Hubei University of Chinese Medicine — guide for international students

Hubei University of Chinese Medicine (湖北中医药大学, HBUCM) was established in 1958, beginning as the Hubei Vocational School of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It later operated as Hubei College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and, in 2003, was renewed by combining with the Hubei College of Medical Laboratory Sciences before taking its present name. The university’s own introduction describes it as the first provincial university in Hubei authorized to confer doctoral degrees in first-level disciplines, jointly established by the Hubei Provincial People’s Government and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and designated a "Domestic First-Class" Discipline Construction University by Hubei Province. It is not on the national Double First-Class list.

The university has two campuses in Wuhan: Tanhualin (昙华林) and Huangjiahu (黄家湖). The university’s address, and that of the College of International Education, is No. 16 Huangjiahu West Road, Hongshan District. HBUCM’s introduction gives a full-time enrolment of approximately 18,300, including about 15,700 undergraduates and 2,636 postgraduates, and 35 undergraduate programs across seven disciplines: medicine, science, engineering, management, literature, education and economics. Teaching runs from bachelor’s to doctoral level.

International students have been taught here since 1986 through the College of International Education (国际教育学院), which shares its administration with the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange (Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs). The college is responsible for international students and for students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The university does not publish a current international-student headcount on its English pages, so ask the college if the size of the international cohort matters to you.

HBUCM’s 2026 international admission notice (the English Admissions page, published alongside Chinese and English versions of the 2026 International Undergraduate Admission Brochure on 21 November 2025) is an undergraduate notice. Applicants must be non-Chinese citizens holding a valid foreign passport, under the age of 35, in good physical and mental health, and hold a high-school diploma. Two requirements are new compared with older HBUCM brochures and are easy to miss. First, the China Scholastic Competency Assessment (CSCA) is compulsory: science and engineering tracks need three subjects — Professional Chinese (Science), Mathematics, and either Chemistry or Physics — while arts and humanities tracks need two — Professional Chinese (Arts) and Mathematics. Second, the window is short and fixed: online applications run 1 April – 1 June 2026 through the university’s online system, not "throughout the year" as an older, undated brochure still on the college website says. Chinese-taught programs require an HSK Level 4 certificate; English-taught programs require TOEFL or IELTS scores or other proof of English proficiency, waived for native speakers. The 2026 major list is published only as an attachment to the brochure page ("2026 International Student (Undergraduate) Program Directory"), so check it for which majors and which language of instruction are open. Master’s and doctoral study is open to international students — the university charges published international tuition at both levels — but for 2026 the only graduate admission notices HBUCM has published are for Chinese Government Scholarship programs (the High-level Graduate Program, released 21 November 2025, and the Silk Road Program, released 30 April 2026). The university does not publish a self-funded postgraduate guide, graduate age limits or graduate language scores on its English pages, so ask the College of International Education before planning a self-funded master’s or PhD.

Degree programs

Select a degree level to see tuition, duration and entry requirements.

Non-degree programs

Documents to prepare

Application timeline

These are the dates Hubei University of Chinese Medicine published for the 2026 intake. That cycle has closed. Use them as a guide to when each step falls in the year, and check the official pages for the 2027 dates before you plan around them.

The university’s 2026 admission page names three layers of funding: the Chinese Government Scholarship, the Hubei Provincial International Student Scholarship and the university’s own Li Shizhen Scholarship. It does not publish the value of the Hubei or Li Shizhen awards on its English pages, so ask the College of International Education what each covers for your level before relying on it. For 2026 the Chinese Government Scholarship is the route the university advertises for graduate study, through two named programs with their own notices.

HBUCM’s research is concentrated in Traditional Chinese Medicine: medicinal resources and their chemistry, TCM health products, acupuncture, and TCM approaches to brain health in older people. The flagship is the Hubei Shizhen Laboratory, a provincial laboratory established under the Hubei Provincial People’s Government with HBUCM as lead operator. In 2022 the university gained its first Ministry of Education Engineering Research Center, for TCM protection of brain health in the elderly. The English Research Platforms page lists five platforms in all; it does not publish counts of research funding, papers or awards.

HBUCM’s international work is built around exporting TCM education and practice: short group training for foreign practitioners and students, joint undergraduate training with Thai partners, and cultural-communication projects. Its "Silver Needles: A Bridge to People-to-People Connectivity" acupuncture project is presented on the English site as an Outstanding Case of International Development Cooperation. The university does not publish a count of partner institutions on its English pages.

HBUCM does not publish employment or further-study outcomes for international graduates on its English pages, so treat any placement figure you see elsewhere as unsourced. In practice a TCM or Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine degree is a professional medical qualification, and whether it lets you practise depends on the licensing rules of the country where you intend to work — check with your home medical council before enrolling. Ask the College of International Education about clinical placements in the university’s affiliated hospitals and about employment support.

The College of International Education’s address is No. 16 Huangjiahu West Road in Hongshan District, Wuhan. The university’s fee catalogue sets dormitory rates for international students (and students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) in two blocks — the Tanhualin campus and the international student apartment — with four room types, charged either monthly or annually. International students take part in university-wide events such as the Shizhen International Culture Festival: the April 2025 festival drew nearly 1,000 faculty and students to Li Shizhen Square, with food stalls from Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire.

Accommodation

Dining

The university does not publish canteen locations or meal prices for international students on its English pages; budget for food separately and ask the college at registration.

Facilities

Reach the College of International Education (国际教育学院) / Office of International Cooperation and Exchange, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine for questions about applications, documents, scholarships and arrival. Type university programs and offices are based on campus in Wuhan.