Top 5 universities in China for international students in 2026

Every year QS publishes an updated world university ranking. China consistently holds the top tier — four universities in the global top 50, twelve in the top 100. Below are five we recommend most often to our students.

1. Tsinghua University (清华大学) — QS 14

China's flagship technical university, member of the C9 League. Strongest fields — IT, engineering, MBA at SEM Tsinghua, architecture. The campus is its own city: 100+ buildings, an internal metro stop.

• Tuition: 26,000–168,000 ¥/year (MBA — top-tier).
• English programs: a wide engineering and MBA catalog.
• CSC: tough competition, realistic with GPA 4.5+ and a confirmed supervisor.

2. Peking University (北京大学) — QS 12

The oldest university in China (1898), leader in the humanities and social sciences. Strong PhD tracks in Public Policy, Economics and Medicine.

• Tuition: 26,000–88,000 ¥/year.
• Best medical school in the country — Peking University Health Science Center.
• CSC odds 1:30, but the grant typically covers 100%.

3. Fudan University (复旦大学) — QS 39

Shanghai, the country's second-most-prestigious. Best in East Asia for journalism, international relations, medicine and the humanities.

• Tuition: 23,000–96,000 ¥/year.
• A huge pool of English-taught programs.
• Cosmopolitan city — English in Shanghai works almost everywhere.

4. Zhejiang University (浙江大学) — QS 47

Hangzhou. One of the largest research campuses in the world. Strong in computer science, biotech and applied math. Alibaba partner.

• Tuition: 22,000–80,000 ¥/year.
• A wide CSC catalog.
• A campus surrounded by mountains and lakes — the best student lifestyle.

5. Shanghai Jiao Tong University (上海交通大学) — QS 46

Shanghai. The "MIT of China". Mechanical engineering, aerospace, marine engineering, medicine (Renji Medical School), Antai School of Economics & Management.

• Tuition: 24,000–110,000 ¥/year.
• Many English-track master's programs.
• Very high share of international students.

How to choose between them

• IT/AI: Tsinghua → Zhejiang → SJTU.
• Business and finance: Tsinghua SEM → Peking GSM → Fudan FBS.
• Medicine: Peking → Fudan → SJTU.
• Humanities: Peking → Fudan → Renmin.
• Maximum CSC odds: Zhejiang, Tianjin, Harbin Institute of Technology.