GUANGHUA SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT · MBA GUIDE
Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management teaches its full-time Global MBA in English, over two years in Beijing. International applicants and permanent residents of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan apply by separate routes. Start here to understand the program and prepare each part of your application.
September 2027 entry
GET TO KNOW THE PROGRAM
Peking University awards the degree once you’ve completed your courses with passing grades, defended your thesis, and been approved by its degree committee. Ask for the 2027 course list before you plan around a particular elective.
YEAR 1
You take 33 credits of core courses, among them managerial economics, marketing, corporate finance, strategy, organizational behavior, and operations.
SEMESTER 3
Most of your 12 elective credits fall in this semester, chosen from more than 30 electives, including China-focused courses on management, policy, cultural traditions, and philosophy.
SEMESTER 4
Your final semester goes to the thesis you’ll defend before the degree is awarded.
Guanghua calls it the Integrated Practicum Project, and it’s a required part of the curriculum.
Your second year: It leaves room for an internship or project alongside your studies. For an internship off campus, international students need Guanghua’s consent and a note on their residence permit first, as the visa notes below explain.
Exchanges: Guanghua has 130 exchange partners in 36 countries and regions, shared across the whole school.
Global Business Immersion: These one- to two-week modules combine classes, companies, and culture.
Thirteen partners: In its 2027 notice for the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan route, Guanghua names 13 double-degree partners. Not every second degree is an MBA: the list includes ESSEC’s Master in Management and Cornell’s Master of Management in Hospitality.
How the years split: On most double degrees, you spend year one at Guanghua and year two at the partner school. With Esade, it’s the other way around: a year at Esade, then a year at Guanghua, for two MBAs, and both schools must admit you before you enroll.
What it costs: You pay both schools, so ask each for its 2027 fees and deadlines before you commit.
Housing: For international students, the options include campus housing, Zhongguanyuan Global Village, and apartments off campus.
On the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan route: In the 2026 cycle, Peking University didn’t arrange housing for graduate students on professional degrees through this route.
Health insurance: As an international student, you must keep the required medical insurance for your whole program, and Guanghua requires Peking University’s cover even if you have another policy.
Student life: It includes the Guanghua International Students Association, alumni mentors, and startup events, as well as clubs for finance, basketball, and health and wellbeing. You’ll also have Guanghua’s and Peking University’s libraries, case rooms, entrepreneurship and innovation spaces, and sports facilities.
Your visa: To study in China for more than 180 days, you need an X1 visa, China’s long-term student visa. You apply with your admission letter and a JW201 or JW202 form, China’s study-visa forms. Guanghua plans to send formal offers, with a JW202 form, in mid-July 2027.
Once you arrive: Apply for a study residence permit within 30 days of entering China. The student visa on its own doesn’t let you stay long term or work.
Internships: Before any off-campus internship, even one linked to your course, you need Guanghua’s consent and a note on your residence permit giving the place and length. You can’t start without it.
Work-study: China’s rules for student work-study normally allow up to 8 hours a week and 40 a month, or 16 a week and 80 a month in holidays. Off-campus work-study also requires your school’s approval, at least a year of continuous study there, and at least six months left on your permit, as well as being 18 or older and meeting academic, attendance, and conduct requirements.
After you graduate: Don’t assume you can stay and work. You’d need a job with an employer who sponsors your work permit and work residence permit, and the MBA doesn’t guarantee either. China’s work visa is the Z visa.
China’s route for top graduates: A national rule lets some outstanding foreign graduates of master’s programs in China work there within a year of graduating. Beijing asks for good conduct, grades of at least 80 out of 100 or their letter-grade equivalent, a relevant job at a qualifying salary, and an employer who applies for you. Quotas and other limits apply, and the first permit lasts a year. Don’t count on it until Guanghua confirms that Global MBA graduates qualify.
Travel documents: On this route, you don’t use China’s student visa. Taiwan residents travel on the Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents, issued in five-year multiple-entry and three-month single-entry versions, and register where they stay. Hong Kong and Macao residents use the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents.
A residence permit: If you’re eligible, after six months or more on the mainland you can apply for a residence permit on the basis of continuous study, stable work, or a stable home. It lasts five years, and you apply at a designated public-security office. It’s separate from your travel permit.
Working: China ended separate employment permits for Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan residents in 2018. You work using your travel or residence permit as your identity document, with the employment documents your employer needs. Employers’ requirements and professional licensing rules still apply.
Housing: Is a room guaranteed for 2027? What’s available for a partner or children?
Deposits and refunds: Is there a deposit to accept your place, and what are the refund terms?
Exchanges: How many places go to Global MBA students, when do exchanges run, and what do they cost?
Double degrees: Which partners are open on your route?
On the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan route: Will Peking University arrange housing for you in 2027? Which health cover applies to you? Are there limits on internships?
UNDERSTAND WHAT GUANGHUA LOOKS FOR
Guanghua says it looks for applicants who put academic learning to use and adapt well to change. Both routes also ask for a recognized degree and evidence of your English.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Both routes ask for at least three years after a bachelor’s degree, or two after a master’s or doctorate. On the international route, they’re counted to September 2027, and internships and co-ops don’t count.
Letrado’s adviceOn the international route, count only full-time months after your degree. If you’re a little short, Guanghua can hold your offer until the first year you qualify, so applying this year can still make sense.
AIMING FOR CHINA
Guanghua looks for applicants who “aim for China,” and you’ll spend two years in Beijing, at Peking University.
Letrado’s adviceName the market, industry, or companies in China your plan depends on, and what two years in Beijing would add that you can’t get closer to home.
TESTS
On the international route, you send a competitive GMAT or GRE score, or take Guanghua’s own MBA entrance exam.
Letrado’s adviceApplying only to Guanghua? Ask whether its own exam suits you better. Applying elsewhere too? Use the GMAT or GRE score you need for those schools, and confirm how Guanghua takes the GMAT Focus Edition.
SEPTEMBER 2027 ENTRY
For applicants who aren’t Chinese citizens. One application, in Guanghua’s own portal, in any of five rounds. Two references, and an interview if you’re invited.
For permanent residents of Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan. Applications to both Peking University and Guanghua, with the Guanghua application due by Round 3. A personal statement in Chinese, then a second review, called a reassessment.
Fees, documents, and residence rules differ too. Each route’s fees and documents are in the application section below, and its visa or travel rules are in the program section above.
WHAT GUANGHUA DESCRIBES
With Guanghua faculty, a member of the MBA Admissions Board, and alumni or industry experts
Interviews follow each round, and each shortlisted applicant is invited only once
From your interview to a preliminary result
On the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan route, a reassessment follows the first review. Guanghua announces its format later and checks your original documents then.
WHAT GUANGHUA OFFERS
The Career Development Center offers career coaching and planning, events and visits with employers, and recruiting resources. The Guanghua International Students Association and alumni mentors help international students settle in and build their networks.
WHAT GUANGHUA ASKS FOR
Your referees submit online. Guanghua recommends at least one, and preferably both, from an employer or supervisor. If that isn’t possible, a former supervisor or a client can write instead.
On the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan route, expect academic referees who are associate professors or above. Ask Admissions whether you also need one from your employer, and how many letters in all.
PLAN THE APPLICATION
Guanghua has five rounds for September 2027 entry, from October 25, 2026 to April 15, 2027, and reviews applications on a rolling basis. On the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan route, you apply to Peking University as well, and Guanghua’s application must be in by Round 3.
Round 1
Oct 25, 2026Round 2
Nov 29, 2026Round 3
Jan 3, 2027Round 4
Mar 7, 2027Round 5
Apr 15, 2027Peking University application · Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan route
Nov 2026 to Jan 2027Submit at least a day before each deadline, and confirm the closing time with Admissions. The decision dates are for the international route. On the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan route, check Peking University’s exact dates.
Written in Guanghua’s online application. On the international route, you add a personal statement on Guanghua’s template and a CV of up to two pages, and pay a nonrefundable fee of RMB 800 (renminbi, China’s currency).
On the international route, a competitive GMAT or GRE score, or Guanghua’s own MBA entrance exam. Guanghua uses your highest GMAT or GRE score from the last five years. On the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan route, ask whether you need a GMAT or GRE score.
A recognized degree, its transcript, and proof it’s authenticated. On the international route, degrees from outside the Chinese mainland go through the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, and mainland degrees through the Center for Student Services and Development.
Two, submitted online, on the international route. On the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan route, ask how many you need.
On the international route, an interview of 15 to 20 minutes, by invitation. On the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan route, a reassessment follows the first review.
A TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo English Test, TOEIC, GRE, or GMAT result. On the international route, you can be exempt if you completed a bachelor’s or master’s program taught in English that lasted at least two academic years.
On the international route, an ordinary passport valid beyond December 2027. On the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan route, proof of your residence, such as a Hong Kong or Macao permanent-resident ID card, plus your mainland travel permit or a residence permit.
Who can apply: Applicants who aren’t Chinese citizens, with a recognized bachelor’s degree or higher. A bachelor’s must have been awarded by July or August 2024, or a master’s by July or August 2025.
If you once held Chinese nationality: Whether you were from the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan, you need proof that you held foreign citizenship before April 30, 2021, and that your Chinese nationality was cancelled. If you’re found to still be a Chinese citizen, your admission or enrollment can be cancelled.
Your documents: In Chinese or English. Some originals are mailed later, and they aren’t returned.
One application a year: Guanghua considers one international application from you each year, and ignores a second in the same cycle.
After your interview: A preliminary result comes one to two weeks later. Formal offers follow in mid-July 2027, and classes start in September 2027.
Short of the work minimum: If you’re admitted before you have enough work experience, Guanghua can hold your offer until the first academic year you qualify, and you register then.
Who can apply: Permanent residents of Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan, with a degree equivalent to a mainland bachelor’s and at least three years of work after a bachelor’s, or two after a master’s or doctorate. Health and conduct conditions apply too.
Your identity documents: From Hong Kong or Macao: your permanent-resident ID card, plus the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents or a residence permit. A permit issued to a non-Chinese national doesn’t qualify. From Taiwan: proof of residence, plus the Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents or a residence permit.
Two applications: You apply to Peking University and to Guanghua. Guanghua’s deadline on this route is January 3, 2027, the Round 3 deadline, and Peking University’s window runs from November 2026 to January 2027, in Beijing time.
What you upload: A CV, a personal statement in Chinese of about 1,500 characters, the essays in Guanghua’s application, your degree and its authentication, an original or notarized undergraduate transcript, and your identity and language documents. Keep the signed, printed Peking University form for later.
Fees: RMB 138 for each program choice, plus RMB 100 for the reassessment, neither refunded.
Guanghua’s entrance exam: On the international route, ask Admissions what it covers, when it’s held, and what it costs.
Score scales: The current GMAT, the Focus Edition, is scored from 205 to 805, and GRE Verbal and Quantitative scores run from 130 to 170 each. If you take the GMAT, confirm with Admissions that your Focus Edition score is accepted, and how to enter it.
English: Both routes accept TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo English Test, TOEIC, GRE, or GMAT results as evidence, and the admissions committee decides whether yours are enough.
The English waiver: To claim it on the international route, you need your degree and transcript from an English-speaking country, or your university’s certificate that all your courses were in English, as Guanghua specifies.
Mandarin: The Global MBA doesn’t require it.
WRITE IN YOUR OWN VOICE
Essays inside the applicationYour essays, and on the international route a personal statement on Guanghua’s template, are part of the online application. The Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan route adds a statement in Chinese of about 1,500 characters.
The questions can change from year to year, so read this year’s before you start drafting.
Letrado’s adviceTie every essay to one career goal you can name. A reader should finish knowing why you want Guanghua, not only why you want an MBA.
On the international route, your personal statement goes on Guanghua’s own template, in the Supporting Documents section of the application.
On the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan route, your personal statement is in Chinese. In the 2026 cycle, Peking University asked applicants about their academic background and their plans for study and research, so check the 2027 instructions before you draft.
On the international route, you declare your interest in scholarships in Guanghua’s application.
MAKE ROOM FOR THE FINANCIAL QUESTION
That’s the total tuition for the two-year Global MBA, for September 2027 entry. Living costs come on top.
UP TO RMB 188,000
A tuition waiver based on your previous university, test scores, work, entrepreneurship, and diversity.
RMB 50,000–100,000
Open if you fit one of its categories: financial need, being a woman, belonging to a minority group, or citizenship of a developing country.
RMB 50,000–100,000 EACH
The Female Leadership, CSR (corporate social responsibility), and Entrepreneurship & Innovation scholarships, each awarded on merit to applicants who fit its focus.
These are the awards Guanghua lists for international applicants, and none is guaranteed. Confirm each award’s 2027 terms with Admissions, including whether awards can be combined.
Guanghua tuition and scholarships (opens in a new tab)PUBLISHED TUITION · SEPTEMBER 2027 ENTRY
RMB 188,000Two payments of RMB 94,000, one for each year.
The tuition is for September 2027 entry. The yearly split comes from the notice for the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan route, so on the international route, ask whether you pay it the same way. The living costs are Guanghua’s own estimates, not a 2027 budget.
Guanghua tuition and living costs (opens in a new tab)Letrado’s adviceAim for Round 3 or earlier, and declare your interest in every award that fits you. Then compare the full two years’ cost before you accept.
ADMITTED TO GUANGHUA · R.H.
He worked in semiconductors and wanted a broader role in product strategy. We helped him test his options against that goal.
For each, he looked at the technology ecosystem, entrepreneurship, and recruiting in Asia, along with program length, alumni networks, and the rules on working after graduation.
Guanghua and Nanyang were close to Asia’s technology markets, and MIT offered a base for deep technology, the ventures built on advanced science and engineering.
Comparing Guanghua with a program in another region? Start from the role you want next, as R.H. did, and ask what each program would add that you don’t already have.
AI illustrationHIS GUANGHUA OUTCOME
Offered a place in Peking University’s Guanghua MBA
HIS CHOICE: MIT SLOANThe Stata Center at MIT · Photo: Rhododendrites / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped.
MIT would take him beyond the market he already knew, and that mattered more to him.
ALSO ADMITTED TO
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