Entering students should have advanced level competency in Chinese and are expected to have completed a Bachelor of Arts degree with an undergraduate major in Chinese (or its equivalent) before matriculation with an undergraduate cumulative grade point average of 3.2 in the major and 3.0 overall (on a 4.0 scale). Students whose preparation is deficient in certain areas may be required to do remedial work after admission to the program. Such work will not be counted toward the degree.

Applicants are required to have taken the Graduate Record Examination before applying, or to take it at the earliest opportunity thereafter. Non-native speakers of English who are not U.S. citizens are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language.