Human Geography

The 2026 graduate application period was 2025-10-20 to 2025-12-23 Beijing time. The International Students Division first checked basic eligibility, then schools and departments conducted academic review. The second examination round was scheduled for March 2026, with exact arrangements published by each school or department. Preliminary admission lists were due before the end of May 2026; pre-admitted candidates had to mail the application form and required original materials by 2026-05-31. PKU planned to issue admission notices and JW201/JW202 materials in late June 2026, with registration in early September 2026.

Graduate applicants must be non-Chinese citizens with valid passports, physically and psychologically healthy, without a criminal record, and willing to comply with Chinese laws and PKU rules. Master's applicants need a bachelor degree or above from a university accredited by China's Ministry of Education; doctoral applicants need a master degree or above, while science and engineering subjects may accept direct doctoral applications from bachelor-degree holders. Chinese-taught programmes require HSK: science subjects need HSK 6 above 200 with writing at least 65, humanities subjects need HSK 6 above 210 with writing at least 65; qualified HSK 7-9 scores are also accepted. For English-taught programmes, non-native English speakers need TOEFL iBT 100 or above, GRE 315 or above, or other proof of English proficiency, subject to each programme guide.

Former mainland China/Hong Kong/Macao/Taiwan residents who emigrated need valid foreign-passport/citizenship evidence dating before 30 April 2020 plus Chinese-nationality cancellation proof for 2026 graduate entry. A finding of Chinese nationality by the exit-entry authority can invalidate application, admission or enrollment.

Graduate admission uses an application-plus-examination model. Master's and doctoral study can be full-time or part-time; unless a school, department or programme states otherwise, master's study is normally 2 or 3 years, doctoral study is 4 or 5 years, and direct doctoral study from a bachelor degree is generally 5 years. PKU's official 2026 graduate search page is marked as updated in October 2025 and can be queried by school or department, major, direction, language and degree type; exact programme identity, direction, study mode and teaching language follow that catalogue and each programme guide.

The 2026 undergraduate entrance-examination guide lists an RMB 800 application fee; undergraduate tuition is stated as to be announced after approval, so past-year or third-party amounts should not replace it. The graduate application fee is RMB 800 for each programme or major. The 2026 main-campus graduate tuition attachment lists total tuition rather than one uniform annual fee: many general humanities, social science, science and engineering categories were still pending approval, while specific entries include Master of International Chinese Language Education RMB 78,000, English-taught LLM in Chinese Law RMB 160,000, Global MBA RMB 188,000, MIR RMB 150,000, English-taught master's programmes in the School of Computer Science RMB 150,000, and English-taught doctoral Art Studies RMB 200,000. Exact amounts must be checked by programme and note.

Graduate applicants complete the PKU International Student Service System application and upload documents. Core materials include Chinese or English graduation and degree diplomas plus degree authentication, official complete transcripts, personal statement with research plan (1,500 words for master's, 3,000 words for doctoral), resume, application commitment letter, two recommendation letters from professors or associate professors or equivalent professionals in the relevant field, language test scores, the front page of every ordinary passport used continuously since 2020-04-30, table of contents and abstracts of academic publications or other original achievements if applicable, and any additional documents required by the school or department. Mobile-phone photos are not accepted; documents must be color scans of originals or notarized copies.

Upload bio pages of all ordinary passports used continuously since 30 April 2020. The current passport must remain valid for at least three months beyond enrollment.

PKU's application portal for international students is the PKU International Student Online Registration System at studyatpku.com. For the undergraduate entrance-examination route, applicants select Degree Students and Entrance Exam Undergraduate Program. Graduate applicants complete their application in the same service system, may apply for up to two programmes or majors, and must pay the RMB 800 application fee for each programme or major online before the deadline. Applications without fee payment or complete materials are not processed, and the fee is non-refundable.

The undergraduate route starts with PKU's qualification and material review; successful applicants take the written examination, and those who pass proceed to the second-round examination. Pre-admission is granted only after both rounds are passed. The graduate route starts with basic eligibility review by the International Students Division, followed by academic dossier review by school or department expert panels; the second round assesses research capacity, language proficiency, innovation capacity and overall quality. PKU continues to verify information and documents after pre-admission.

Final admitted undergraduate students may apply for or be evaluated for scholarships under the relevant rules. For undergraduate Chinese Government Scholarship Type A, applicants apply through the dispatching authorities in their home country and submit valid CSCA scores as required by PKU. For the Beijing Government Scholarship and PKU Scholarship for International Students, the undergraduate guide says qualified applicants are evaluated by the university and do not need a separate application. New graduate students may apply for Chinese Government Scholarship Type B, Beijing Government Scholarship for International Students, and PKU Scholarship for International Students; evaluation follows government and university rules.

PKU offers limited student apartments, such as Zhongguanyuan Global Village, usually booked online on a first-come, first-served basis. The general accommodation page lists RMB 180 to 220 per person per day depending on room type; if on-campus housing is full, students arrange off-campus housing themselves. The Fall 2026 Zhongguanyuan notice says full-time international students at Yanyuan campus may book via studyatpku.com, excluding Health Science Center, PKU Shenzhen, Changping New Campus and Daxing campus students; booking for Fall 2026 new students opened at 09:00 on 2026-08-13 until full. Students with scholarship-covered accommodation follow the relevant arrangement, and off-campus residents must register with the local public security authority within 24 hours of moving in.

Both undergraduate and graduate guides require international students to purchase the Comprehensive Insurance Plan for International Students; students without valid required medical insurance may not register. Admitted students use the admission letter and JW201/JW202 or study-visa application form to apply for an X1 visa at a Chinese embassy or consulate; after entry, they must convert it to a study residence permit within 30 days through the university process. The graduate guide also notes that students with overseas degrees must submit a CSCSE degree authentication report during registration qualification review.