Yes, nursing in China for Pakistani students is possible in English, but the choice is narrow and the paperwork risk is real. In our directory, one university lists a nursing bachelor's for international students: Shandong First Medical University in Tai'an. Its directory fee is 20,000 RMB a year from year 2, and 35,800 RMB in year 1. The bigger question is whether Pakistan will accept the degree for nursing registration. We could not confirm that from any official source, so check it before you pay anything.
This guide covers which programmes exist, what they cost per our directory, what the official pages say, and an honest view on whether the pathway makes sense. Read it if you are a student or parent comparing BSc nursing China English programmes with a nursing degree at home. Confirm every fee and rule with the university and the regulator, because they change.
The short answer: what we found
- English-taught nursing bachelor's programmes for international students are rare in China. Most undergraduate nursing places are taught in Chinese.
- Our directory lists one: Shandong First Medical University (SDFMU). It is listed as non-MOE in our directory and as PMDC-approved for MBBS. That PMDC flag says nothing about nursing.
- Duration is unclear. Our directory says 5 years. A 2026 enrolment brochure for the same university says 4 years. Ask the university in writing.
- We found no official Pakistani source that says a Chinese nursing degree is accepted for nursing registration. Treat that as unconfirmed.
- For most families, a four-year BSN in Pakistan is the safer route unless you plan to practise outside Pakistan.
Can Pakistani students study nursing in China in English?
Sometimes. China's Ministry of Education rules treat most undergraduate programmes for international students as Chinese-taught, so English-medium bachelor's degrees exist only at selected universities. Medicine (MBBS) is the large exception, which is why you see so many English MBBS listings and so few nursing ones.
Here is what we found when we checked university pages and search results in October 2026:
- Shandong First Medical University lists a nursing bachelor's taught in English in its 2026 international enrolment brochure.
- Nanjing Medical University published an English-medium nursing admission notice for international students, but the notice we found dates from 2019. Treat its figures as outdated and ask the university whether the programme still runs.
- Shandong University's international office lists a nursing programme, but search results suggest its main nursing track is Chinese-taught. One listing also shows an English-taught 5-year nursing option at 32,000 RMB a year, but we could not open the document to read it, so we do not rely on it.
- Peking University Health Science Center says it offers nursing to international students, but its pages do not say the undergraduate track is in English.
- Fudan University's own international pages list only MBBS and one other English-taught undergraduate programme, not nursing. Agency posts that mention a Fudan nursing bachelor's for international students are not backed by an official page we could find.
So the honest answer is that SDFMU is the only option we can point to with any detail, and even that detail needs confirming. Anyone who gives you a long list of English nursing universities in China with exact fees should show you the university page behind each line.
Shandong First Medical University nursing: what we know
SDFMU was founded in 1891 and was formerly Taishan Medical University. It is in Tai'an, Shandong, about 30 minutes from Jinan by high-speed rail. Per our directory it is a public medical university, listed as non-MOE, and flagged PMDC-approved for its MBBS. Read our guide on how to verify PMDC-recognised universities in China before you rely on any such flag.
Our directory groups nursing with pharmacy and biotechnology as one English-medium programme block. Here is what it shows, per our directory. Confirm the current fee with the university.
| Item | Per our directory |
|---|---|
| Programme | BSc Nursing (English medium) |
| Duration | 5 years in our directory; a 2026 brochure says 4 years |
| Intake | Autumn (September) |
| Tuition | 15,000 RMB a year |
| Hostel | 3,400 RMB a year |
| Year 1 total | 35,800 RMB (includes a one-time 15,000 RMB liaison and management charge) |
| Year 2 onwards | 20,000 RMB a year (tuition, hostel, visa extension 800, insurance 800) |
| Application fee | 1,500 RMB, paid to the university |
| Five-year total | About 115,800 RMB |
Two cautions. First, the 15,000 RMB liaison charge in year 1 is a service charge in our directory, not a government fee. Ask exactly what it covers and who receives it. Second, the 4-year versus 5-year gap matters. A year changes your total cost and your graduation date, so get the duration on your offer letter.
Entry requirements from the 2026 brochure
A 2026 enrolment brochure for SDFMU, which we read on a third-party site and not on the university's own domain, lists these entry points for English-taught majors:
- A foreign passport, good health, no criminal record, and age 18 to 25.
- A high school diploma, with a grade of at least 60 to 70 percent overall and at least 65 percent in English, or an IELTS score of 6.5 or above.
- A passport valid for at least 18 months, plus a health certificate and a police certificate issued within six months.
- A video test, medical examination and entrance exam. For medical majors the entrance exam covers English, physics, chemistry and biology.
- A registration fee of 400 RMB and an entrance deposit, due within seven days of the pre-admission notice.
The same brochure gave application windows of 1 January to 1 April 2026 for the spring semester and 1 June to 1 September 2026 for the fall semester. Our directory says the programme starts in autumn. Dates for 2027 were not published when we checked. Look at the university's own admissions page and the 2027 intake guide for the general timeline.
For HSK, our directory says Chinese language training starts in year 1 and does not give a pass mark for nursing. If you want to understand how HSK works in general, see our HSK exam guide. Nursing students deal with patients, so expect Chinese to matter more in the clinical years. The same point applies to MBBS, covered in do you need Chinese for MBBS in China.
How much is nursing in China?
Based on the one programme in our directory, nursing in China fees run about 20,000 RMB a year after year 1, with a bigger first year. That sits well below English-medium MBBS fees at most universities. The table below puts the numbers in context. The MBBS figure is the annual recurring total per our directory for the same university.
| Programme at SDFMU | Year 1 total | Year 2 onwards | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing, pharmacy, biotechnology | 35,800 RMB | 20,000 RMB a year | 5 years (directory) |
| MBBS | Higher; see university page | 27,600 RMB a year (about US$3,900) | 6 years |
Add the costs that no fee table covers: flights, food, local transport, winter clothing, and a Chinese language book budget. Our directory estimates living costs in Tai'an at roughly 700 to 900 RMB a month. For a fuller view of how Chinese study costs add up, read MBBS in China total cost for Pakistani students, which uses the same directory logic for medicine.
Expect that other universities with English nursing will charge differently. We did not find an official fee for Fudan or Peking University nursing for international students, and we will not quote the agency figures that circulate online. If a consultant gives you a fee for a nursing programme, ask for the university page that shows it.
Is a nursing degree from China valid in Pakistan?
This is the question that decides the whole plan, and we could not close it with an official answer. Here is what is confirmed and what is not.
- Confirmed: the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council (PNMC, formerly the Pakistan Nursing Council) licenses nurses in Pakistan. Its notifications page lists a 2018 decision on the equivalence and attestation of nursing degrees and diplomas, but we could not read the criteria.
- Confirmed: the Higher Education Commission describes the Pakistani BS Nursing as a four-year degree, with entry from HSSC pre-medical at 50 percent or above. The old three-year nursing diploma stopped admissions on 31 December 2018.
- Not confirmed: whether PNMC accepts a Chinese bachelor's in nursing for registration, what documents it asks for, and whether a licensing exam applies to foreign-qualified nurses.
- Not confirmed: whether a university's PMDC flag has any bearing on nursing. PMDC regulates doctors and dentists, so it does not.
Pakistani universities also treat foreign qualifications through IBCC equivalence for school-level certificates and HEC for degree attestation. See our IBCC attestation and equivalence guide for the school-level step. Then write to PNMC and ask for the current process for a foreign BSc nursing, and keep the reply.
What about MDCAT and the PM&DC notice?
The PM&DC public notice of 5 October 2026 removed MDCAT for Pakistani students seeking admission to foreign medical institutions. Read the details in our notice explainer. That notice concerns medical institutions and doctors. It does not tell you how the nursing council treats a nursing degree from China. Do not use it as a shortcut for nursing.
Study nursing in China scholarship: what is realistic?
The main national route is the Chinese Government Scholarship run through the China Scholarship Council. Applications go through Campus China. Coverage in the guides we read includes tuition, accommodation, a monthly stipend and insurance, but amounts and eligible fields change each year.
Two limits matter for nursing. Official-style summaries state that undergraduate programmes for international students are generally taught in Chinese under Ministry rules, with a preparatory language year first. We also found nothing that names English-taught nursing as a scholarship field. So a funded place for nursing is not something to plan around until a university or Campus China confirms it in writing.
Some universities give their own awards to international students, usually after admission. Ask SDFMU whether any award applies to the nursing intake. For the wider picture, read our China scholarships guide and the country-by-country list of fully funded MBBS scholarships. The second one is about medicine, so use it for context, not as proof that nursing is funded.
A reminder on safety: no agent should charge you for a government scholarship application. Titans Abroad does not charge a consultation fee, and if anyone asks you to pay for a government scholarship form, walk away.
How long is a nursing degree in China?
It depends on the university and the language. Sources we saw give these lengths:
| University | Length | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Shandong First Medical University | 5 years | Our directory |
| Shandong First Medical University | 4 years | 2026 enrolment brochure |
| Nanjing Medical University | 4 years, including a 1-year internship | Admission notice from 2019 |
Compare that with Pakistan, where the BSN is four years of study, and some Pakistani universities describe an extra one-year internship before the licensing exam. The sources disagree on whether the internship counts inside or after the four years, so check PNMC for the current rule.
Is nursing in China better than in Pakistan?
For most Pakistani families, no, not by default. Here is the plain comparison.
| Factor | Nursing in China | BS Nursing in Pakistan |
|---|---|---|
| Language | English lectures, but Chinese in hospitals | English and Urdu |
| Registration | Unconfirmed with PNMC | Clear path through PNMC |
| Cost | About 115,800 RMB over 5 years plus living and travel | Depends on the institution |
| Choice | One programme in our directory | Many public and private colleges |
| Clinical training | In Chinese hospitals | In Pakistani hospitals |
China can make sense in a narrow case: you want an international experience, you are ready to learn Chinese, you plan to work outside Pakistan, and you have checked the licensing rules of that destination. It is a weaker choice if your goal is a registered nursing job in Pakistan, because the one rule you need is the one we could not confirm.
If you are really weighing medicine instead, our guide on whether MBBS in China is worth it covers that decision, and the MBBS in China directory lists the universities. Nursing and medicine lead to very different careers, so do not switch courses only because one is easier to get into.
How to apply and what to check first
- Write to PNMC and ask in writing how a foreign BSc nursing is assessed for registration. Keep the reply.
- Ask the university for the current brochure, the programme length, the total fee and a fee breakdown on its own letterhead or domain.
- Ask what the liaison charge covers and who it is paid to.
- Confirm the language of instruction in clinical years and the HSK requirement.
- Check the university's recognitions on its own site. Confirm anything PMDC-related on pmdc.pk and search.wdoms.org, but remember those lists are about medicine and dentistry.
- Prepare documents: passport with at least 18 months validity, attested academic records, health and police certificates. Our how to apply for MBBS in China guide shows the document flow, which is similar for other bachelor's programmes.
You can browse our nursing programmes in China page for the current listing. Titans Abroad does not charge a consultation fee and will tell you plainly if a programme does not fit your goal. If you want a second opinion on a shortlist, you can apply on our site.
Frequently asked questions
Can Pakistani students study nursing in China in English?
Yes, but options are few. Our directory lists one English-taught nursing bachelor's for international students, at Shandong First Medical University. Other universities have published English nursing notices in the past, but some are old. Ask each university to confirm in writing that the programme is taught in English and that it is open to Pakistani applicants this year.
How much is nursing in China?
Per our directory, Shandong First Medical University charges 15,000 RMB tuition and 3,400 RMB hostel a year. Year 1 totals 35,800 RMB with one-time charges. From year 2 it is 20,000 RMB a year. Confirm the current fee with the university, and add travel and living costs of roughly 700 to 900 RMB a month.
Is a nursing degree from China valid in Pakistan?
We could not confirm this from an official source. The Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council handles nurse registration and has a 2018 notice on equivalence of nursing degrees, but we could not read its criteria. Write to the council before you apply and keep its reply. Do not assume that a university's PMDC status helps, because PMDC covers doctors and dentists.
Are there scholarships for nursing in China?
We found no scholarship that clearly funds an English-taught nursing bachelor's. The Chinese Government Scholarship exists, but undergraduate programmes under it are generally taught in Chinese, and amounts change yearly. Check Campus China and the university directly. No genuine government scholarship needs an agent fee.
How long is a nursing degree in China?
It varies. Our directory lists 5 years for the nursing programme at Shandong First Medical University, while a 2026 brochure for the same university says 4 years. An older Nanjing Medical University notice described 4 years including an internship. Get the length printed on your offer letter before paying.
Is nursing in China better than in Pakistan?
For most Pakistani students, not by default. Pakistan's BS Nursing is a four-year degree with a clear route to the national council. China offers an international setting, but few English programmes and an unconfirmed registration path. It suits those planning to work abroad, once they have checked that country's rules.
Does the MDCAT change apply to nursing?
No. The PM&DC notice of 5 October 2026 concerns Pakistani students seeking admission to foreign medical institutions. It does not set rules for nursing degrees. Nursing registration is a matter for the nursing council, so ask them directly.
Nursing in China for Pakistani students: our advice
Nursing in China for Pakistani students is a small, uncertain pathway. One programme appears in our directory, the duration differs between sources, and we found no official confirmation that Pakistan will register the degree. If you still want it, confirm the programme details with the university, get the council's position in writing, and do not pay a fee you cannot trace to an official source.
Useful official starting points are the Higher Education Commission's nursing programme guidelines, the PNMC notifications page, and the Shandong University international office at istudy.sdu.edu.cn for comparison.