TOCFL for the Taiwan Scholarship 2027
The Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language — who needs it for the Taiwan Scholarship, what level is required, where to take it, and what happens if you do not have it yet.
ScholarshipUnion Editorial
5 min read
Updated Oct 6, 2026
Do You Actually Need TOCFL?
This is the most common confusion around Taiwan scholarship language requirements. The answer depends entirely on whether your program is fully taught in English.
| Your program | TOCFL required? | Minimum level |
|---|---|---|
| Degree program not fully taught in English (MOE) | Yes — required | Level 3 (Band B) |
| Fully English-taught degree program (MOE) | Not required | No minimum (but gives selection priority) |
| TaiwanICDF programs (all English-taught) | Not required | Not required |
| Huayu Enrichment Scholarship (language study) | Not required to apply | No minimum — but 9- and 12-month recipients must sit TOCFL Level 3 or above during the award |
The MOE directions tell representative offices to give preference to applicants holding a TOCFL certificate at Band B or higher. If two otherwise equivalent applicants apply for the same slot for an English-taught program, the one with a TOCFL certificate has an edge. It is worth having if you can get it.
The TOCFL Level Structure
TOCFL has six levels aligned to the Common European Framework (CEFR), taken in three test bands: Band A covers Levels 1–2, Band B covers Levels 3–4, and Band C covers Levels 5–6. The Taiwan Scholarship asks for Band B, Level 3 or higher.
Novice 1 — CEFR A1. Basic recognition of characters and common phrases. Not relevant for scholarship applications.
Novice 2 — CEFR A2. Survival-level Chinese. Not sufficient for any MOE degree requirement.
Intermediate — CEFR B1. Minimum level for MOE applications to programs not fully taught in English. Takes several hundred hours of study for most learners starting from zero (our estimate; SC-TOP publishes its own guidance).
Strong intermediate — CEFR B2. Surpasses the minimum requirement and is advantageous for competitive scholarship applications.
Advanced — CEFR C1. Near-fluent. Needed for programs with intensive academic reading in Chinese; competitive for graduate Chinese-taught programs.
Proficient — CEFR C2. Near-native proficiency. Rarely required for scholarship purposes but valuable for highly demanding Chinese-language PhD programs.
Where to Take TOCFL
TOCFL is administered by the Steering Committee for the Test Of Proficiency-Huayu (SC-TOP) in Taiwan, and through a network of authorized testing centers worldwide.
There are two testing formats:
- Computer-based test (CBT): Available at authorized centers globally. Check SC-TOP for when results are released for your test date.
- Paper-based test: Offered at some overseas test centers. Check availability in your country.
The official list of authorized overseas TOCFL test centers is maintained on the SC-TOP website. Not all countries have local test centers — if yours does not, you may need to travel to the nearest city or country with an authorized center. Check availability early, because test slots in some locations fill months in advance.
TOCFL Test Components
SC-TOP runs separate tests for four skills:
- Listening: Multiple-choice questions based on spoken passages. Duration varies by level.
- Reading: Multiple-choice questions based on written texts. Together with listening, the core of level certification.
- Speaking and writing: Offered as separate tests. They are not part of the standard listening-and-reading certificate most scholarship applicants submit.
For scholarship purposes, a passing result at Level 3 (Band B) on the Listening and Reading test is the minimum. The level awarded corresponds to your highest passing level.
Preparing for TOCFL Level 3
If you are starting from zero Mandarin, reaching TOCFL Level 3 requires sustained, dedicated study. As a rough guide, plan on at least 9–12 months of regular study with daily practice.
If you already have some Mandarin background — childhood exposure, prior coursework, or use in a family context — the timeline is shorter. Speakers of related varieties who read Chinese characters may need only a few months of exam-specific preparation.
Practical preparation advice
- Work from official TOCFL past papers and practice materials, which are available from SC-TOP. The format and vocabulary emphasis of TOCFL differs from HSK or HSKK, and preparing with the wrong exam's materials is a common mistake.
- TOCFL uses Traditional Chinese characters, not Simplified. If your Chinese study background used Simplified, allocate extra time to character conversion familiarity.
- The listening component requires understanding of spoken Taiwanese Mandarin, which differs slightly in pronunciation from mainland Mandarin. Exposure to Taiwan-produced audio and video is useful.
- Register for the exam at least 3 months before your scholarship application deadline — for a 31 March 2027 deadline, that means by December 2026 — so your results arrive in time.
HSK is a mainland Chinese Mandarin proficiency exam. For MOE applications, results or certificates from any Chinese test other than TOCFL are not accepted. If your Mandarin certificate is an HSK score, it does not satisfy the requirement for programs not fully taught in English.
What If You Do Not Have TOCFL Yet?
If you are applying for a Chinese-taught program and do not yet have TOCFL Level 3, you have limited options:
- Apply for a fully English-taught program instead — you can still access the MOE scholarship without TOCFL for an English-taught degree.
- If your local representative office does not run TOCFL testing, you may apply without it — but you must pass Level 3 or above at your own expense by the end of your first semester in Taiwan.
- Apply for the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship first, spend 6–12 months in Taiwan learning Mandarin, then apply for the MOE degree scholarship in the following cycle with your TOCFL certificate.
- Defer your scholarship application by one year and use the intervening period to reach the required TOCFL level.
Where your office does run TOCFL testing, submitting an application for a Chinese-taught program without a TOCFL certificate is not a viable strategy — it results in an incomplete application, not a provisional consideration pending results.