1. Introduction

The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) is a higher education institution, mainly focusing on graduate education. Its predecessor, GUCAS (the Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences) was built in 1978 as the first graduate school in China. UCAS accepts international students through 16 UCAS schools and over 100 institutes of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). See here for detailed information about UCAS faculties and CAS institutes.

Master’s programs commonly last for 2-3 years. Certificates of graduation and degrees will be awarded to those who have met the requirements of graduation and degree conferment. Master’s programs are mainly taught in Chinese or bilingual in Chinese and English, with only a few programs taught in English.

2. Application Guidance

2.1 Qualifications of Applicants

(1) Non-Chinese citizens;

(2) Being healthy and willing to abide by Chinese laws and decrees;

(3) Holding a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent;

(4) Having passed the new Chinese Proficiency Test (New HSK) Band 5 and scored over 200.

2.2 Application Documents (Bound and Placed in the Following Order)

(1) ADMISSION APPLICATION FORM FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS WITH A 2-INCH PHOTO AND APPLICANT’S SIGNATURE

Applicants shall fill in and submit the application information via the Online Application System for International Students at UCAS (http://adis.ucas.ac.cn) which would be officially launched around Dec. 15, 2016, and then print the admission application form (Net Version) produced by the system. The previous version of admission application form (Download) can be used but the applicants shall also complete online application procedure. The second part of the application form should be filled in by the applicant’s supervisor and institute/school. The applicant cannot apply to more than one supervisor or institute/school.

(2) CERTIFICATE OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT OR SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION FORM

For those who a. have already got financial support, please attach the certificate of financial support; b. are applying for scholarship program(s) to UCAS, please attach separate scholarship application form(s); c. are applying to study by self-support, please attach the affidavit of support from guarantors and a bank statement (original document or notarized copy).

(3) PHOTOCOPY OF REGULAR PASSPORT PERSONAL INFORMATION PAGE

Regular passport should have at least 2 years validity.

(4) ORIGINAL NOTARIZED PHOTOCOPY OF BACHELOR’S DEGREE CERTIFICATE

Those who have not graduated yet shall provide original pre-graduation certificates showing their student status and expected graduation time at their current academic institutions.

(5) ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPTS OR ORIGINAL NOTARIZED PHOTOCOPIES OF UNDERGRADUATE TRANSCRIPTS

(6) TWO ACADEMIC RECOMMENDATION LETTERS

The referees shall work in the relevant research field with the applicant, and should not be the expected supervisor. The letter must be on the letterhead paper, with the referee’s signature and date, and be sealed.

(7) CV & RESEARCH PROPOSAL

(8) PHOTOCOPIES OF ALL THE TITLE PAGES AND ABSTRACTS OF MAXIMUM 5 REPRESENTATIVE PUBLISHED PAPERS (IF ANY)

Please do not submit the photocopies of unpublished papers.

(9) BANK RECEIPT OF APPLICATION PROCESSING FEE

The application processing fee is RMB 600 or USD/EUR equivalent. For applicants outside mainland China, payments shall be made in US dollars or Euros in the form of a personal check or money order or traveler’s check attached to the admission application form, payable to UCAS. For applicants currently in mainland China, payments shall be made in Chinese currency by remitting money directly to the following bank account (Please specify that the remittance is for the application processing fee):

Beneficiary: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Account number: 11001059200053002790

Bank: Construction Bank of China

Beijing Municipal Dongfangguangchang Branch

SWIFT CODE：PCBCCNBJBJX

Or

Applicants may also submit the application processingfee to UCAS Financial Department.

2.3 Admission Process

(1) Find an Eligible Host Supervisor Affiliated with UCAS Faculties or CAS Institutes

Applicant who meets all the eligibility criteria above may contact an eligible supervisor of UCAS faculties or CAS institutes and send the hard/soft copy of his application documents to the supervisor. See here for information of supervisors.

(2) Get a Host Supervisor’s Acceptance

The supervisor checks and evaluates the applicant’s academic ability according to the admission regulations of UCAS and/or the institute. Two or three experts might be invited to conduct a video/telephone interview with the applicant. Written examination can be taken if necessary. The supervisor then makes a decision as whether to accept the student by making comments and signing on the supervisor’s comment page of the admission application form and submits all the necessary documents to the institute/faculty if to accept him (The supervisor’s comment is also needed in the scholarship application form).

(3) Gain Faculty/Institute Approval

The application will be reviewed by the faculty or institute to decide whether to accept the applicant. If to accept, the faculty/institute should complete the comment page of the admission application form and send the stamped application form along with all other application documents to UCAS International Students Office.

(4) UCAS Makes the Final Review and Prepares Admission Documents

UCAS prepares the admission and visa application documents for eligible applicants after final review. The final results of evaluation meetings of scholarship applications would be announced once the expert panel has made decisions.

2.4 Application Time:

December 1, 2016 – May 31, 2017.

For those who apply to UCAS for scholarship, please submit the above admission application documents along with scholarship application form before the scholarship application deadline.

3. Visa Application and Registration

UCAS will send Admission Notices and Visa Application forms to the admitted students.

The admitted student should take his personal passport, Admission Notice, Visa Application Form (JW202/ JW201), and original Form of Physical Examination Record for Foreigners as well as other original documents of physical examination to the Embassy or Consulate of the People's Republic of China, and apply for a student visa (X1/X2visa). Please keep the original Admission Notice and Visa Application Form (JW202/ JW201) which are needed for registration and residence permit application. Please do not enter China visa-free or with other types of visas other than X visa.

The admitted student should register at the place indicated in the Admission Notice, and should register on the assigned date. Otherwise, students should apply to UCAS for early or late registration.

4. Fees and Scholarships

4.1 Application Processing Fee, Tuition, and Expenses:

(1) Application processing fee: RMB 600 or USD/EUR equivalent (Non-refundable);

(2) Tuition: RMB 30,000/year;

(3) Accidental Injury and Hospitalization Insurance premium:

RMB 800/year, RMB 400/half year;

(4) Accommodation (shared rooms) fee: RMB 900/month for one student;

(5) Outpatient service fee is paid according to the insurance scheme of insurance company.

Board expenses, travel expenses and other costs of experiments, meetings and trainings beyond the program curriculum are at the student’s own expense.

4.2 Scholarships

● Chinese Government Scholarship

The Chinese Government Scholarship covers many programs, including Bilateral Program, EU Program, AUN Program, PIF Program, etc., to sponsor international students and scholars to study and research in Chinese universities. The scholarship offers fee waivers of admission application, tuition, health insurance, on-campus accommodation, etc. Please refer to the website of the China Scholarship Council (http://www.csc.edu.cn/Laihua/) for detailed introduction, qualifications of applicants and application procedure.

UCAS is one of the Chinese Government Scholarship universities. Eligible applicants may apply to the China Scholarship Council with recommendation from related national official departments and Embassies or Consulates of the People's Republic of China. The scholarship application usually starts in November and ends in the following April. Due to the different deadlines in various countries, please check for relevant information in time. The International Students Office of UCAS will offer pre-admission notice if needed.

Applicants may also apply with UCAS recommendation (see http://english.ucas.ac.cn/). But this is only for a small number of excellent international students who are not currently studying in China. 

● UCAS Scholarship for International Students

The UCAS Scholarship for International Students offers full scholarship for international students to pursue master’s degrees at UCAS. It provides tuition fee waiver, health insurance, living allowance and on-campus accommodation. Please refer to the UCAS website at http://english.ucas.ac.cn/ for more information.

5. Very Important Notes

(1) The applicant cannot apply to more than one institute/faculty or more than one supervisor.

(2) Please choose the discipline and research field cautiously and submit your application after a careful discussion with the expected supervisor. Once admitted, any application of yours will not be accepted for the change of discipline or supervisor due to a previous lack of consideration.

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

(4) A lack of application documents or unsatisfactory documents will not be accepted and none of the documents will be returned regardless of the application status.

(5) Please DO NOT send any of your application documents directly to the International Students Office of UCAS.

(6) Please be noted the deadlines for scholarship programs and that for admission application are different. The former is usually earlier than the later one.

(7) One can apply for more than one scholarship programs but once awarded by one of the programs, he will lose the qualification for other programs successively.

(8) Chinese Government Scholarship does not request for application processing fee, while UCAS Scholarship for International Students Programs requests for it. Application processing fee is non-refundable.

6. Contact Information

Coordinator: Ms. Hu Menglin

International Students Office

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

No. 80 Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian District,Beijing, 100190, China

Email: iso@ucas.ac.cn

Tel/Fax: +86-10-82672900

Website: http://english.ucas.ac.cn