The Peking University’s academic year is comprised of two semesters: the Fall Semester and the Spring Semester. The duration of both semesters is 18 weeks each, having their last 2 weeks scheduled for course reviews and examinations.

The university has an eight-week-long summer break that begins at the end of June. During this time, undergraduate students may choose to attend the university’s Summer Semester by enrolling the elective courses offered by the university.

The assigned time of when the university’s winter break takes place varies yearly as this school break is determined by the date of the Chinese New Year, which is regulated by the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. The winter break usually lasts for four weeks; it extends from ten days before the actual day of the Chinese New Year to ten days after it.

For more details regarding the academic schedule, please refer to the university’s academic calendar at http://www.pku.edu.cn/about/xl/xl(2011-2012).jsp

The Undergraduate Students of Peking University are given a time limit of 4 years to complete their studies; 2-3 years for Graduate Students (depending on the student’s field of specialization/major); 4 years for Doctorate/Post Graduate Students, and; 1 year for General Visiting Students and Senior Visiting Students.

Students may apply for early graduation if they have fulfilled their respective graduation requirements prior to their designated time of graduation. Students may also request for the university to extend their designated duration of study.

Undergraduate Students may extend the duration of their studies for up to a maximum of 6 years; 2 years for Visiting Students; 5 years for Graduate Students, and; 8 years for Post Graduate Students. For more details please refer to the Peking University’s Graduate Students’ Handbook < <北京大学研究生手册>>.

3. Classes, Academic Units and Graduation Requirements

After registering, international students are advised to find out about their programs’ required courses and the total number of units that they must complete in order to graduate. Meanwhile, students should also find out about the sequence in which these classes should be taken.All international students (except for those who are studying under the International College for Chinese Language Studies) share the same classes and graduation requirements as the native Chinese students.

Classes at Peking University are comprised of two categories: Compulsory Courses and Elective Courses.

Compulsory Courses are the courses that that have been determined by the students’ program, which students must complete in order to fulfill their programs’ graduation requirement. The Compulsory Courses includes General Education Courses and the Core Courses of the students’ respective major

Elective Courses are the courses which students are free to choose and enroll according to their personal interests. Keep in mind that you must an appropriate number of units for your Elective Courses during each academic quarter. The university’s Elective Courses is comprised of the General Elective Courses and the Elective Courses that pertains to the students’ major.

Since the degree requirements for completing certain/specific required courses vary from one program to another, students are advised to arrange appointments with a course administrator from their program who can help them with their course ion. A course administrator from your program will have the information you need to draft an effective plan for ing your courses and also for fulfilling you degree/graduation requirements.

● Completion of units and classes required by your major.

● Completion of a graduation thesis or a graduation project.

The number of units required for most undergraduate program is 140 units. Keep in mind that this varies between different majors. To find out about the number of units required for your area of study, please contact your program’s department or the Division for International Students Office.

26 units form General Education Courses

55 units from Mark’s Major’s Core Courses.

33 units from the Elective Courses that pertains to Mark’s major.

16 unites from General Elective courses

● Completion of units and classes required by your program

● Passed all examinations and assignments and have maintained a passing (or higher) grade point average.

● Successful completion of dissertation/Have successfully defended your thesis.

The unit requirements vary depending on the students’ major. For assistance, seek information from your course administrator, who should be actively involved in your course ion and in the development of your thesis.

Visiting Students of any department at Peking University must attend the classes, which pertain to their major, for no less than 6 hours/week and no more than 16 hours/week. Once these courses have been ed, students may enroll and attend the courses that are unrelated to their major, under the approval from the director of their respective program. Students are allowed to attend at most two courses (that are unrelated to their major). The Visiting Students’ procedures for class enrollments are the same as those of Undergraduates Students. For further details, please contact the course administrator of your respective program.

Visiting Students and Research Scholars must take note of the following:

● General Visiting Students who are attending the International College for Chinese Language Studies must attend no less than 18 hours of classes/week.

● General Visiting Students who fail to attend over a third of their classes are not be eligible to receive a Certificate of Achievement from the university.

● Senior Visiting Students and Research Scholars should contact their supervisor as soon as they have registered. Furthermore, they should start formulating their research plan/approach under the guidance of their supervisor. Senior Visiting Students may enroll a maximum of 2 courses that pertains to their research topic under the approval of their supervisor. Senior Visiting Students and the Research Scholars who are receiving scholarship support from the Chinese Government must submit their Final Report to the Division of International Students’ Office before they complete their program.

All students have to register on their designated day of registration. Continuing Undergraduate, Graduate and Post-Graduate Students are to register at their programs’ departments. Visiting Students, Research Scholars and new in-takes will have to register at the Division of International Students Office. Please present your student ID/Admission Notification to the staffs when registering.

Students must register in person. Keep in mind that no one can register on your behalf. Students must have already paid their tuition fees prior to their registration. You are not eligible to register if the records show that your tuition fees have not been paid in full.

The registration period generally takes place during the first week of classes. If a student cannot register on his/her designated time of registration, he/she is required to apply for a leave of absence in advance. For those who failed to register on time and did not apply for a leave of absence, their absence will be recorded as an act of truancy or an unexcused absence in their attendance record.Students who have not register two weeks after their designated day of registration will be dismissed from the university.

Both Undergraduate and Graduate students must enroll in and attend the classes that correlate with their program’s graduation requirements. Visiting Students are free to enroll in any of the courses that have been made available to them as long as they follow the academic guidelines that have been laid out for them.

The class enrollment period generally begins at the end of the previous semester and ends on the weekend before the first day of the new semester. Undergraduate and Graduate Students may enroll for classes on-line at http://portal.pku.edu.cn/infoPortal/ . Visiting Students are required to enroll for classes in their programs’ department there will be advisors available to help them with their course ions.

Students have two weeks of interim period to tryout their classes. During this time, students are allowed change their classes by dropping/ and enrolling new classes. Students may change their classes online at http://portal.pku.edu.cn/infoPortal/ .

The class enrollment period ends together with the 2 weeks interim period of class tryouts. Beginning from the third week of the semester, the students’ list of enrolled classes becomes permanent and further changes cannot be made. If a student drops a class halfway through the semester, as well as, if he/she does not take the appropriate tests or exams for a class, the university will consider the student to have failed the course and thus will be recorded in his/her transcript.

If after one period of study an undergraduate student still feel that he/she could not pass the course, he/she could choose to quit from the course in the middle of the semester (normally at the 8^th week, and the exact time will be issued by the PKU Office of Educational Administration), but he/she must pay 100RMB per one unit of class due to occupying educational resources.

Undergraduate Students may take up to a maximum of 20 units of classes per semester (including required classes). If you desire to exceed this limit, you must obtain prior permission/approval from the Dean of your program’s department.

Visiting Students who wish to attend the courses that do not pertain to their program of study must inform their program’s administrators about the additional courses that they will be taking. Furthermore, visiting students are required to notify their programs’ department of the grades they received for these courses at the end of the semester.

Students’ attendance is taken and recorded for all lectures, tests, examinations and other forms of academic activities that take place. If a student should miss any of the above academic activities, he or she must apply for an approval for excused absences in advance. Unexcused absences are considered as acts of truancy. Students who have been absent for a third (or more) of the total number of a course’s classes are not eligible to sit for the final exam for that particular course. Furthermore, these students will receive a zero grade for that particular course.

International Students who will be involved in off-campus research work must fill out and submit the “Application for Off-Campus Research” form to the Division for International Students’ Office. Students may proceed to leave for off-campus research after obtaining the approval from their advisor, their program’s department, and the Division for International Students Office. (The application form can be downloaded from the website: http://www.isd.pku.edu.cn )

All International Students must seek approval from the Division for International Students Office in order to obtain an excused absence. Students will need to inform the Division for International Students Office of their reasons for missing classes and the activities that they will be involved in during their absence.

1. Obtain the “Excused Absence Form” from your program’s department or download it from the Division for International Students website, http://www.isd.pku.edu.cn, under subheadings of “请假单”. Apply for an excused absence by following the instructions indicated on the form.

2. The “Excused Absence Form” must be signed and stamped by your program’s department.

3. Report to the Division of International Students Office as soon as your application for excused absence has been approved.

1. Illness: Students must obtain a doctor’s note to justify that illness was the cause of their absence. Students’ application for sick leave (excused absences due to illness) will only be considered as valid after the leave have been approved by their course administrator and the Division of International Students Office.

Please keep in mind that students’ absences that have not been approved/acknowledge by the university, though caused by illness, will be recorded as unexcused absences in their attendance record.

2. Personal Reasons:

Graduate Students and General Visiting Students, who will be absent for a week or lesser due to personal reasons, will need to obtain prior approval for their excused absences from their course administrators and the Division of International Students Office. Students who will be absent for more than a week must have their excused absences approved by the head administrator of their program’s department.

Senior Visiting Students and Research Scholars will need to have their excused absences approved by their professors and their course administrator. Finally, Senior Visiting Students and Research Scholars will have to report to the Division of International Students Office in order to obtain the final approval of their excused absences.

Undergraduate Students who are applying for excused absences must consult the instructions and guidelines indicated in the Peking University Undergraduate Study and Campus Life Handbook.

1. Undergraduate and Graduate Students who are applying for sick leaves that exceed a third of an academic quarter must obtain permission from their Dean’s Office and from the Division for International Students to take some time off their studies. These students are recommended to return to their home country to receive medical treatment. Students may resume their studies after they have recovered their health. When they return to school after they have recovered, they will need to provide the university with a doctor’s note to clarify the conditions of their illness. Students who continue to remain ill after their break are recommended to withdraw from the university.

2. General Visiting Students who have accumulated over a month of excused absences will be asked to withdraw from the university.

3. Graduate and Undergraduate Students who have accumulated a number of excused absences that exceeds a third of the academic quarter (and who did not apply to take time off their studies) will be asked to withdraw from the university.

International students must sit for all the quizzes and exams of their courses. If they should miss an exam/quiz, they must apply for an excused absence and seek permission from their program department in ahead of time to sit for a replacement test/make-up quiz. Students who are not given prior permission to miss an exam/quiz will receive a zero grade for that particular exam/quiz which they have missed.

Grades are given in the form of percentages. The passing grade is 60%. For Graduate Students, the passing grade for their compulsory modules is 70% and 60% for their elective modules. All grades will be accounted for the students’ academic units. Grades allocated for classroom participation and performance, homework, quizzes and midterm exams are counted towards the students’ cumulative final grade. Please keep in mind that the grade you receive for your final exam only makes up a part of your final grade.For more details regarding the university grading scheme, please refer to the Undergraduate or Graduate Students’ Handbook.

Students must retake their major/compulsory courses that they have failed; meanwhile, retaking failed elective courses is optional. Students are allowed to retake a course for no more than twice. The grade received for the first retake will be accounted as the students’ final grade. If the student should retake the course for the second time, the final grade of the second retake will be 60% regardless if the students have scored higher. If students should fail their second retake, that grade of the second retake will be accounted as the final grade of the course.

● Undergraduate Students who have maintained a cumulative grade point average (G.P.A) that is lesser than 1.5 for two consecutive semesters and have failed more than 12 units of classes will be dismissed from the university.

● Students who have accumulated more than 20 units of failed courses (regardless if the student had retaken and passed the course) will be dismissed from the university.

● Undergraduate students who have a cumulative grade point average (G.P.A) that is lesser than 2.0 are not eligible to receive a Bachelor’s Degree from the university.

Students who have committed acts of academic dishonesty such as cheating during exams and plagiarism will be trailed and penalized according to the university’s regulations.

Undergraduate Students who are caught cheating during exams will receive a zero grade for that particular course. These students will be blacklisted and persecuted accordingly. Furthermore, they will loose their eligibility to receive a Bachelor’s Degree from the university. (For further details, please refer to our university’s Undergraduate Students’ Handbook).

Graduate Students who are caught cheating during exams will also receive a zero for that particular course. Along with that, they will be penalized for their conduct of academic dishonesty. (For further details, please refer to the Graduate Students’ Handbook.)

Undergraduate and Graduate Students who desire to extend their duration of study, apply for excused absences, withdraw from the university, change their program of study or make other changes to their student’s status, should consult the Undergraduate Students’ Handbook or Graduate Students’ Handbook.

Visiting Students and Research Scholars may apply to change their duration of study or their major through their programs’ department and through the Division for International Students Office during the month of May and November. These two departments will evaluate the grades and the reasons of the students. Both the departments will decide if the students’ application should be approved. International students must apply to change their duration of study or their major in person. Students who receive permission to extend their duration of study are required to pay a processing fee of 250 RMB and apply for a visa extension.

The Certificate of Graduation as well as the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate Degrees will only be awarded to the students who have successfully completed their program and have fulfilled their graduation requirements.

Undergraduate Students who have not fulfilled their programs’ academic requirements by the end of their study period will only receive a Certificate of Completion of Studies (毕业证书). The same applies to Graduate Students who failed to defend their thesis.

Undergraduate and Graduate Students who withdrew from the university after having completed at least one year of courses and have abided by the university’s withdrawal policies are eligible to receive a Certificate of Higher Education.

Visiting Students and Research Scholars who have successfully completed their programs will receive a Certificate of Achievement.

Students who have been abiding by the university’sAcademic Code of Honor and have displayed academic excellence will be presented with commendations and awards from the university.

Students who have disobeyed the university’s Academic Code of Honor, committed truancy, vandalism, got involved in physical fights and have conducted other forms of unfavorable acts will be given a warning, reprimanded, blacklisted, put under close observation, suspended or expelled, depending on the severity of their offenses.

For the students who have been put under the university’s close observation, their punishment will be lifted if they show signs of improvements within a year. Students who do not display any sign of improvement within the given time limit will be dismissed from the university.

Students’ parents, together with their country’s embassy or its representative organizations (in China) will be informed about the charges and the punishments that have been placed on the students if the severity of their offences require so.

If an international student has committed a crime/an illegal act, the Chinese Public Security Administration will take charge in handling his/her offense and he/she will be perpetrated according to the Chinese Law. In addition, the university will charge the student with the appropriate punishments.

Pertinent　documents, such as Student Identification Card, Campus Card, Certificate of Study and transcript serve to justify your status as a PKU student as well as your protected rights. To apply for the pertinent documents, you must follow the appropriate procedures and provide the university with the required documents. Students must provide the university with the original copy of the required documents. These documents must not be forged or damaged. Students with damaged or forged documents will face persecution by the Chinese Law.

International Students will be given a Peking University student ID card after they have registered. The student ID card for Undergraduate Students is issue by the Deans Office 教务部；and the ID card for Graduate Students is issue by the Office of Graduate Studies 研究生院. If you have misplaced or lost you Student ID card, please request for a replacement at the Undergraduate/Graduate Administrative Office of your program’s department.

The ID cards for General Visiting Students, Senior Visiting Students and Research Scholars are issue by the Division for International Students Office. If misplaced, please request for a replacement at the same office.. It takes 5 working days for your new card to be issued.

Your student ID card should be with you at all times. Students are not allowed to lend and borrow ID cards. If you have misplaced your student ID, please get a new one as soon as possible.

All Students are required to obtain a Campus Card (校园卡) from the Campus Card Center located at Room 1158S, Natural Science Building 1 (校园卡中心 – 北京大学理科一号楼1158S房间). Present your Student Identification Card to the staffs and you will be asked to take a picture for your Campus Card.

The Campus Card functions as your library card, meal card and pre-paid card to upload your monthly Internet usage fee. If misplaced, report your loss and freeze your account at the Campus Card Center either in person, or via telephone (62765038、62765039),or input the data yourself at the touch screen computers on campus.

The Campus Card Replacement Fee is 40 RMB. For further information regarding the usage and the functions of the Campus Card, please visit http://card.pku.edu.cn/home.do .

Undergraduates Students may apply for a Certificate of Study 在学证明 at the Deans Office教务部(office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.); and Graduate Students at the Office of Graduate Studies 研究生院 (office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.). VisitingStudents and Research Scholars may apply for the certificate at the Division for International Students Office.

Students may request for their Certificate of Study be written in Chinese or English. It takes approximately 5 working days for the certificate to be issued. To acquire the Certificate written in other languages, students need to have the original Certificate translated and notarized by notary offices.

All students will be issued with a transcript upon their graduation/completion of their study.

If you need more copies of your transcript, please follow the instructions indicated by the Deans Office (Undergraduate Students)/ the Office of Graduate Studies (Graduate Students) to request for the additional copies to be issued. Visiting Students and Research Scholars who need more copies of their transcript will have to request for them at the Division for International Students Office either in person or via mail.

Please bring along with you the original copy of your transcript when requesting of additional copies to be issued. It takes 5 working days for the additional transcripts to be issued.