Exams and Grades

Freshman English Placement Exam

As per tradition, there is an English placement exam after school starts, covering listening and reading. It is somewhat difficult, harder than the gaokao. Question types are similar to CET-4, serving as a placement test and allocation of spots for the College English Competition. If you have the capacity, it's worth preparing in advance. Graduate students also take this exam; a high score can exempt you from graduate English courses.

CET-4 and CET-6 Exams

You can register for CET-4 in the spring semester of freshman year
CET-6 can be taken after passing CET-4; if you miss one exam, you cannot register for the next one and must wait until the one after that. Fushan test centers for CET-4 are hard to secure, and CET-6 spots are even harder
The listening section requires a radio; the university distributes them uniformly (pre-order through the orientation system), or you can purchase your own

Final Exams

The last two weeks of each semester are exam weeks
Multiple classes take exams in the same classroom, seated every other seat, generally by student ID number, though some proctors don't enforce this
Final exam grades are linked to various evaluations and honors

Exam Discipline

Cheating is Strictly Prohibited

Failing an exam allows for a makeup exam, but if cheating is caught by an inspector, you will face disciplinary action with serious consequences! Students who applied for a deferred exam may take the makeup exam.

According to the "Shandong Province Regular Higher Education Credit System Management Regulations": - Absent from exam: Students may not participate in the makeup or deferred exam for the relevant course and can only retake it - A student who fails to attend the normal course examination without valid reason is considered absent from the exam

Exam Rankings

Exam year rankings are only within your own major
Some grade requirements consider class proportions

Failing a Course and Makeup Exams

Situation	Handling
First time failing	A makeup exam is arranged at the beginning of the new semester; passing the makeup exam records only 60 points in your file
Failing the makeup exam	Must retake the course, paying the course fee again and studying with the next cohort of students
Makeup exam opportunity	You only get one makeup exam chance per failure

Consequences of Failing

Failing Has Serious Consequences

Affects postgraduate recommendation eligibility
Affects scholarship evaluation
Affects party membership and other evaluation activities
Affects student council elections
Recorded in your personal file, impacting future employment

Scholarships

Scholarships are evaluated at the beginning of each semester for the previous semester, ranked by comprehensive assessment scores, with higher scores having priority.

Scholarship Type	Description
First-Class Scholarship	Top 5% in comprehensive assessment ranking
Second-Class Scholarship	Top 15% in comprehensive assessment ranking
Third-Class Scholarship	Top 30% in comprehensive assessment ranking
Progress Scholarship	Top ranking improvement within the department

Scholarship quotas are allocated by the department to each grade, then distributed by department enrollment proportions.

Postgraduate Recommendation (Exemption from Entrance Exam)

Postgraduate recommendation refers to recommending outstanding graduating undergraduates for exemption from the national graduate entrance exam (abbreviated as "tuimian"), directly entering the re-examination phase. Qingdao University's recommendation process follows the "Qingdao University Implementation Measures for Recommending Outstanding Graduating Undergraduates for Exemption from Graduate Entrance Examination" (Document No. QDU-Jiao [2021] 21), with the Academic Affairs Office publishing annual notices each September. The following content is compiled based on the 2025 recommendation work documents.

How many postgraduate recommendation spots are there? Quotas are not set by a fixed proportion but are allocated by the university based on each school's graduating class size, major construction status, teaching achievement awards, and student advanced study rates, distributed to departments each year, then further distributed to majors based on graduating class enrollment and training quality. To learn your major's specific quota, check the "Recommendation Implementation Plan" published by your department in early September.

Recommendation Categories

Category	Description
Regular Recommendation	Open to most students, recommended based on comprehensive score ranking
Counselor Recommendation Plan	For students with the qualities and willingness to serve as student counselors, following the full-time counselor selection process

Each student may only obtain one category of recommendation eligibility and cannot apply for multiple.

Basic Requirements (Hard Threshold)

Current university graduating undergraduate enrolled in the national regular full-time undergraduate admissions plan (excluding college-to-university transfers and second bachelor's degrees)
Moral quality assessment score of "good" or above, with no record of violations or disciplinary actions
Completed and passed all courses specified in the professional training plan for the corresponding year, with no failing grades in required courses

Failing a Required Course = Automatic Disqualification

If even one required course has a failing record, you cannot apply for postgraduate recommendation. Failing not only affects evaluations but is also a veto criterion for postgraduate recommendation.

Academic and Language Requirements for Regular Recommendations

Grade Ranking (Exam Course Average GPA):

Student Type	Ranking Requirement
Regular Students	4-year programs: top three years; 5-year programs: top four years. Exam course average GPA ranking no lower than top 30% of the major
Innovation Experiment Classes, Excellence Talent Plan Majors	May be relaxed to top 40%
Students with genuine special academic expertise	May be relaxed to top 50%

Language Requirements:

Student Type	Requirement
Non-foreign language majors (English)	CET-6 score ≥ 426, or IELTS ≥ 6 / TOEFL ≥ 80
Non-foreign language majors (other languages)	Corresponding language CET-4 ≥ 80, or CET-6 ≥ 60
Foreign language majors	Passing the corresponding language professional CET-4 exam
Arts and sports majors	CET-4 score ≥ 426

How Comprehensive Score Is Calculated (Core)

Rankings are based on comprehensive score, composed of academic performance and comprehensive development quality assessment score:

Comprehensive Score = Academic Performance × 90% + Comprehensive Development Quality Assessment Score × 10%

Academic Performance: All exam course grades during enrollment, out of 100 points. Accounting for 90%, this is decisive.
Comprehensive Development Quality Assessment Score: Out of 100 points, composed of social practice and special academic expertise, accounting for 10%.

Grades Are King

Comprehensive development accounts for at most 10%, and the conditions for earning high scores are stringent (see below). For most students, ranking among the top in exam course grades is the most reliable path to postgraduate recommendation. Competitions and volunteer work are merely bonuses.

Comprehensive Development Quality Assessment Components (Out of 100)

Section	Weight	Sub-items
Social Practice	30%	Military service (10%), volunteer service (10%), international organization internships (10%)
Special Academic Expertise	70%	"Internet+" competition direct bonus, Challenge Cup (20%), other authoritative competitions (25%), research achievements (25%)

Each sub-item is out of 100 points, converted by weight and summed; each sub-item may accumulate at most three representative works, with the same achievement/award counted only at the highest level without duplication. Scores exceeding 100 are capped at 100.

Social Practice: Military service of 2+ years scores 80 points, "Outstanding Soldier" title scores 100 points; national/provincial "Most Beautiful Volunteer," "Outstanding Youth Volunteer," "Three Goes to the Countryside" outstanding individuals, etc. scored by level; international organization internships of 3+ months earn points.
"Internet+" Competition: A direct bonus item, converted at 70% and added to the special academic expertise category. National gold awards for top 3 positions: 100/80/60 points; silver: 80/60/40; bronze: 60/40/20.
Challenge Cup: Converted at 20%. National gold awards for top 3: 100/80/60 points; silver: 80/60/40; bronze: 60/40/20.
Other Authoritative Competitions: Converted at 25%. Based on the Chinese Higher Education Society's "National Ordinary University Student Competition Ranking" for the recommendation year; top awards for competitions on the ranking list capped at 50 points, unlisted competitions capped at 40 points. Scoring standards are set by each department.
Research Achievements: Converted at 25%. Papers must be published with Qingdao University as the first author institution and the student as independent or first author. Scoring standards are set by each department.

How are key team members determined for team competitions? For individual competitions, participants are key members; for team competitions where positions can be identified, the top 3 positions are taken with decreasing scores; for team competitions where positions cannot be identified, all team members share equally. The total points for all key team members must not exceed 2.4 times that of individual competition participants at the same level.

Special Academic Expertise Defense

Students with special academic expertise must submit the "Special Academic Expertise Review and Appraisal Form" and supporting materials, participating in a public defense organized by the department (typically no fewer than 5 experts, associate professor rank or above). The entire defense is audio and video recorded, with results publicly announced. Those who do not pass the review or defense will not have their special academic expertise score counted.

Recommendation Work Process (Using 2025 as an Example)

Time	Step
Early September	University publishes recommendation notice; department announces implementation plan (including major quotas)
Before September 11	Department submits recommendation work plan and working group list
September 9–18	Students submit application forms and materials; those with special expertise participate in defense; department reviews, determines candidates, and publicly announces for 7 days
September 19–24	University reviews materials, leadership group deliberates and announces
September 25–26	Recommendation list submitted to the Ministry of Education's recommendation system

Important Notes

When higher-ranked students waive their recommendation quota, they must sign a written waiver, and quotas are filled sequentially by comprehensive score ranking
Those who have obtained recommendation eligibility but receive disciplinary action or cannot graduate normally before graduation will have their qualification revoked by the university and reported to the Ministry of Education
Fabrication of application materials results in immediate disqualification upon discovery and strict disciplinary action
Those with immediate family members participating in the current year's selection must proactively回避; non-immediate family members must proactively report
The recommendation process involves department and university-level public announcements, subject to supervision by the university's Discipline Inspection Commission (Supervision Office) throughout the process, with real-name reporting accepted

Physical Education Classes and Fitness Tests

Physical education classes are once per week
Each semester has fitness tests and final exams
Physical education classes carry credits; failing requires a makeup exam

Physical Education Activity Selection

Gender	Available Activities
Male	Soccer, basketball, track and field, volleyball, etc.
Female	Aerobics, volleyball, badminton, basketball, track and field, table tennis, etc.

Fitness Test Standards

Item	Passing Standard
Female 800m	Four and a half minutes (4:30)
Male 1000m	Follows the current year's standard

Sports Meet

The university sports meet is generally held in April, with events including:

Men's: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 110m hurdles, relay, high jump, long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus, javelin
Women's: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 100m hurdles, relay, high jump, long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus, javelin
Team events: Tug of war, 1-minute rope skipping, shuttle relay, etc.

Radio

English exams (including CET-4 and CET-6) require a radio. The university distributes them uniformly (pre-order through the orientation system), or you can purchase your own. You don't need an expensive one, but avoid one that's prone to problems.

Class Schedule Lookup

Qingdao University Academic Affairs Office website: Search "QDU Academic Affairs" on Baidu, log in to check
WeChat official account "Qingxiao Zhu": Can check your class schedule synchronously
Freshman class schedules become available in the academic affairs system during the late military training period

Grade Lookup

Grades for all courses and personal ranking information can be queried through the Qingdao University Academic Affairs System.