CSCA / What the CSCA syllabus covers
What the CSCA syllabus covers
Each CSCA paper is set against a published syllabus. Knowing the boundaries of that syllabus is what stops you wasting weeks on material the exam will not ask about.
The CSCA syllabus covers five papers: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Professional Chinese (Sciences) and Professional Chinese (Humanities). The science papers test upper-secondary content at a level comparable to a national high-school curriculum, while the Professional Chinese papers test the academic Chinese needed to follow a Chinese-taught degree in that subject area.
Paper by paper
| Paper | Broad topic areas | Who normally sits it |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | Sets and logic, functions, inequalities, sequences, trigonometry, vectors, analytic and solid geometry, probability and statistics | Almost all bachelor’s applicants |
| Physics | Mechanics, thermal physics, electricity and magnetism, optics, waves and an introduction to modern physics | Engineering and physical-science majors |
| Chemistry | Atomic structure and bonding, the periodic table, chemical reactions and equilibria, electrochemistry, organic chemistry basics | Chemistry, materials, life-science, medical and pharmacy majors |
| Professional Chinese (Sciences) | Academic reading, subject vocabulary and written comprehension in a science and engineering context | Applicants to Chinese-taught science and engineering programmes |
| Professional Chinese (Humanities) | Academic reading, subject vocabulary and written comprehension in a humanities, business and social-science context | Applicants to Chinese-taught humanities and business programmes |
Topic areas here are a broad orientation compiled from the published syllabus outlines and reconstructed papers. Download the current official syllabus for your paper before you build a study plan around it.
How the syllabus differs from what you already studied
The level is upper-secondary, the framing is Chinese
Most topics will be familiar from a national high-school curriculum. What changes is the question style and the expected solution route, which is why reconstructed papers are worth more than a topic list.
Breadth beats depth
The papers sample widely across the syllabus rather than going deep on a few topics. A gap in one area costs a predictable, limited number of marks; a slow pace costs marks everywhere.
The Chinese papers are not HSK
Professional Chinese tests academic reading in a subject context. An HSK certificate does not substitute for it unless a university explicitly says it does.
Syllabus revisions happen between cycles
Check the revision date on the syllabus document you are studying from. Material recalled from an earlier sitting may sit outside the current specification.
Get the current syllabus
The syllabus outline, sample questions and format description for each paper are published on csca.cn. Use that document as the boundary of what you study, and past papers to learn how the boundary is actually tested.
Topic groupings on this page are an orientation aid, not the official specification.
Keep reading
- CSCA: the entrance test for undergraduate study in China
- CSCA past papers: what exists, what is reliable, what to practise
- CSCA sittings, registration windows and score timing
- CSCA questions applicants actually ask
CSCA past papers — Topic lists tell you what is examinable. Papers tell you how it is asked, and at what pace.
Reviewed 2026-08-13.