CSCA Exam — Guide for Nigerian Students
China added an exam
before your scholarship.
It is called the CSCA. Since the 2026/2027 intake, no Nigerian student can be admitted to an undergraduate programme at a Chinese Government Scholarship university without sitting it first. We could not find a single Nigerian source that has reported it.
- Compulsory for scholarship and self-funded undergraduates alike
- Applicants to English-taught programmes are exempt from the Chinese paper
- Taken online from home — there is no test centre in West Africa
The CSCA (China Scholastic Competency Assessment) is a standardised entrance examination organised by the China Scholarship Council under China’s Ministry of Education. It measures academic readiness in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Professional Chinese. Since the 2026/2027 academic year, a CSCA score report is a compulsory document in every undergraduate application to a Chinese Government Scholarship university — for scholarship and self-funded applicants alike.
Nigerian students sit the CSCA online from home under remote proctoring, because there is no physical CSCA test centre anywhere in West Africa. Registration happens only at csca.cn. Each subject costs 450 RMB, or 700 RMB for two or more, and each is scored out of 100.
The CSCA in nine facts.
Everything a Nigerian applicant needs to know before deciding whether this affects them.
Exam rules, fees and schedules are set by the China Scholarship Council and can change. Confirm every detail on csca.cn and on your target university’s own admission guide before you pay anything or make a decision. This page is a starting point, not an authority.
- Full name
- China Scholastic Competency AssessmentAlso published as the Academic Proficiency Test for Undergraduate Admission of International Students in China.
- Run by
- China Scholarship CouncilUnder the supervision of China’s Ministry of Education.
- Who must sit it
- Undergraduates onlyMaster’s, PhD and exchange applicants are not affected.
- Compulsory from
- 2026/2027 intakeAt Chinese Government Scholarship universities, for scholarship and self-funded applicants alike.
- Subjects
- Four, two streamsProfessional Chinese (Humanities or STEM), Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry.
- Fee
- 450–700 RMB450 RMB for one subject, 700 RMB for two or more. Confirm the current fee and the naira equivalent at the point of payment.
- Where to register
- csca.cn onlyThe single official portal. There is no authorised registration agent in Nigeria.
- Scoring
- 0–100 per subjectNo national pass mark. Each university sets its own cut-off.
- Test centres
- None in West AfricaThe first offline centres opened in Vietnam and Thailand in December 2025. Nigerian candidates sit the exam online.
Does this apply to you?
Work down this table. If your row is marked required, you need a CSCA score before you can submit a single application.
| Your situation | CSCA | What you need to know |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s, Chinese Government Scholarship | Required | The score report is a compulsory document. Without it your file is incomplete. |
| Bachelor’s, self-funded, at a CGS university | Required | The requirement attaches to the university, not the funding. Self-payers sit the same exam. |
| Bachelor’s, English-taught — MBBS, engineering, business | Required | You still sit Mathematics. You are exempt from Professional Chinese only. |
| Master’s, PhD or exchange programme | Not required | The CSCA covers undergraduate admission only. Your route is unchanged. |
| Chinese language or short-term programme | Not required | Non-degree study sits outside the CSCA framework. |
| Bachelor’s at a non-CGS private university | Not yet | Currently outside the mandate. Confirm directly with the university, as the scope of the requirement may widen. |
The mandate is attached to Chinese Government Scholarship universities, and those are the institutions most Nigerian applicants deal with. Check your own target universities rather than assuming. Open each one’s 2026/2027 international admission guide and look for the CSCA requirement in writing — that page, not this one, is what your application will be judged against.
What you actually sit.
The CSCA uses a compulsory-plus-optional model. Mathematics is the only paper everyone takes. Your remaining subjects depend on your intended major and on the language your programme is taught in.
| Subject | Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | All applicants | May be sat in Chinese or English. The official syllabus setting out exactly what is covered is published on csca.cn. |
| Professional Chinese — Humanities | Chinese-taught arts & social sciences | Delivered in Chinese only. Covers law, economics, management, education and languages. |
| Professional Chinese — STEM | Chinese-taught sciences & engineering | Delivered in Chinese only. Technical and scientific vocabulary and reading. |
| Physics | Optional at CSCA level | Optional in the exam structure, but individual universities may require it for their science and engineering programmes. May be sat in Chinese or English. |
| Chemistry | Optional at CSCA level | Optional in the exam structure, but individual universities may require it, particularly for medical and life science programmes. May be sat in Chinese or English. |
Applicants to fully English-taught undergraduate programmes are exempt from the Professional Chinese paper. If your degree will be taught in English, Chinese is not part of your exam — Mathematics is, and whichever science your university asks for. Check that requirement with each university before you register, because it is the difference between a 450 RMB and a 700 RMB fee.
How a Nigerian student registers and sits the CSCA.
Confirm your subject combination with the university
Every Chinese university publishes its own CSCA subject list in its 2026/2027 admission guide. Two universities offering the same degree can demand different papers. Fix your target list before you register — you pay per subject and you cannot add one later.
Register at csca.cn — and nowhere else
csca.cn is the only official registration portal. There is no authorised Nigerian registration agent. Any website or WhatsApp contact offering to register you for a fee is, at best, charging you for something free.
Sort out your identification early
International examinations of this kind normally require a valid international passport, and the accepted document list is published on csca.cn. Check it and start any renewal early — passport processing times are outside your control and outside the exam timetable.
Check payment before the deadline, not on the day
The fee is charged in RMB and the accepted payment methods are listed on csca.cn. If you are paying with a Nigerian card, confirm your bank’s international transaction limit is active and sufficient well before the closing date.
Sit the exam online, from home, under proctoring
There is no CSCA test centre in Nigeria. You take the exam remotely with a proctor watching through two devices. The practical requirements of that set-up are covered in the next section.
Receive your score report and attach it to your application
Your score report is issued through the CSCA system and submitted with your university application. Check the current results timeline on csca.cn and factor it into your application deadlines — do not assume the report will arrive the same week.
Sitting a proctored exam
from a Nigerian home.
Because there is no test centre here, Nigerian candidates sit the CSCA at home, monitored by video for the full length of the paper. That makes power supply and internet connection part of your exam preparation rather than household background.
The list below is standard practice for remotely proctored international examinations. It is not a reproduction of the CSCA’s own candidate rules. Read the official requirements published on csca.cn and follow those; treat this only as a practical preparation checklist for Nigerian conditions.
- A laptop or desktop with a working webcam
- A second device — usually a phone — behind you at roughly 45°
- A phone stand or tripod for that second device
- Wired ethernet to your router, or sit directly beside it
- Laptop on mains power for the whole session, never on battery
- A charged 4G or 5G hotspot as backup
- An inverter or generator with runtime to cover the whole sitting
- Check on csca.cn what rough-work materials are permitted, and have them ready
- Your printed admission ticket and original passport within reach
- A cleared desk in a room where nobody will walk in
Avoid installing new software or system updates in the days before your sitting, and log in well ahead of the start time so that identity checks and the room scan do not eat into your paper. Clear the room of anything a proctor could read as a second screen or a second person.
The exact rules on identification, permitted materials and what counts as a breach are published by the China Scholarship Council. Read them on csca.cn before exam day — they are the only version that counts.
Where to start.
The CSCA is new, and no meaningful body of Nigerian candidate results exists yet. Anyone claiming to know exactly how Nigerian students perform on it, or exactly what the examiners reward, is guessing. Here is what is actually known.
The syllabuses are published free. The China Scholarship Council publishes the official syllabus for every paper on csca.cn, along with official mock material. That is the primary preparation resource and it costs nothing. Start there before paying anyone.
The subject level is secondary school. The papers cover Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Professional Chinese at a level broadly comparable to senior secondary study. If you have covered the material for WAEC or NECO, you have seen most of the content before — but check the official syllabus against what you actually studied, because the coverage is not identical.
It is a computer-based exam, not a paper one. If your practice has all been in an exercise book, the interface and the on-screen navigation will cost you time you did not budget for. Practise on a computer.
Score requirements come from universities, not from the CSCA. There is no national pass mark. Ask each university on your shortlist what score it expects — that number is the only target that matters for you.
Planning the wider application too? Read our full guide to studying in China from Nigeria →
Who published this guide.
Galaxy Uniprep Centre has operated in Nigeria since 2008 as an international education consultancy and an authorised examination centre, with offices in Abuja and Lagos and a representative in Kano.
We are not affiliated with the China Scholarship Council. We are not a CSCA test centre. We cannot register you for the CSCA — nobody in Nigeria can, because registration is done by the candidate personally at csca.cn.
We do not currently run a CSCA preparation course, and we do not process applications to Chinese universities. We published this guide because the requirement changed in 2026 and no Nigerian source had covered it. If it helps you apply on your own, that is the point of it.
What we do run is local and international examination preparation and study-abroad counselling. If you want to talk through your route abroad more broadly, our team in Abuja and Lagos is available.
The only place to register
Registration for the CSCA is done by the candidate, personally, at csca.cn. There is no authorised registration agent in Nigeria and no fast-track. If someone offers to register you, guarantee your score, or secure a Chinese Government Scholarship for a fee — walk away.
Common questions
What Nigerian students and parents ask about the CSCA.
Is the CSCA the same thing as the Chinese Government Scholarship?
No. The Chinese Government Scholarship is the funding. The CSCA is an entrance examination. You sit the CSCA in order to be eligible to apply — for a scholarship place or a self-funded place. A good score strengthens a scholarship application but does not award one.
Can Nigerian students take the CSCA in Nigeria?
Yes, but only online from home under remote proctoring. There is no physical CSCA test centre in Nigeria or anywhere in West Africa. The first offline centres opened in Vietnam and Thailand in December 2025.
How much does the CSCA cost in naira?
The fee is 450 RMB for a single subject and 700 RMB for two or more subjects. The naira equivalent depends entirely on the exchange rate on the day you pay, so work it out at the point of payment rather than budgeting from a figure you read somewhere. Accepted payment methods are listed on csca.cn.
Do I need to speak Chinese to sit the CSCA?
Not if you are applying to a fully English-taught programme. Those applicants are exempt from the Professional Chinese paper, and Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry can each be sat in English. Chinese is only compulsory if your degree will be taught in Chinese.
How hard is the CSCA?
The papers cover secondary-level material, broadly comparable in scope to WAEC or NECO subject matter. Beyond that, honestly: the exam is new and there is not yet enough Nigerian candidate data for anyone to tell you how hard you will find it. Download the official syllabus and mock material from csca.cn and judge for yourself.
Can I retake the CSCA if I score poorly?
The CSCA runs on a repeating schedule rather than as a single annual sitting, so a retake is generally possible. Confirm the current retake rules, the schedule and whether any limit applies on csca.cn before you plan around it.
What is the pass mark?
There isn’t one nationally. Each subject is scored out of 100, and each Chinese university sets its own cut-off based on its internal standards and the strength of that year’s applicant pool.
Is there an age limit?
Age and guardianship requirements are set out in the official registration rules on csca.cn. Check them there before registering a candidate under 18.
Does the CSCA replace HSK?
No — it sits alongside it. HSK measures Chinese language proficiency. The CSCA measures academic readiness across Chinese, mathematics and the sciences. Some universities may still require an HSK level for Chinese-taught programmes in addition to the CSCA.
Does the CSCA apply to master’s or PhD applications?
No. The CSCA is an undergraduate admission requirement only. Postgraduate applicants follow the existing university and China Scholarship Council application routes.
When are the CSCA exam dates?
Sitting dates are published by the China Scholarship Council on csca.cn and have varied by region. We do not list dates here, because a stale date on a website is worse than no date at all — check the official schedule directly.
Can Galaxy Uniprep Centre register me for the CSCA?
No, and nobody else in Nigeria can either. Registration is done by the candidate personally at csca.cn. We are not a CSCA test centre, we are not affiliated with the China Scholarship Council, and we do not currently run a CSCA preparation course. This guide is published as free information.
Questions
Still not sure whether
this applies to you?
If you are unsure whether your target universities require the CSCA, or how it fits your wider plan to study abroad, our counsellors in Abuja and Lagos are available to talk it through. We will point you to the official sources rather than sell you something you do not need.
Talk to our team