Chinese Scholarships 2025-2026 are the most sought-after scholarship programs in the world. These scholarships cover both tuition and residential expenses during a student’s study period at a university in China. Moreover, a monthly allowance aimed at meeting your other personal expenses is a part of these scholarships.
This article provides key information about different scholarships offered by Chinese Scholarships 2025-2026. It also provides step-by-step guidelines related to the selection of the scholarship type and application procedure.
Types of scholarship programs offered in China
Although there are a number of scholarships offered to international students by Chinese universities, the following three are the most popular:
I. Chinese Government Scholarships 2025-2026
II. Provincial Government Scholarships
III. Confucious Institute Scholarships.
Important information
- Students of any state can apply for these scholarships depending upon the agreement between the Chinese government and their states in the field of education.
- Contrary to other international scholarship programs, what is unique about these Scholarships is the easy process of application.
- Because of the easy-to-apply procedure, these scholarships attract a comparatively huge number of international students.
Other scholarships in offer in China
Apart from the above-mentioned, there are a number of other scholarship programs offered for foreign students in Chinese universities. Some of the popular among them are as follows:
- Scholarships awarded by Chinese Universities.
- Scholarships offered by your own country to study in China.
- Inter-university scholarships sponsored by private sector companies.
How to Choose a Scholarship suitable for yourself?
There are two main categories of study programs offered by universities in China i.e:
- Chinese Language study leading to a university diploma in advanced studies;
- Under Graduate, Graduate, and Post Graduate studies.
Once decided on the type of study, you should select a city of your choice. The choice of the city influences the choice of the type of scholarship in most cases.
Almost all entities including the Confucious Institute providing scholarships to foreign students function under the supervision of the Chinese government. However, they have an agreement with the universities nationwide for the execution of these scholarship programs. These agreements help determine the type and number of scholarship quotas across the courses. Being reserved for only international students, these scholarships have become some of the competitive scholarship programs world over.
Post Course/Scholarship selection investigation
Once you have selected the type of course and scholarship, you need to do the following investigation:
1. What Scholarships are on offer for different study programs, e.g. graduate, doctorate, etc.
2. What is the number of scholarships each university offers for the course of your choice? You may not see this information on the university websites. In such a case, you had better enquire key information via the university’s email address.
I. Chinese Language Learning Scholarships
Annually a good number of students apply for scholarships to learn the Chinese language. You should apply for them if you have been already involved in learning the Chinese language in your home country. You can still apply for these scholarships even if you do not possess a prior Chinese learning experience.
The feedback received from students with prior learning experience suggests that learning the Chinese language at universities within China is interesting, fast, and effective.
There are many scholarship programs in connection with Chinese learning. The Confucius Institute scholarship is the most relevant. The Confucius Institute offers scholarships for postgraduate and doctorate programs. However, one of the conditions to apply for this scholarship is you should have studied the Chinese language previously.
Moreover, these scholarships are in high demand and competitive, hence they are also somewhat more difficult to win.
The other type of scholarship granted to international students to study the Chinese language is the Chinese government scholarship. They are inclusive of relatively more grants for this course across a large number of universities.
As mentioned above, provincial governments also grant scholarships to international students. This does not mean all provincial governments do it. You will have to check which universities and provincial governments offer them.
So if you possess a certificate of studying the Chinese language, you are best fit to apply for the Confucius Institute scholarship to study Chinese. If you meet the criteria as per the given details, it is very likely that you will win a scholarship.
In case, you do not possess any experience of having studied the Chinese language, you had better contact the relevant provincial government and the central Chinese government. This will increase your chances of winning a scholarship of your choice.
II. Scholarships for Undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral Studies
Students usually apply for undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate programs both in Chinese or English language. Like the previous scholarship, you should check the universities offering admission in the course of your choice.
There are ways to apply for Chinese government scholarships:
- One way is to check through authorized agencies (basically the Chinese embassy in your country or some international organizations in your country such as European Union in European states.
- and the other is the destination university itself.
Both routes can help win the Chinese government scholarships. Both routes have a different scholarship quota.
If you apply, for instance, via the Chinese embassy in your country, you will only compete with other students of your own country. But, if opt to apply directly at the destination university, you will compete with candidates from other countries.
Applying via the first way makes winning the scholarship more competitive. The scholarships offered by the provincial governments exclusively deliver the documentation at the destination university thus making your presence in China important. Because not all candidates happen to be in China. Consequently, there is relatively less competition.
However, you have to show your willingness to study the Chinese language. You will be allowed to embark on your studies if you already possess an official Chinese or HSK diploma. The scores criteria of the English language proficiency is normally as follows:
- Level 4 for a degree
- 5 for a master’s or doctorate.
This score may vary from university to university.
The candidates having a degree of Chinese language proficiency are favorite candidates for this scholarship. Because the number of international students with some degree of command on Chinese is very little. If you are not from China, you should apply for this scholarship at the Chinese embassy in your country.
Chinese Scholarships 2025-2026 also covers finances in connection with any Chinese language course of up to 2 years followed by undergraduate or postgraduate courses in Chinese. You also have an option to choose a program with the English language as the medium of instruction. But, a draw of this is the huge number of candidates.
If you are physically in China with HSK4, you should apply for the provincial government grant. This will increase your chances to win the required funding. But, you must not forget to see if the university of your choice offers scholarships for foreign students in a study course of your choice.
Important points for consideration
The following are some of the important points that you should consider at all cost while applying for Chinese Scholarships 2025-2026:
- There will be more competition for a scholarship offered by a high-ranking university.
- In the case of government scholarships, you should decide whether you want to apply for a scholarship program with full or partial financing.
- It is always relatively easier to win a scholarship program with partial funding.
- It is advisable to apply for many scholarship programs indiscriminately in case you are undecided to opt between full and partial funding. This will increase your chances of being selected for at least one of these programs.
Popular scholarship programs in China
The following is a comprehensive and step-wise guide to the popular scholarships programs offered in the Peoples’ Republic of China.
1. Chinese Government Scholarship
This program covers scholarships offered for BS, MS, and Doctorate studies. It involves coverage of complete finances during the study period in all universities with its offer.
In terms of financial support, these scholarships are classified into the following categories:
I. Type A Scholarship
Type A scholarship covers expenses i.e. registration fee, residential expenses, medical insurance up to the US $ 3500 and 500 respectively. The residence is provided in the relevant university where the student will share a room with another student.
II. Type B Scholarship (Chinese Scholarships 2025-2026)
This is a partially funded scholarship program that covers the same benefits as that of the fully funded or Type A scholarship. What is not provided vis a vis Type A scholarship is an allowance for personal expenses on monthly basis.
III. Type C Scholarship
Like that if Type B, the Type C Scholarship program also falls under the category of partially funded scholarships. This program provides only a few benefits of the Type A scholarship.
For details related to deadlines and application procedure, click here
2. Provincial Government Scholarships
These are the scholarships different provincial governments in China offer for international students. Four cities i.e. Beijing Tianjin, Chongqing, Shangai also offer these scholarships as they enjoy the status of provinces in the country.
The following are two main types of scholarships offered by different provincial universities in China:
- Scholarships for Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D. studies
- Scholarships for Chinese Language Courses
The courses offered with scholarships are not the same across the province. They are rather different across the universities and provinces. Thus it is very important to see these all things beforehand.
Benefits of provincial government Chinese scholarships 2023-2024
These scholarships cover:
- registration fees
- residential expenses
- health coverage
- Personal expense on monthly basis.
For details related to deadlines and the application process click here
3. Confucius Institute Scholarship (CIS)
This is one of the popular scholarship programs for international students. Confucius Institute is a public sector institute aiming at promoting knowledge in connection with the Chinese language and culture worldwide. There are 150 varieties that offer a number of study grants and scholarships on an annual basis.
The Confucius Institute Scholarship usually offers scholarships for different academic activities and programs such as
- Ph.D. studies
- research stays
- attending research conferences.
Here we discuss particularly focus on the sought-after Scholarships offered for a course means to promote the Chinese Language and Culture.
The Confucius Institute Scholarship Program includes:
- Tuition fees
- Accommodation ( a room for two students at the university you are enrolled in)
- Basic medical insurance
- a monthly basis allowance to meet personal expenses.
For more details about the deadlines and application procedure, click here.
4. High School Student Scholarships
These scholarships are comparatively less competitive vis a vis the above-mentioned scholarship programs. But, there is always a bright prospect of winning a scholarship to study at least for one year in a high school in China.
5. Postdoctoral Scholarships in China
Managed directly by the university, they are grants given to write a post-doctoral thesis and defend it. The criteria and procedure to apply may differ from university to university.
The Following are the salient features of post-doctoral scholarship in China:
I. Financial benefits
The finances included in this scholarship vary across provinces and universities. Mostly a student gets a house rent or accommodation at the university at a discounted rate along with a base salary of 4, 000 Yuan. It also includes 75% basic health coverage, a handsome amount to purchase a house after graduation.
II. Number of scholarships
The universities offer a good number of postdoctoral scholarships esp. in the fields of science and technology.
Duration of the Chinese Scholarships 2025-2026
The duration for the postdoctoral scholarships is usually two years. This period can be extended up to one more year.
Note: Possessing a Post Ph.D. fellowship is compatible with other scholarships, both national and international. A number of universities offer such programs to retain students with talent with an increase in the postdoctoral base salary.
Criteria for Postdoctoral Scholarships (Chinese Scholarships 2025-2026)
Each university has its own specific requirements. However, the applicant must:
- have doctorate degree documents required for the Postdoctoral Scholarships in China.
- have an application form duly filled along with the documents.
- an acceptance letter from the principal investor.
- officially stamped medical fitness form from an accredited doctor from your country. The medical form should carry an official stamp of the hospital where the checkup takes place.
- posses the doctorate degree typed in English or Chinese. If your degree is not typed in either of the languages, you may need to submit a translation in either of the languages.
- submit research project written in English or in Chinese.
- have Two letters of recommendation in English or in Chinese from one of your professors.
- submit the Curriculum Vitae with reference to your publications and participation in conferences.
Steps to Apply for Postdoctoral Chinese Scholarships 2025-2026
Place of application
The applicant must submit the required documents to the university of your choice or research center for Chinese Scholarships 2025-2026.
Date of application for Chinese Scholarships 2025-2026
Many universities usually allow you to apply at any time of the year. There is no standardization of deadlines. It varies from university to university.
Variance in the application procedure for Chinese Scholarships 2025-2026
The application procedure may vary from university to university Chinese Scholarships 2025-2026.
Note: The information related to the application procedure may not be properly given. Oftentimes, information is in China. You must get to know whether documents are to be submitted online or by post Therefore, it is very important to enquire necessary information from the destination university.
Now you should right away start the application process if you meet the abovementioned requirements and aspire to win CSC Scholarship. Wish you all the best.
You can also apply for DAAD Scholarship 2025-2026: Your Gateway to Academic Excellence
