Donghua University
东华大学
Shanghai's textile and fashion university, ranked first in the world for textile science by ShanghaiRanking.
- Students
- 27,500
- 15,000 undergraduates
- International
- 2%
- of students
- Tuition
- CN¥22,000
- From · 2026-27
- Founded
- 1951
About DHU
Donghua University was founded in 1951 as the East China Institute of Textile Science and Technology, the first textile university of the People's Republic, and traces its roots to a textile school set up by the industrialist Zhang Jian in 1912. It became a national key university in 1960, was renamed China Textile University in 1985 and took the name Donghua ('East China') in 1999. It is a Ministry of Education university in Project 211 and the Double First-Class programme, with Textile Science and Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering as its two Double First-Class disciplines.
DHU has more than 15,000 undergraduates, 9,700 master's and 2,300 doctoral students, plus over 500 international degree students, taught by nearly 1,500 full-time teachers across 16 colleges and 61 undergraduate majors. Most undergraduates study on the large Songjiang campus in south-west Shanghai; the older Yan'an Road campus in Changning District is in the city proper. Its research runs from high-performance fibres and smart textiles to composites for civil aviation, and its metal-mesh antenna fabrics fly on Beidou and Queqiao satellites.
For international students, DHU is best known for fashion and design: its Shanghai International Institute of Fashion and Innovation, run with the University of Edinburgh, teaches two English-taught design degrees. Most bachelor's degrees are taught in Chinese and need HSK 5 by enrolment. It suits students who want textiles, materials, fashion or design in Shanghai.
崇德博学，砺志尚实
“Virtue, Erudition, Aspiration, and Earnestness” — university motto
Why students choose DHU
Textile Science and Engineering has ranked first in the world in ShanghaiRanking's subject rankings, one of 21 world-leading subjects at mainland universities, according to DHU.
The Shanghai International Institute of Fashion and Innovation, co-founded with the University of Edinburgh, offers English-taught bachelor's degrees in Fashion and Accessory Design and Environmental (Fashion Interior) Design.
DHU researchers built the world's largest metal-mesh satellite antenna reflector, used on dozens of satellites including Beidou and Queqiao.
Shanghai Government Scholarship A covers tuition, insurance, campus housing and CNY 2,500 a month, and you apply for it directly through DHU.
Admissions
September 2027 intake (bachelor's degrees admit in the autumn only)
Selectivity
DHU does not publish an admission rate. Chinese students are admitted through the gaokao. International applicants are reviewed on documents, language certificates and CSCA scores, and may be asked to take a language test, interview or (for design) an art exam.
Typical entry requirements
| High school diploma | Higher secondary school graduation certificate or international equivalent (such as IB or A-levels) qualifying for university entrance, with official transcripts and a grading-system explanation |
|---|---|
| Age and nationality | Non-Chinese citizen with an ordinary foreign passport; aged 16 to under 25 for entrance scholarships, 16 to under 35 for self-funded study; extra rules for applicants formerly of Chinese nationality |
| Chinese (Chinese-taught programmes) | HSK 4 (180+) with HSKK to apply; HSK 5 (180+) required before enrolment |
| CSCA | Required for all bachelor's applicants |
| Art portfolio (design programmes) | Original sketches, colour paintings and design renderings for Chinese-taught design majors; a 3-minute English video portfolio for the two English-taught design programmes |
| English language | IELTS 5.5 · TOEFL iBT 72 English-taught programmes require IELTS Academic 5.5 or TOEFL iBT 72, tested on or after September 1, 2024; students from fully English-medium high schools can submit a school certificate instead. |
Deadlines
- Entrance scholarships (CGS Type A, Shanghai Government Scholarship) - PAST CYCLE, for reference Non-binding PassedApril 15, 2026 (closed)
Online system for undergraduate applications opened March 1, 2026; CGS Type A applicants needing a pre-admission letter could apply from December 1, 2025.
- Self-funded bachelor's applications - PAST CYCLE, for reference Non-binding PassedMay 31, 2026 (closed)
September 2026 intake; conditional offers require HSK 5 (Chinese-taught) and the final diploma by the end of August.
DHU had not published its 2027 bachelor's guide as of September 2026 (the 2026 guide appeared in November 2025). Dates shown are from the 2026 cycle (previous cycle): applications opened March 1, 2026, with deadlines of April 15 for scholarship applicants and May 31 for self-funded applicants. Expect similar dates for 2027.
How to apply
Apply on DHU's online application system (admissions.dhu.edu.cn), choose one major and pay the CNY 800 application fee. Upload your passport, diploma and transcripts, language certificates, CSCA score report, a personal statement of about 1,000 words in the teaching language, a resume, a no-criminal-record certificate and a signed financial support statement; scholarship applicants also add two teacher recommendations and a physical examination form.
What admissions looks for
- A completed secondary education that qualifies you for university entrance at home.
- Genuine language ability: HSK 5 (180+) for Chinese-taught degrees, IELTS 5.5 or TOEFL 72 for English-taught ones.
- CSCA scores in the required subjects for your major.
- A personal statement explaining your background, why you chose the major and your plans, and for design programmes a portfolio showing concepts, skills and creativity.
Tips for applying to DHU
- 1 Pass HSK 5 before you enrol: an HSK 4 score gets you through the application stage only, and without HSK 5 you cannot register for a Chinese-taught degree.
- 2 Only one major can be chosen per application, so decide before you register on the system.
- 3 For the English-taught design degrees, prepare a roughly 3-minute video portfolio in English explaining your design concepts.
- 4 To be considered for the Shanghai Government Scholarship, simply select 'CGS-Category Type B or SGS' as your source of funding; no separate SGS application is needed.
Costs & financial aid
2026-27 · figures in CNY
International applicants can apply through DHU for the Shanghai Government Scholarship: SGS-A (full) waives tuition, medical insurance and campus dormitory fees and pays CNY 2,500 a month, and SGS-B (partial) waives tuition and insurance; the deadline was April 15 in 2026. Chinese Government Scholarships (Type A) are applied for through the dispatching authority in your home country, and DHU also hosts International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship students.
- CNY 800 (non-refundable)
- Application fee
- CNY 800 per year
- Medical insurance
- Tuition, insurance and campus housing waived, plus CNY 2,500 a month
- Shanghai Government Scholarship A
- CNY 35 per night (multiple-bed room) or CNY 50 per night (double room, PhD students)
- Campus housing, Songjiang
Academics
Academic calendar: Two semesters; international degree students start in September
Textile Engineering
DHU's founding discipline and a Double First-Class subject, ranked first worldwide in ShanghaiRanking's subject table.
Materials Science and Engineering
DHU's second Double First-Class discipline, behind its work on high-performance fibres and aviation composites.
Fashion and Accessory Design (Fashion Innovation), English-taught
Taught at the institute DHU co-founded with the University of Edinburgh; entry by video portfolio.
Environmental Design (Fashion Interior Design), English-taught
The second English-taught bachelor's degree at the Shanghai International Institute of Fashion and Innovation.
Fashion and Apparel Design (Chinese-taught)
Offered by the College of Fashion and Design, with applicants submitting sketches, colour paintings and design renderings.
Qian Baojun College experimental classes
Nine honours-style classes in areas such as civil aviation composites and artificial intelligence, run with partners including COMAC.
Research
- Developed what DHU calls the world's first intelligent fibre based on a non-von Neumann architecture, published in Science.
- Invented a 'micro-tension' weaving method for ultra-fine metal-wire mesh and built the world's largest metal-mesh antenna reflector, used on dozens of satellites including Beidou and Queqiao.
- Hosts a national key laboratory, a national engineering technology research centre and centres for civil aviation composites and advanced low-dimension materials.
- Led the founding of the Belt and Road World Textile University Alliance of 40 textile universities in 21 countries.
Schools & faculties
- College of Textiles
- College of Fashion and Design
- Shanghai International Institute of Fashion and Innovation
- Glorious Sun School of Business and Management
- College of Materials Science and Engineering
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
- College of Mechanical Engineering
- College of Information and Intelligent Science
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering
- College of Biological Science and Medical Engineering
- College of Humanities
- College of Foreign Languages
DHU says its graduates' average employment rate is consistently among the highest of Ministry of Education universities in Shanghai; it does not publish the figure on its profile page.
Student life
Most undergraduate teaching takes place on the Songjiang campus in Shanghai's south-west suburbs. On the Yan'an Road campus in Changning, three International Student Apartment buildings hold over 1,000 beds with private bathrooms and air conditioning, and a team of international resident advisers from more than 20 countries lives there to help newcomers. Fashion shapes campus culture: the university has held its own Greater Donghua Fashion Week, and the International Education Center runs Chinese speech contests, festival events and an international students' association.
- Three International Student Apartment buildings with over 1,000 beds on the Yan'an Road campus.
- A resident adviser team of international students from more than 20 countries.
- Partnerships with more than 200 universities abroad; about 13% of doctoral students go abroad each year.
- A textile-and-fashion Confucius Institute at Moi University in Kenya.
Housing. International students can book campus rooms after admission; on Yan'an Road rates run from CNY 45 per night in a 3-4 person room to CNY 110 per night in a single, paid for a whole semester in advance, plus utilities.
Location
Shanghai is China's largest city and its financial and fashion capital. DHU's Yan'an Road campus is in Changning District, close to the city centre, while the much larger Songjiang campus, where most bachelor's courses are taught, sits in the south-west suburbs; the university runs school buses between campuses. Living costs are high by Chinese standards, but campus housing keeps rent low.
Nearest airport: Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA); Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG)
Notable alumni
- HJ Hao JianxiuTextile worker turned national leader: Minister of Textile Industry and member of the CCP Secretariat; studied at the East China Institute of Textile Engineering, graduating in 1962
- WW Wu WenyingMinister of Textile Industry (1983-1993); graduated from the East China Institute of Textile Technology in 1963
- ZB Zhou BoChairman of the Liaoning Provincial Committee of the CPPCC; chemical engineering automation graduate (1984)
- SZ Stephen Z. D. ChengPolymer scientist and former dean at the University of Akron; MSc in polymer science and engineering (1981)
- JG Ji GuobiaoChemical fibre engineer, vice-minister of textile industry and Chinese Academy of Engineering academician; studied at the East China Institute of Textile Science and Technology
- JC Jenova ChenVideo game designer of Flower and Journey, co-founder of Thatgamecompany; minor in digital art and design at DHU while studying at Shanghai Jiao Tong
- GJ Gong JunActor, known for Word of Honor; graduate of DHU's Performance Department
Frequently asked questions
How much is tuition at Donghua University for international students?
Chinese-taught bachelor's programmes cost CNY 22,000-28,000 a year and the English-taught design programmes CNY 98,000 a year, plus CNY 800 a year for insurance and a CNY 800 application fee.
Does Donghua University offer bachelor's degrees in English?
Yes, two: Fashion and Accessory Design (Fashion Innovation) and Environmental Design (Fashion Interior Design), taught at the Shanghai International Institute of Fashion and Innovation. You need IELTS 5.5 or TOEFL 72 and a video portfolio.
What HSK level do I need for Donghua University?
HSK 4 with at least 180 plus HSKK to apply, but you must hold HSK 5 with at least 180 before you can enrol in a Chinese-taught bachelor's degree.
When is the Donghua University application deadline?
In the 2026 cycle it was April 15 for scholarship applicants and May 31 for self-funded applicants, with the online system opening March 1. The 2027 guide was not yet published as of September 2026.
Can international students get a scholarship at DHU?
Yes. The Shanghai Government Scholarship can cover tuition, insurance and housing plus CNY 2,500 a month, and Chinese Government Scholarships are available through dispatching authorities in your home country.
Sources & methodology
Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.
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