Welcoming students from China

BU International College Foundation Certificates

• You can undertake an International Foundation Course before going on to an undergraduate course if you’ve completed 11 years of schooling or Senior High School Year 2 in China and have a minimum of IELTS (Academic) 5.0. 

Undergraduate courses (Bachelor’s degree)

You can apply to study a Bachelor's Degree from Year 1:

• If you hold a Chinese Senior High School Diploma plus successful completion of a relevant first-year undergraduate programme in a recognised Chinese university, or a Diploma from Specialised College (zhongzhuan)
• Completed Chinese Senior Secondary Academic Proficiency Test (HuiKao or equivalent) with a minimum average of 80%.

Note: students who do not meet the above entry criteria will need to undertake a Foundation Course.

Top-up courses

You need to hold a College Graduation Diploma (Dazhuan awarded by a university/college on completion of two to three years of study), or a BTEC Higher National Diploma or Foundation Degree Programme in a relevant subject. 

Postgraduate courses (Master’s degree)

You need to have a Bachelor's Degree from a recognised Chinese university with specific grades, normally from a four-year undergraduate programme, or a Bachelors Degree from Higher Education Self-Study Examinations, or a Top-up Degree.

Note: students who do not meet the above entry criteria will need to undertake a Pre-Master’s Programme.

Research programmes 

• ​You need a good postgraduate degree to be considered for a BU research programme. Please see more detail on the postgraduate research page.

Some courses may require specific or additional entry requirements. To find out more, please visit our Courses webpage.

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Pre-sessional English

We offer Chinese applicants a choice to study their pre-sessional English course in the UK or in China.

• Our Pre-sessional English course in the UK is delivered on campus at Bournemouth University International College.
• THe UKEC Pre-sessional English course is delivered in Chengdu with UKEC as our partner/ BU-contracted education agent in China. They have prepared Chinese students for entry to BU for a number of years. To find out more, please contact [email protected] 

Undergraduate and postgraduate

• IELTS Academic (UKVI or non-UKVI) 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component or equivalent.

Note: some courses may require a higher IELTS score.

For more information on acceptable English qualifications, please visit our English requirements webpage.

These fees are inclusive and cover all the essential course elements. Students may be required to pay for optional or discretionary aspects of your studies, such as textbooks, optional placements and printing charges.

We have done our best to clearly outline any anticipated extra costs on each course page at BU, to help students understand our provision and what they need to budget for.

Undergraduate

• £18,700 - £19,700 per year for full-time study (BA/BSc/BEng degrees). Please check the individual course pages to see the specific fees for each course.
• Plus £1,850 to take a placement year – this is optional and additional to the tuition fee, should the student wish to gain professional experience.

Tuition fees are fixed throughout your course (except your placement year) and applies to all undergraduate honours degree students, including those who start on an integrated Foundation Year.

Postgraduate

• Taught Master’s: £17,000- £22,000 for full-time study (MA, MSc and LLM degrees). Please check the individual course pages to see the specific fees for each course.
• MBA: £19,000 for full-time study.

Plus £1,850 to take a placement year – this is optional and additional to the tuition fee, should the student wish to gain professional experience.

Postgraduate research

• Library-based research: £20,000 per year, full-time fee
• Laboratory-based research: £23,000 per year, full-time fee.

Deposit fee (applicable to undergraduate, postgraduate and postgraduate research)

• £5,000 to be paid by the deposit date stated on the student’s offer letter.

The deposit is required to secure the student’s place on course they applied for. It is non-refundable, except in certain circumstances as outlined in Fees Policy (pdf, 232kb - please see Section 3).

Visit our scholarships webpages for more information:

• Undergraduate scholarships
• Postgraduate scholarships

BU has a dedicated Country Manager, Mr Nelson Xu, based in China. 

Nelson is happy to advise you about the courses available at BU, our entry requirements and all other aspects of university life. He works closely with our International Admissions Office to ensure that applications are processed as quickly as possible and that other processes, such as visa applications, go smoothly.

Contact: Nelson

Email: [email protected]

In addition we also have a number of representatives in China, who are based in various cities around the country. They are available to assist you with your application to study at BU. When you apply for one of our courses, you can choose whether to do so directly, or to submit your application form via your local representative, who will liaise with us throughout the application process. For a list of our official BU representatives in China, visit our international representatives webpage. 

If you’d like more general advice about the UK education system, visas, scholarships or the variety of courses on offer, you should contact the British Council in China or browse the UKCISA website.