Call for Applications

I Introduction

The Chinese government has set up a series of scholarship programs to sponsor international students, teachers and scholars to study and conduct research in Chinese universities. China Scholarship Council (hereinafter referred to as CSC), entrusted by the Ministry of Education of People’s Republic of China, is responsible for the enrollment and administration of Chinese Government Scholarship programs.

The Chinese University Program is one of the Chinese Government Scholarship programs. It is a full scholarship to support Chinese universities to enroll outstanding international students for graduate studies in China. Eligible applicants may submit their applications for the scholarship via UCAS.

II Scholarship Coverage and Duration

i Scholarship Coverage

1. Exempted from tuition fee and application procession fee

2. Stipend

   Chinese Government provides monthly stipend of RMB 3,500 for Doctoral students and RMB 3,000 for Master’s students. In addition, host supervisor and CAS institute/UCAS school/college (hereinafter referred to as institute/school) provide research assistantship for awardees considering their academic performances. The total amounts of monthly stipend will be no less than RMB 5000 for Doctoral students and RMB 3500 for Master’s students.

3. Accommodation

   Awardees should be provided with free accommodation (shared room). For those who choose to live outside UCAS campus with UCAS approval in advance, they will be entitled to an accommodation allowance of RMB 1000/month for Doctoral students and RMB 700/month for Master’s students.

4. Medical Insurance

   The Insurance would be purchased by the Ministry of Education for awardees. Please refer to the www.lxbx.net for the introduction of insurance coverage.

ii Scholarship Duration

1. Master’s students: 2-3 years

2. Doctoral students: 3 years

III Application Guideline

i Qualifications of Applicants

1. Meet the admission criteria for UCAS international students

2. Get recommended by a supervisor and the institute/school which the supervisor is affiliated with.

3. Have an appropriate attitude toward learning and scientific research and have outstanding academic performance.

4. Have not accepted any other sponsorship at the time of application

5. Requirements on education background and age as follows

   The applicant should not currently study at any Chinese university, while there should be over 1 year after his or her graduation from a Chinese university before he/she applies for the scholarship.

• Master’s degree candidates must hold a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent and be no more than 40 years old.

• Doctoral candidates must hold a Master’s degree or its equivalent and be no more than 45 years old.

ii Application Documents

1. ADMISSION APPLICATION FORM FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS (Attachment 1)

   Please download the form and fill it with a 2-inch photo and your signature, with the second part of the form to be filled out by your supervisor and the institute/school.

2. APPLICATION FORM FOR CHINESE GOVERNMENT SCHOLARSHIP & its ANNEXED FORM (Attachment 2)

   Please fill in and submit the online application at http://laihua.csc.edu.cn of the China Scholarship Council. The Application Form for Chinese Government Scholarship automatically generated by the system must be printed out, signed by you and pasted with your photo. The agency number of UCAS is 80001. The Annexed Form shall be filled in by your supervisor and host institution.

3. A written statement that you have not been awarded with any other sponsorship

4. A photocopy of your passport’s (with at least 2 years validity) personal information page

5. Original notarized photocopies of degree certificates

   Master’s program applicants shall submit the original notarized photocopies of their Bachelor’s degree certificates. Doctoral program applicants shall submit those of both their Master’s and Bachelor’s degree certificates. Those who have not yet graduated must provide evidence of education from their current institutions, with their expected graduation dates being clearly indicated therein, and submit the original notarized photocopies of degree certificates upon their receipts.

6. Original transcripts or original notarized photocopies of transcripts

   Master’s program applicants shall submit the academic transcript of their undergraduate study. Doctoral program applicants shall submit academic transcripts of both their graduate and undergraduate studies.

7. Recommendation letters from two professors

   The referees need to be experts or scholars in the applicant’s field other than the supervisor applied to. Referees should be familiar with the applicant as well as his/her study and research work. A recommendation letter must be printed on an official headed paper, with the referee’s signature and date, and be sealed.

8. CV and research proposal

9. Photocopies of all the title pages and abstracts of maximum 5 representative published academic papers

   Please do not submit any un-published paper.

iii Application Procedure

1. Find an eligible host supervisor affiliated with CAS institute or UCAS school.

   Eligible applicants shall prepare application documents as requested above, contact an eligible supervisor and send him/her both hard and soft copies of application documents. Please refer to http://english.ucas.ac.cn/Admissions for information about supervisors.

2. Obtain a host supervisor’s acceptance.

   The supervisor scrutinizes and evaluates the applicant’s academic ability according to relevant rules of the institute/school. Several experts might be invited to conduct a video/telephone interview with the applicant or a written examination may be required. The supervisor decides whether or not to accept the applicant by making comments and signing on the supervisor’s comment page of the admission application form as well as on the Annexed Form, and submitting the hard copy of all necessary documents to the institute/school.

3. CAS institute/UCAS school approves.

   The application will be reviewed by the institute/school for them to decide whether or not to accept the applicant. If the application is approved, the institute/school will complete and stamp the comment page of the admission application form as well as the Annexed Form and then send the hard copy of all necessary documents to the UCAS International Students Office.

4. UCAS makes the final review and prepares admission documents according to the evaluation result.

   UCAS will organize evaluation meetings after its final review of all application documents, with the admission result to be released on its website. The admission and visa application documents for chosen applicants are prepared once the expert panels make the final decision.

iv Application Time

From Dec.1, 2015 to Mar.31, 2016

IV Admission and Registration

Upon the receipt of approval from CSC after its review and verification, awarded applicants will be notified by UCAS around late June or early July, and sent the Admission Notice, Award Letter as well as other admission documents.

The awardee shall bring his/her personal passport as used in his/her application, Admission Notice, Visa Application Form (JW201), and Physical Examination Record for Foreigners as well as all other original reports from the physical examination to the Embassy or Consulate of the People's Republic of China, and apply for a student visa (X1/X2 visa). Upon his/her entry into China, the awardee shall register at the place indicated in the Admission Notice within the requested registration period. Please keep safe the original Admission Notice and Visa Application Form (JW202/ JW201) which are needed in the application for the Permanent Residence Permit upon registration. Please do not apply for visa waiver or other types of visa.

V Other

1. Any applicant cannot submit his/her application documents to more than one institute/school and neither could he/she apply via more than one supervisor.

2. Please take a careful consideration of the research field and major to be picked up, and the application should be submitted upon a unanimous discussion with the potential supervisor. After registration, UCAS would not accept any modification application due to the need of major or supervisor change.

3. All the above supporting documentation should be in English or Chinese, otherwise notarial translations in English or Chinese are required.

4. A lack of required application documents or unsatisfactory documents will not be accepted. None of the documents will be returned regardless of the applicant’s admission status.

5. Please DO NOT send any of the supporting documentation directly to the International Students Office of UCAS.

6. The sponsorship duration is subject to the educational period prescribed in the Admission Notice.

7. Once admitted, students must register on the assigned date in the Admission Notice at the place indicated therein. Otherwise, students should apply to UCAS for early or late registration.

8. The Program sponsorship could be retained until Oct.15thof the same year as the application. Any awardee who cannot register before Oct.15th would be regarded as giving up his/her sponsorship.

9. The stipend will be transferred by UCAS on a monthly basis from the date when the awardee registers. A full-month stipend will be transferred to new awardees who register before the 15th of a given month (including15th), while a half-month stipend will be transferred to new awardees who register after the 15th of a given month.

10. After their registration, awardees must abide by relevant regulations for the Chinese Government Scholarship and attend the annual review of their Scholarship status in accordance with the Measures for Annual Review of Chinese Government Scholarship. Awardees who fail the review will be deprived of their Scholarship or their Scholarship will be suspended.

VI Application for Other Programs of the Chinese Government Scholarship

The competition is fierce in the Chinese University Program, which only generates a limited number of awardees. Eligible applicants could opt to apply for the Bilateral Program, EU Program, AUN Program, PIF Program, etc. Please refer to http://www.csc.edu.cn/Laihua/ as to find out the program details, applicant’s qualifications and application procedures. Applications for those programs are open generally between November and April every year, but please be noted of deadline variations for different countries. The International Students Office of UCAS will offer pre-admission notice if needed.

VII Contact Information

Coordinator: Ms.Tian Yanqiong
International Students Office
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
No.80 Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100190, China
Email: scholarship@ucas.ac.cn
Tel/Fax: +86-10-82672900
Website: http://www.ucas.ac.cn