GDUFE 2026 International Students Enrollment Guide of Full–time Doctoral Programs

Guangdong University of Finance & Economics (GDUFE)

2026 International Students Enrollment Guide of

 Full–time Doctoral Programs

I. About GDUFE

Guangdong University of Finance and Economics (GDUFE) was founded in 1983 and it was authorized to confer doctoral degrees since 2021. It consists of two campuses with a total land area of about 150 hectares, one in Guangzhou city and one in Foshan city, both of which are core cities of Guangdong-Hongkong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Guangzhou Campus is located in the core area of Pazhou National AI and Digital Economy Demonstration Center, with walking distance to Guangzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center where Canton Fair is annually held, and Foshan campus is located within the scenic Yundonghai Tourism Economic District in Foshan City. It has adhered to the distinct characteristics of Integration of Business and Law, Practical Entrepreneurship, and Diverse Collaboration. After 42 years of development, GDUFE has become a comprehensive university of finance and economics with distinct disciplinary characteristics, strong teaching faculty, significant educational achievement, and high social influence and reputation.

GDUFE has developed a multi-disciplinary education system in economics, management, law, humanities, science, engineering, art and education. It offers 62 bachelor programs, including 18 national first-level programs and 16 provincial first-level programs. And it offers 2 first-level disciplines conferring doctoral degrees, 2 second-level discipline conferring doctoral degrees, 11 first-level disciplines conferring master degrees, 1 second-level discipline conferring master degrees, and 23 professional master programs. The total enrollment of full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students is about 29,000. It has established partnerships with more than 90 universities and scientific research agencies from over 30 countries and regions in the world.

I. Enrollment Plan

III.Length of Study and Degree Granting

1. Standard length of study: 4 years; Maximum study length: 7 years.

2. Degree: Students with formal student status at GDUFE who complete courses and obtain credits as required within the prescribed study period and meet the graduation requirements, will be awarded a doctoral graduation certificate; those who meet the degree conferment requirements will be awarded a doctoral degree.

IV. Eligibility

1. Applicants should be non-Chinese citizens with valid foreign passports, and the expiry date of passports should be later than December 31, 2026.

2. Applicants are in good physical and mental health with good conduct. They should abide by national laws and regulations and school rules, with no records of violation of regulations or rules of schools, no records of public security penalties or criminal record.

3. Applicants should hold a master’s degree or above, and should be under the age of 40. Applicants who haven’t graduated when applying shall provide a pre-graduation certificate while the official degree certificate must be provided before enrollment.

4. HSK 5 with a score of 180 or above; or HSK certificate can be exempted on condition that applicants took a master program with Chinese as medium of teaching and provides an official certificate of Chinese as teaching language after examined by GDUFE.

5. To show innovation, creativity and academic potential, applicants should submit at least one academic paper which has been published in C-class journals or higher in relevant discipline with the applicant as an independent author, or the first author, or second author with the supervisor the first) before application deadline.

V. Scholarship (offered only in standard study period)

1. Guangdong Government Outstanding International Student Scholarship (limited quota) is available for outstanding doctoral students. The amount is 30,000 yuan/year. The scholarship can be applied every year, but tuition fee will not be deducted directly.

2. Academic Scholarship: 10,000 yuan/ person/year. All enrolled doctoral students will be awarded Academic Scholarship.

3. Academic Allowance: Each year, supervisors provide an annual allowance of 12,000 yuan (divided and subsidized by month) for their international doctoral students, which is used for scientific research or academic exchanges.

VI. Fees and Payment

1. Application fee: 500 yuan (about 80 US dollars). Please attach the payment receipt with the application documents, otherwise the application is invalid. When paying the fee, please leave a note: Application fee+Passport number of applicant. Application fee is non-refundable.

The bank account information is as follows:

Account number: 714657755062

Opening bank: Guangzhou Xingangzhonglu Branch, Bank of China

Account name: Guangdong University of Finance and Economics

2. Tuition: 30,000 yuan per academic year (about 4,320 US dollars). It should be paid by year.

3. Accommodation fee:It should be paid by year. As on-campus accommodation is limited, students are suggested to make a reservation via the application system in a timely manner:

☆ Single room: 12,000 yuan /year (about 1,700 US dollars) – charged water, electricity, drinking water, hot bathing water and internet service.

☆ Twin room: 6,000 yuan /year (about 850 US dollars) – charged water, electricity, drinking water, hot bathing water and internet service.

4. Insurance: 800 yuan/year. Students should purchase “Comprehensive Insurance for Foreigners Studying in China” after arrival in China (coverage including accidents and disease medical treatment, hospitalization medical treatment, accidental disability and death insurance, etc).

VII. Application Deadline : May 1, 2026

Application system: gdufe.at0086.cn/student

VIII. Application Documents

1. Application Form For International Student Applying For Study At Guangdong University Of Finance & Economics (See Attachment 1) (Please submit it in doc form with a handwritten signature).

2. A scanned copy of passport info page. The expiry date of passports should be later than December 31, 2026, or a new passport is required. Applicants who are currently in China shall submit valid visa page or residence permit and entry stamp. Those who ever held citizenship of Chinese mainland, Hongkong, Macao or Taiwan and later acquired foreign nationality shall submit a certificate of household registration cancellation, a certificate of renunciation of Chinese nationality, or an official document issued by Chinese diplomatic missions or consular institutions certifying the absence of Chinese nationality.

3. Scanned copy of Graduation Certificate and Master Degree, which should be notarized. A notarized Chinese or English translation is demanded if the original documents are not in English or Chinese.

(1) Those who graduate from Chinese universities, the degree and graduation certificates should be verified by China Credential Verification (https://www.chsi.com.cn) and verification reports should be submitted.

(2) Applicants who graduate from oversea universities must provide the Foreign Education Certification issued by the China Education Ministry's Study Abroad Service Center (https://www.cscse.edu.cn), or certification materials issued by Chinese embassies abroad or equivalent legal certification materials.
    (3) Those who have not graduated should submit a pre-graduation certificate. Graduation and degree certificate should be provided before enrollment, or admission will be canceled.

4. Complete transcripts of all courses during postgraduate study.

5.Two Letters of Recommendation from postgraduate education universities (Signed by professors or associate professors in Chinese or English with the name of the referral and contact information).

6. Study and Research Plan in GDUFE: It shall be written in English or Chinese, and should include: the intended major, personal experience of study and work, academic research results, especially study and research plan for doctoral program etc.

7. Other materials that show the applicant's performance and research capability: English proficiency certificate, thesis and thesis review(graduates of 2026 shall submit the proposal and preliminary draft of their thesis), published academic papers, patents and other research achievement certificates etc. For thesis, applicants should extract the abstract and key sections, with a total of no more than 50 pages of materials. Also for each published paper, applicants should put the journal cover, content page, and main body pages in one file.

8. Language Proficiency Certificate: HSK 5 with a score over 180.

9. Resume (see Attachment 2): fill in the resume by following instructions in it.

10. Statement of Financial Support (see Attachment 3 for a template) and a Bank Deposit Certificate of the applicant or the applicant’s sponsor (at least 40,000 RMB). A relationship certificate shall be submitted if the applicant submits a sponsor’s bank deposit certificate.    

11. Foreign Physical Examination Result: It’s valid within six months and it should remain valid upon submission with an official stamp from a hospital (see attachment 4).

12. No Criminal Record: Applicants must submit a valid non-criminal record issued by the local public security authority in their home country and Chinese translation of it, which should be valid in 6 months before the date of application submission. When applying, those who have been residing in China for more than 6 months are also required to submit a No Criminal Record issued by the public security organs within China.

13. Guangdong Government Outstanding International Student Scholarship Application Form (see Attachment 5 if apply).

*In addition to the application materials listed above, applicants must submit other supplementary materials in a timely manner in accordance with the requirements of our university.

*All the above-mentioned materials shall be in Chinese or English. Materials in any other languages must be accompanied by translated and notarized copies.

*Applications with incomplete materials will not be accepted. All the above materials will not be returned, regardless of whether the applicant is admitted or not.

IX. Application Procedures

1. Apply and submit materials. By May 1, applicants should apply and submit documents via our application website: gdufe.at0086.cn/student.

2. Qualification Review. GDUFE will review applicants’ eligibility including nationality, highest degree, recommendation letters, academic transcripts, language certificates, and other supporting materials and finalize candidates for interview.

3. Interview. Eligible applicants attend an online interview in which their comprehensive abilities, language proficiency, etc. will be assessed. Details regarding time, way of interview will be notified through emails by GDUFE.

4.  Admission

(1) GDUFE will accept applicants based on their qualifications and interview results, and determine scholarship candidates. The final scholarship winner list is subject to the results announced by the Guangdong Provincial Government.

(2) A scanned copy of Admission Letter, Student Manual, Visa Application for Study in China (JW202), and results of on-campus accommodation application will be sent to the applicant’s email address. Please make sure the email address and contact number are valid with no problems receiving notifications.

5. Students should apply for a X1 visa in Chinese Embassy or Consulate in their home countries with their admission letters and the Visa Application for Study in China (JW202). And within 30 days since the date of entering into China, they should apply for study residence permit, otherwise, the admission will be canceled.

6. GDUFE will start the selection and recommendation procedures of scholarship in September after students’ successful registration.

X. Other information

Information regarding supervisors and teaching plan, please refer to:  (It will be released soon after it’s finalized)

XI. Contact us

Address: Office of International Exchange and Cooperation,

Guangdong University of Finance & Economics,

21 Luntou Road, Haizhu District, Guangzhou 510320, Guangdong, China

Contact Person: Emma Shi

Tel: +86 20 8409 6080

E-mail: fao3@gdufe.edu.cn

Website: http://english.gdufe.edu.cn/

Application system: gdufe.at0086.cn/student

XII. Information about Registration

1. International students shall finish registration according to the notice specified in the Admission Letter. Early registration is not accepted. Those who fail to register within time limits without approval of GDUFE shall be deemed to have forfeited their admission eligibility, and scholarship or any kind of financial support will be canceled accordingly.

2. Students shall be responsible for the materials submitted. For applicants who submit false materials to obtain admission, once verified, their admission qualification, enrollment eligibility, and student status will be revoked according to relevant national and GDUFE regulations, and the fact that materials are falsified will be reported to relevant administrative authorities.

3. Within 30 days since the date of entering into China, international students shall apply, with the assistance of GDUFE foreign affairs staff, for the Residence Permit at Guangzhou Public Security Department. If students choose to live off campus, they should apply for approval from GDUFE, and then complete residence registration at the police station.

4. Upon registration as a new student, international students shall, with the assistance of GDUFE foreign affairs staff, do a physical examination at Guangzhou Health Care Centre for International Travel. Students who upon medical examination, are confirmed to be suffering from severe mental disorders, contagious tuberculosis, or any other infectious diseases that are likely to cause serious harm to public health, as stipulated in Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China, shall be handled by the public security authorities in accordance with relevant Chinese laws.

5. International students are required to buy insurance at their own expense. Those who fail to obtain insurance in accordance with related regulations will not be admitted. Students who have already studied at GDUFE but fail to obtain insurance will lead to withdraw or denied registration.

6. International students should abide by Chinese laws and regulations, respect Chinese ethics and customs, observe the rules and regulations of GDUFE, and complete study within prescribed study period.

7. International students enjoy the same facilities and medical services as the Chinese student, but does not enjoy any scholarship or grant provided for Chinese students only.

8. International students are encouraged to take part in the cultural and sport activities which are beneficial to their mental and physical health. They can also volunteer to participate in the public services and events of celebrating China’s important holidays and festivals.

9. GDUFE respects the traditional customs and religious beliefs of international students, but does not provide religious venues. Religious activities in any form are strictly prohibited on campus, which include but are not limited to, missionary and religious assembly.

10. While studying at GDUFE, international students can participate in the Work-study Program on GDUFE campus, but is not allowed to take up any occupation, or to engage in business, or to carry out any other profit-making activities.

Attachments:

1. Application Form For International Student Applying For Study At Guangdong University Of Finance & Economics Attachment 1 广东财经大学国际学生入学申请表 Application Form for GDUFE Admission.pdf

2. ResumeAttachment 2 个人简历International Student Resume (Sample).doc

3. Financial SupportAttachment 3 经济担保 Statement of Financial Support.pdf

4. Foreigner Physical Examination Form Attachment 4 外国人体格体检表 FOREIGNER PHYSICAL EXAMINATION FORM .pdf

5. Guangdong Government Outstanding International Student Scholarship Application FormAttachment 5 广东省政府来粤留学生奖学金申请表 Guangdong Government Outstanding International Students  Application form.docx

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