Southwestern University of Finance and Economics is not the first name most international students think of when researching finance degrees in China. That’s actually worth paying attention to — because the university quietly runs one of the most significant economic research operations in Asia, and students there can get closer to it than they probably realize.
Most universities teach students about China’s economy. SWUFE built the database that researchers use to study it.
What Makes SWUFE Different From Other Finance Schools
SWUFE is a public finance and economics university in Chengdu, affiliated with China’s Ministry of Education. As of 2024, it ranks #1 in Western China and #4 nationwide among universities specialized in finance, business, and economics. U.S. News & World Report places it 4th in Asia and 17th globally in Business and Economics.
That’s a strong ranking for a school most people outside China haven’t heard of. The reason it punches above its recognition is largely due to one institution housed on campus: the China Household Finance Survey center.
The Dataset Behind the University’s Real Reputation
What the CHFS Actually Is
The Survey and Research Center for China Household Finance is a non-profit academic research institution based at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. Its main mission is to carry out the China Household Finance Survey — the only nationally representative survey in China with detailed information about household finance and assets, including housing, business assets, financial assets, and income and expenditures.
Think of it like the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances in the US, or the UK’s Wealth and Assets Survey — except covering the world’s second-largest economy. The CHFS asks the questions that most macro data can’t answer: how much do ordinary Chinese households actually earn, save, borrow, and invest?
The Scale Is Hard to Overstate
The CHFS 2017 wave alone covered 40,011 households across 29 provinces. Its samples effectively represent households throughout the entire country. The dataset spans multiple rounds from 2011 onward, tracking changes across China’s most dramatic period of economic transformation.
Who Uses This Data
This isn’t just a domestic research tool. Science magazine published a report on the CHFS data in 2014 (volume 340, pp. 1037–1039), and the center released multiple rounds of findings that aroused widespread interest in academia, government, and industry. IMF working papers have cited CHFS data in research on digital financial inclusion. NYU Shanghai’s library lists it as a key academic dataset. Researchers across North America, Europe, and Asia regularly apply to access it.
The center provides CHFS data to registered users for the purpose of facilitating scientific and policy research. That access is open to external researchers — and SWUFE students sit closer to that pipeline than almost anyone else.
What This Means for Students at SWUFE
Here’s the part that rarely gets explained in English: studying at the university that runs the CHFS isn’t just a passive credential. It’s a proximity advantage.
Interviews for the survey were carried out by highly trained students from Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. Each student completed 56 hours of training and passed an exam before being allowed to participate. Graduate students at SWUFE have historically been involved in data collection, cleaning, and research support — giving them hands-on exposure to real-world applied economics that most finance students only read about in journal articles.
For international students doing master’s or doctoral research in economics, finance, or household behavior, access to CHFS data for thesis work is a genuine research advantage. Papers published using CHFS data appear in top journals including Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, PLOS ONE, and ScienceDirect.
Programs Available for International Students
SWUFE admits international students in programs taught in English, including Economics, Finance, Accounting, Management, Business Administration, Financial Management, Insurance, International Business, and International Economy and Trade. Bachelor’s programs run 4 years at 20,000 CNY per year. Master’s and doctoral programs are also available in English, with doctorate tuition at 30,000 CNY per year.
The university has four bachelor’s degree programs and two master’s degree programs delivered entirely in English, training several thousand international students from over a hundred countries.
Additionally, SWUFE has established cooperative relations with 130 universities, financial institutes and enterprises from 36 countries and regions. Exchange and dual-degree pathways exist for students who want structured international mobility built into their program.
Costs and Scholarships
Living costs in Chengdu are considerably lower than Beijing or Shanghai. On-campus accommodation costs RMB 500–800 per month for full-time degree students. Off-campus options run approximately RMB 1,000–2,500 per month.
For scholarships, the main route is the Chinese Government Scholarship (CSC). The SWUFE CSC Scholarship covers tuition, accommodation, and a monthly stipend. SWUFE’s agency number for the CSC portal is 10651. Age limits apply: bachelor’s applicants must be under 25, master’s under 35, PhD under 40. The deadline is typically March of the application year — check the official website at international.swufe.edu.cn for the current cycle.
Campus and Daily Life
SWUFE operates two campuses in Chengdu. The main Liulin Campus, founded in 2004, covers approximately 264 acres in Wenjiang. The older Guanghua Campus covers 116 acres in Qingyang district. Degree students typically study at Liulin; language students are based at Guanghua.
The university library holds 2,000,000 items in digital resources — the largest library in southwest China — and the campus includes a Money and Securities Museum with over 60,000 financial items on display. It’s an unusual thing to find on a university campus: a physical archive of China’s financial history, from pre-reform-era currency to modern securities instruments.
Chengdu itself adds something that Beijing and Shanghai can’t easily replicate — a genuinely livable mid-sized city with a strong food culture, lower costs, easy access to Sichuan’s natural landscapes, and a rapidly growing fintech and startup scene.
Application: Key Steps
Getting in as an international student involves a few distinct steps:
- Check program eligibility on the official international admissions portal at international.swufe.edu.cn
- Submit your application through SWUFE’s International Students Service System at swufe.17gz.org
- For the CSC Scholarship, apply simultaneously through the CSC portal using agency number 10651
- Prepare required documents: valid passport, academic transcripts (notarized), diploma, English proficiency certificate, two recommendation letters (for graduate programs), and a study plan or research proposal
- Await review and interview — SWUFE may conduct an online test for scholarship applicants
Practical Tips Before You Apply
- Research fit matters here more than at most schools. SWUFE’s strongest programs are in finance, economics, and accounting. If your interests sit elsewhere, the university’s specialization works against rather than for you.
- For graduate applicants: a research proposal that references CHFS data or China’s household finance landscape signals genuine engagement with what makes SWUFE distinctive — it’s worth doing.
- Don’t conflate the two campuses. Language students and degree students live on separate campuses with different facilities and communities.
- The CHFS data portal at chfs.swufe.edu.cn allows external researchers to apply for data access. Reviewing what’s available before applying gives a clearer sense of what research is actually possible there.
- English is sufficient for the listed English-taught programs, but learning basic Mandarin dramatically improves daily life in Chengdu and opens up more research and social options on campus.
References
Wikipedia contributors. (2025). Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_University_of_Finance_and_Economics
Wikipedia contributors. (2025). China Household Finance Survey. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Household_Finance_Survey
Zhang, D. (2016). Understanding China from a household’s perspective: Studies based on the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS). Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, vol. 52, no. 8. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1540496X.2016.1189810
Survey and Research Center for China Household Finance. (n.d.). CHFS data center. Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. Retrieved from https://chfs.swufe.edu.cn
Southwestern University of Finance and Economics International Education College. (2025). Admissions. Retrieved from https://international.swufe.edu.cn
BestEduChina. (n.d.). Admission at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics for foreign students. Retrieved from http://www.besteduchina.com/southwestern_university_of_finance_and_economics/admissions.html
Scholarships Future. (2024). SWUFE Chinese Government Scholarship 2025–26. Retrieved from https://scholarshipsfuture.com/swufe-chinese-government-scholarship-2025/
