Chinese Government Scholarship Program is established by the Ministry of Education of P.R. China (hereinafter referred to as MOE) in accordance with educational exchange agreements or understandings reached between Chinese government and governments of other countries, organizations, education institutions and relevant international organizations to provide both full scholarships and partial scholarships to international students and scholars. MOE entrusts China Scholarship Council (hereinafter referred to as CSC) to manage the recruitment and carry out the routine management of Chinese Government Scholarship Programs.

Categories of applicants and duration of scholarship

Study Program	Duration of Program	Duration of Remedial Chinese Language Courses	Duration of Scholarship
Bachelor's degree	4-5	1-2 (college preparatory courses)	4-7
Master's degree	2-3	1-2	2-5
Doctoral degree	3-4	1-2	3-6
Chinese language training	1-2	None	Up to 2
General scholar	1	1	Up to 2
Senior scholar	1	1	Up to 2

1. According to the regulations stipulated by MOE, all undergraduate programs for international students are instructed in Chinese. Applicants with no command of Chinese are required to take the college preparatory courses for one to two years before pursuring major studies. And only by passing the examinations of the college preparatory courses, could they start their university studies.

2. Certain Chinese HEIs (Higher Education Institutions) could conduct some postgraduate program and non-degree courses for general and senior scholars in English. Please check Directory of Chinese Higher Institutions Admitting International Students under Chinese Government Scholarship Program or visit the Website of CSC for details.

3. Scholarship students should complete their study within the due time; duration for scholarship specified in the Admission Notice can not be extended in principle.

Application

Applicants shall apply to Chinese diplomatic missions or dispatching authorities between January and April every year. Applicants may contact the above authorities for deadlines for application.

Criteria & Eligibility

1. Applicants must be non-Chinese citizens and in good health.

2. Education background and age limit:

- Applicants for undergraduate program must have senior high school diploma with good academic performance and be under the age of 25.

- Applicants for master's degree program must have bachelor's degree and be under the age of 35.

- Applicants for doctoral degree program must have master's degree and be under the age of 40.

- Applicants for Chinese training program must have senior high school diploma and be under the age of 35, Chinese language is the only subject available.

- Applicants for general scholar program must have completed at least two years of undergraduate study and be under the age of 45, all subjects besides Chinese language are available.

- Applicants for senior scholar program must have master's degree or above, or hold academic titles of associate professor or above, and be under the age of 50.

Values of scholarship

1. Full scholarship

- Exempt from registration fee, tuition fee, fee for laboratory experiment, fee for internship, and fee for basic learning materials; and accommodation fee for dormitory on campus;

- Living allowance;

- One-off settlement subsidy after registration;

- Fee for outpatient medical service, Comprehensive Medical Insurance and Protection Program for International Students in China;

- One-off inter-city travel subsidy.

Note:

1) Costs of the laboratory experiment or internship beyond the institution's arrangements should be self-afforded.

2) Fee for basic learning materials only covers the necessary learning materials prescribed by the host institution, and other textbooks and materials shall be self-afforded.

3) Monthly allowance is granted to the students through the host institution at the following rates (CNY Yuan per month):

- Undergraduates & Chinese language students: CNY 1,400 Yuan

- Master's degree students & general scholars: CNY 1,700 Yuan

- Doctoral degree students & senior scholars: CNY 2,000 Yuan

Scholarship students shall receive their monthly living allowance after registration. New students who register before 15th (15th included) of the registration month will get the full amount of living allowance of that month, and those who register after 15th will get half amount of that month. Students upon graduation will get a living allowance for another 15 days after the graduation date set by the university. The allowance will be terminated from the following month after students suspend their studies, drop school or complete schooling from the university. Monthly living allowance covers school holidays. Scholarship students who missed the monthly living allowance during holidays could be reimbursed upon their return on campus. The allowance will be suspended for at least one month for those students who do not register on time without permission from the university, leave for non-health reasons or are absent from university over a month.

Students who have to suspend their studies for pregnancy or for health reasons are required to go back to their home countries for labor or for treatment. The international travel expenses should be covered by the students themselves. With the university's approval, the scholarship status can be reserved for up to one year and their living allowances will be suspended during their leave. The scholarship status will not be reserved for those who suspend their studies for other reasons.

4) New students will get a one-off settlement subsidy upon their arrival in China.

- CNY 1,000 Yuan for new students who will study in China less than one academic year

- CNY 1,500 Yuan for new students who will study in China for one academic year and above

5) Fee for outpatient medical service refers to the outpatient expense in the institution’s hospital or the hospitals entrusted by the institution. The students are to cover a certain percentage of expense in accordance with the institution’s regulations.

6) Comprehensive Medical Insurance and Protection Program for International Students in China is provided by MOE for the scholarship students in China in case of hospitalizing for serious diseases and accidental injuries. The institutions or the entrusted medical assistance agencies provide advancement service for insurance expenses, and claim for compensation with relevant payment receipts from the insurance company according to the stipulated insurance articles. For scholarship student, the individual claim will not be accepted by the insurance company.

7) One-off inter-city travel subsidy (each for coming-in and leaving China)

A hard-seat train ticket (hard-berth train ticket for overnight trip) will be provided for scholarship students traveling

From the port of entry upon registration to the city where the admitting institution or Chinese language training institution or preparatory education institution is located;

From the Chinese language training institution or the preparatory education institution to the city where the university for major study is located;

From the city where the institution is located to the nearest port for departure upon graduation.

Meal and excess of baggage should be self-afforded.

In principle, the port of entry is Beijing, or a port of entry near where the university is located.

2. Partial scholarship

One or several items of full scholarship (one-off settlement subsidy and one-off inter-city travel allowance excluded).

Application documents

The applicants must fill in and provide the following documents truly, correctly and completely (in duplicates).

1. Application Form for Chinese Government Scholarship (filled in Chinese or English)

Those who are available for online application shall fill in and print the application form after submitting it online.

The CSC Online Application System for Study in China is available on http://laihua.csc.edu.cn.

Those who cannot apply online shall contact the dispatching authorities to get the application form and fill it truly, correctly and completely.

2. Highest diploma (notarized photocopy): Applicants shall also provide proof of studying on application. Documents in languages other than Chinese or English must be attached with notarized translations in Chinese or English.

3. Academic transcripts (notarized photocopy): Transcripts in languages other than Chinese or English must be attached with notarized translations in Chinese or English.

4. A study or research plan. All applicants are required to submit a study or research plan. It must be in Chinese or in English.

5. Recommendation letters: Applicants for postgraduate studies, or study in China as senior scholars must submit two letters of recommendation in Chinese or English from professors or associate professors. Applicants who apply in China shall submit the Admission Notice or Invitation Letter issued by the targeted university.

6. Applicants for music studies are requested to submit a CD of the applicants' own works. Applicants for fine arts programs must submit a CD of the applicants' own works (including two sketches, two color paintings and two other works).

7. Applicants under the age of 18 should submit the legal documents of their legal guardians in China.

8. Photocopy of Foreigner Physical Examination Form (The original copy should be kept by the applicant. The form printed by Chinese quarantine authority could be downloaded from http://www.csc.edu.cn). The medical examinations must cover all the items listed in the Foreigner Physical Examination Form. Incomplete records or those without the signature of the attending physician, the official stamp of the hospital or a sealed photograph of the applicants are invalid. Please select the appropriate time to take medical examination as it is valid for only 6 months.

The above documents should be forwarded to CSC by April 30th, 2011 via either the Chinese diplomatic mission in the applicant's home country or the embassy of the applicant's home country in China. Individual applications are not accepted by CSC. Application documents will not be returned.

Selection of institutions and specialties

Applicants can choose one academic program and three institutions as their preferences from the Chinese HEIs designated by MOE. Please check the Directory of Chinese Higher Institutions Admitting International Students under Chinese Government Scholarship Program. Only the listed Chinese HEIs in the Directory are available to the applicants for their study in China.

Approval and notification

1. CSC will assess all the application documents and CSC reserves the right to make necessary adjustments on the proposed institutions, specialties and duration of study. The qualified applications will be forwarded to institutions for academic competence and they will forward their nominations to CSC for agreement. The applications will be regarded as invalid and will not be accepted if they fail to meet the enrollment requirements or the application documents are incomplete.

2. If overseas applicants for degree programs with exemption of examinations are academically ineligible to the proposed programs, the institution reserves the right to decide the academic program they could attend or whether to give them conditional offers for their proposed programs. Students who attend Chinese language courses prior to their university study or those attend the college preparatory program must pass the university entrance examinations or other examinations required before they start their major studies. Students attending the college preparatory program, who fail to pass the required examinations within the due period, shall complete their study as Chinese language students.

3. Applicants are required to enclose the admission notice from Chinese HEIs, if they have, in the documents submitted to CSC.

4. Scholarship applicants academically accepted by Chinese HEIs will be officially awarded the Chinese Government Scholarship with the approval from CSC.

5. Students are not permitted, in principle, to apply to change their specialties, institutions or the duration of study as specified in the Admission Notice.

6. CSC will send the Admission Notice and Visa Application Form for Study in China (JW201) to dispatching authorities by July 31st , 2011, who will forward the documents to the students.

(China Scholarship Council January 20, 2011)