and design.
- STEM Chinese: 80 questions, 90 minutes. Topics cover mathematical symbols and formulas, physical laws and chemical equations, laboratory terms, basic concepts of higher mathematics and university physics, basic chemistry, programming terms, describing experiments, reading data charts, reading academic papers and joining class discussions.
Some programs surprise students. At Beijing Language and Culture University, for example, Chinese-taught economics and trade majors list Humanities Chinese, while computer science, artificial intelligence and data science list Science Chinese. The official notice also gives traditional Chinese medicine as an example of a major that takes Humanities Chinese. Never guess: check the requirement table for each program on your list.
What question types are on CSCA Professional Chinese?
Both official syllabi list the same six question types, all single-choice. The syllabus names each type but does not publish detailed specifications or the number of questions per type, so the descriptions below explain what each name means in practice rather than quoting an official breakdown.
- 识解汉字 (character recognition): reading and understanding characters and words in an academic context
- 选词填空 (word selection): choosing the right word to fill a gap in a sentence
- 辨析词语 (word discrimination): telling apart words with similar meanings or forms
- 选词成段 (building paragraphs): choosing words or sentences that make a passage flow logically
- 补全语句 (sentence completion): picking the phrase or clause that correctly completes a sentence
- 阅读理解 (reading comprehension): answering questions about academic passages
With 80 questions in 90 minutes, your average is about 67 seconds per question. Reading passages take longer than single-sentence vocabulary items, so the practical strategy is to move quickly through word-level questions and save time for reading. Building reading speed is the single most useful thing you can do before test day.
Who is exempt from CSCA Professional Chinese?
If you are applying only to English-taught bachelor's programs, you do not take Professional Chinese. You still take Mathematics, plus Physics or Chemistry if your major asks for it, so start with free CSCA math practice. Universities state this in their admission guides, and at Beijing Language and Culture University the English-medium programs list Mathematics as the only CSCA subject.
There is a second, narrower exemption. Some universities let applicants to Chinese Language and closely related majors replace the Professional Chinese test with a valid HSK Level 4 score report. Beijing Language and Culture University applies this to Chinese Language, Translation, Translation and Localization, Applied Chinese, International Chinese Education, and Chinese Language and Culture. Mathematics is still required for those majors. Our guide to whether the CSCA is mandatory lists the other exemptions.
- English-taught program applicants: exempt from Professional Chinese
- Chinese Language and related majors with valid HSK 4: may be exempt, if the university allows it
- All other Chinese-taught program applicants: must take the Humanities or STEM track their program lists
- Everyone: Mathematics is still required
How is CSCA Professional Chinese different from HSK?
HSK measures general Chinese ability across six or more levels. CSCA Professional Chinese measures whether you can learn your major in Chinese, scored from 0 to 100. There is no official conversion between the two, so be careful with websites that say Professional Chinese equals a particular HSK level. An HSK certificate also does not replace the test, except for the specific majors and universities that say so.
That said, HSK study is a good foundation. A sensible order is to build general vocabulary and grammar first, then add the academic words of your field. Think of HSK as the base and your subject vocabulary as the layer on top.
How should you prepare for CSCA Professional Chinese?
How to prepare for CSCA Professional Chinese
Download the right syllabus
Get the official Humanities or STEM syllabus from csca.cn and read the topic list. It tells you which subject areas the reading material comes from.
Build general vocabulary first
If your Chinese is still basic, work on core vocabulary and grammar before academic words. You cannot read an academic passage if everyday structure words slow you down.
Add your field's vocabulary
STEM students should learn the Chinese terms for functions, equations, forces, reactions, experiments and data. Humanities students should learn terms from law, history, philosophy, education and literature.
Read short academic texts every day
Read introductory textbook pages or encyclopedia articles in your field for 20 to 30 minutes a day. Practice skimming for the main idea and scanning for key words.
Practice word discrimination
Keep a list of near-synonyms that confuse you and write one example sentence for each. Word discrimination questions often test exactly these pairs.
Sit timed mock tests
In the last few weeks, complete full 80-question sets in 90 minutes. Track how long reading passages take you and adjust your pacing.
Whatever track you take, plan your preparation around all your required subjects together. A strong Chinese score helps less if your Mathematics score is weak. Our self-paced CSCA mathematics course covers the math syllabus in short lessons you can fit around daily Chinese reading.
Frequently asked questions
CSCA FAQ
How many questions are on CSCA Professional Chinese?
There are 80 single-choice questions in 90 minutes, scored from 0 to 100.
Can I take CSCA Professional Chinese in English?
No. Professional Chinese is offered in Chinese only. Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry can be taken in Chinese or English.
Do English-taught program applicants need to take CSCA Chinese?
No. Applicants to English-taught bachelor's programs are exempt from Professional Chinese, but they still take Mathematics and any science subject their major requires.
What is the difference between CSCA Humanities Chinese and STEM Chinese?
Both have the same format and question types. Humanities Chinese uses reading material from fields such as literature, law and history, while STEM Chinese uses material from mathematics, science, experiments and computing.
Can HSK 4 replace CSCA Professional Chinese?
Only for some majors at some universities, mainly Chinese Language and closely related programs. Check each university's admission guide.
Is there a pass mark for CSCA Professional Chinese?
There is no national pass mark. Each university sets its own requirement for the programs it offers.
CSCA.ai is an independent preparation platform. Confirm dates, fees and requirements on the official site, csca.cn.
