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SUSTech Exchange Guide

南方科技大学 · Shenzhen · Single campus, Nanshan

📘 Part of our complete guide to student exchange in China

✓ Built from official SUSTech sources · Last checked: September 2026 · See sources

At a glance

SUSTech is a young research university on one hillside campus in Nanshan, north-west Shenzhen, next to the University Town cluster. Its international office, SUSTech Global, runs semester exchanges for students from partner universities; exchange students usually live in four-person rooms on campus.

City

Shenzhen — city guide

Campus

One main campus at 1088 Xueyuan Avenue, Nanshan

Exchange length

One semester (Sept–Jan or Feb–June); a full year for some partners Programme-dependent

Teaching language

English and Chinese courses — English-only options are limited, so check the catalogue

Housing

Four-person dorm rooms on campus, ¥600 per person per month

Exchange office

SUSTech Global · visiting@sustech.edu.cn

Before you arrive

Only students registered at SUSTech’s partner universities are eligible. You need a GPA equivalent to at least 2.5/4.0 over at least two semesters, and fluency in Chinese or English.

Nomination — your home university nominates you (by 15 March for autumn, 15 October for spring).
Registration — you register on the SUSTech International Student Service System (by 31 March / 30–31 October) with passport, English transcript, current course list and a white-background photo.
Review & admission — SUSTech reviews your application and notifies you.
Visa & insurance — buy the required mainland China medical insurance through the designated provider; visa steps are not published on SUSTech’s pages, so follow your admission letter and Before You Go.
Arrival — one-stop check-in on the ground floor of your dorm, then orientation.

Intake	Nomination	Student registration
Autumn	15 March	31 March
Spring (e.g. Spring 2027)	15 October	30 October (English page) / 31 October (Chinese page)

The SUSTech Global term page does not print a year, so confirm these dates with your coordinator. Source ↗ Fall 2026 registration was on 4 September with classes from 7 September; finals run 28 December 2026 – 8 January 2027 (SUSTech academic calendar).

Which campus?

Everything happens on one campus, so the only real question is how you get around it — and into the city.

All exchange students

SUSTech Campus (Xili area)

Where: 1088 Xueyuan Avenue, Nanshan District — in the hills next to Tanglang and University Town
Who studies here: All undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, including exchange students.
Metro: Line 5 Tanglang station (signed “Tanglang/SUSTech”) — about 10 minutes’ walk via Exit C to Gate 1. Buses M369, 43, 74 and 81 stop at the SUSTech stop.
To the centre: Futian CBD and Houhai/Shenzhen Bay are roughly 35–50 minutes by metro with one change (estimate).

Open SUSTech Campus in a map ↗

Accommodation

¥600

per person per month (four-person room)

¥1,000

international student fee per semester

¥0

tuition for exchange students

Rooms: exchange students get a bed in a four-person dorm room on campus at ¥600 per person per month. Source ↗
Communities: undergraduate housing is in Lakeside, Lychee Hill, Joy Highland and the Student Dormitories; which one exchange students get is not published.
Facilities: ground-floor laundry rooms, study rooms and 24-hour shops in the dorm area; most classes are within about ten minutes’ walk.
Guaranteed? Partner universities disagree — one says housing is guaranteed, another says it is not. SUSTech helps arrange off-campus housing if rooms run out. Programme-dependent
Fees: exchange tuition is waived; the international student fee is ¥1,000 per semester. “Visiting” (fee-paying) students pay ¥15,000 per semester.

Shenzhen rents are high — if you might live off campus, run the numbers in the budget calculator.

Academics

Course catalogue: SUSTech has an English course catalogue. All courses are open to programme students subject to prerequisites.
Course selection follows your home university’s requirements and is explained at orientation.
Credits: up to 25 SUSTech credits per semester (Fall 2023 fact sheet). Programme-dependent
Add/drop: SUSTech news reported a three-week add/drop period in 2021 — confirm the current rule at orientation. Programme-dependent
Transcript: the process is not published; ask SUSTech Global before you leave.

Campus survival

🪪 Campus card

Needed for the cafeterias and campus services; top up at self-service machines or through WeChat.

🍜 Dining

Student Cafeteria, Lychee Hills and Joy Highland dining halls, a Dining Hub, plus Subway and Starbucks on campus.

📚 Libraries

Yidan Library, Lynn Library and the Learning Nexus, generally 8:00–22:00; the ground floor of Yidan is open 24 hours.

📶 Wi-Fi

“SUSTech-wifi” (log in with your student ID) and eduroam (separate eduroam password).

🏃 Sports

A Sports Center with a gym and stadiums, open to exchange students.

🛒 Shops

A 24-hour supermarket and fruit, tea and bakery shops in the dorm area.

Arrival

From the airport

Shenzhen Bao’an (SZX): Line 11 to Qianhaiwan, then Line 5 to Tanglang — about an hour (SUSTech directions). A taxi is about ¥90–120 and 45–60 minutes.
Hong Kong (HKG): the airside SkyPier ferry to Shekou lets you skip Hong Kong immigration (arrive before about 8pm); then a taxi of about 40 minutes and ¥70.

From the train station

Shenzhen North (high-speed rail) — Line 5 two stops to Tanglang, about 15 minutes.
Futian Station — no official route; Line 11 to Qianhaiwan then Line 5 is one option — check your map app.

First-days checklist

Buy the required mainland medical insurance before you arrive.
One-stop check-in on your dorm’s ground floor: information check, room confirmation, insurance, paperwork and keys.
Pay the ¥1,000 international student fee and your dorm fee.
Get and top up your campus card; set up Wi-Fi and eduroam.
Orientation: course selection, campus rules and a campus tour.
Register your address with the police within 24 hours if you live off campus, and check your residence-permit needs with SUSTech Global.

Around campus

University Town (Xili): one stop west on Line 5 — home to Tsinghua’s and Peking University’s Shenzhen graduate schools, with student cafés and eateries.
Tanglang: the mall at the metro station is the nearest place for off-campus food and shopping.
Nature: Xili Lake and the hills around campus; bigger hikes are in our Shenzhen beaches & hikes guide.
Health: SUSTech news mentions a community health centre on campus; use Amap (高德) to find the nearest pharmacy.

For the whole-city picture — food, neighbourhoods and weekend trips — use the Shenzhen guide rather than this page.

Your host city

Now explore Shenzhen

Bay parks, beaches, hikes and Hong Kong day trips — all in the Shenzhen city guide.

Open the Shenzhen guide

China essentials for SUSTech students

These topics work the same everywhere in China, so they live in one national guide each — this page only adds what is specific to SUSTech.

Visa & documents: your admission notice and JW202 form decide the visa type — how the process works
Payments: canteens and shops expect a phone wallet — set up Alipay & WeChat Pay
Mobile data: you need a Chinese number for campus accounts and deliveries — SIM, eSIM & internet
Apps: maps, ride-hailing and translation — essential apps
Landing day: what to do before you even reach campus — your first 48 hours
Money: estimate rent and living costs — budget calculator

Official sources

Last checked: September 2026. Deadlines, dorm fees, semester dates and office contacts change every intake. Where a detail differs by faculty or partner agreement it is marked Programme-dependent — your nomination email and the exchange office always override this page.

Spotted something outdated or wrong? Tell us and we will check and update it.

Keep exploring

Photos: Dinkun Chen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · 歪歪 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)