China Link Short-term Scientific Exchange Scholarship 2026: eligibility, stipend and how to apply
Sources checked · Unofficial summary
The China Link Short-term Scientific Exchange Scholarship is a China Scholarship Council (CSC) award that funds short research stays at universities in mainland China for students and academic staff from CSC's foreign partner universities. Applying means working through a Chinese host university: you secure its admission qualification first, file your own application in the CSC system, and wait for that university — not CSC — to tell you the result. The rules below come from one document, the notice titled "China Link Short-term Scientific Exchange Scholarship Program (2026)" on Campus China.
China Link is a distinct programme from the Chinese Government Scholarship categories described elsewhere on this site, and this page deals only with China Link.
What the notice covers
CSC says it continues the programme in 2026 to deepen academic friendship and mutual understanding between young Chinese and foreign researchers, and to give young research talent a platform for exchange. The award covers stays of 1 to 12 months and funds only study and research — the notice excludes Chinese language study.
The partner university list, the host university list and the online application guide are attachments to the notice (Appendix 1, Appendix 2 and Appendix 3). Their contents are not printed in the notice text, they were not read for this page, and no university from them is named here. Anyone checking whether their own institution qualifies has to open those files on the official page.
Categories, length and dates
| Category | Who it is for | Age limit | Monthly stipend |
|---|---|---|---|
| General scholar | Current undergraduates or graduates | Under 45 | CNY 3,000 |
| Senior scholar | Current PhD candidates or faculty members | Under 50 | CNY 3,500 |
A funded stay runs from 1 to 12 months. Under the 2026 notice, award holders must start their study in China no later than 31 August 2027.
The notice gives no closing date for applicants. It states that the CSC application portal is open all year round, so the timing pressure sits at the university level instead: hosts run their own review schedules, and each host must submit its nomination list to CSC at least two months before the scholar arrives in China.
Working language and fields
Programmes run in English or in Chinese, depending on what the Chinese host university offers; the notice does not let the applicant choose independently of the host programme. Fields are unrestricted apart from the one exclusion already mentioned: all disciplines other than Chinese language study are eligible.
What the funding includes
Successful applicants receive a full CSC scholarship covering the stay, made up of four parts:
- tuition waiver;
- free on-campus accommodation;
- comprehensive medical insurance;
- a monthly stipend of CNY 3,000 for general scholars or CNY 3,500 for senior scholars.
Travel, visa fees and any other costs are not listed in the notice, so they should not be assumed to be covered.
Who can apply
The notice sets four conditions, and all four apply together. Applicants must:
- Be a citizen of a country other than the People's Republic of China, and be in good health both mentally and physically.
- Be under 45 when applying as a general scholar, or under 50 when applying as a senior scholar.
- Be registered as a full-time student, or employed as full-time academic staff, at one of CSC's foreign partner universities — both at the time of application and throughout the proposed stay in China. The partner list is Appendix 1.
- Have obtained admission qualification from a Chinese host university for the next intake. The host list is Appendix 2.
Conditions 3 and 4 are the gates most applicants will meet first. Attending a university that is not on CSC's partner list does not satisfy condition 3, and an offer from a Chinese university alone does not satisfy condition 4; each depends on a different list, and both have to hold at once.
The five steps of the process
- Contact the Chinese host university to obtain its admission qualification. Ask that university's international student admission department early about its specific review deadline, since the notice says requirements vary by institution.
- Log in to the Chinese Government Scholarship Information System at studyinchina.csc.edu.cn. Complete the online scholarship application there.
- Submit the application. Then write to the host university's international student admission department, by email or through the channel it designates.
- Give three items in that message: your full name, your CSC serial number, and a statement that you are applying for the China Link Scholarship. Then wait while the host university reviews your file and submits its nomination list to CSC at least two months before your arrival.
- Receive the result from the host university. CSC notifies host universities of award decisions monthly, and the universities pass those decisions on to applicants.
Questions people ask
How long is the stay, and when must it start?
A stay runs from 1 to 12 months. The 2026 notice sets 31 August 2027 as the latest date for starting study in China under that cycle.
Is there a single application deadline?
The notice gives none. It says the CSC application portal is open to applicants all year round, and instead requires the host university to send its nomination list to CSC at least two months before arrival, with the university's own review deadline set by that university.
Which universities take part?
The notice does not print either list in its text. It refers readers to Appendix 1 for the foreign partner universities and Appendix 2 for the Chinese host universities, both attached to the official page; this page does not name any university, because it did not read those attachments.
Can the scholarship be used for Chinese language study?
No. The notice states that the programme covers all disciplines other than Chinese language study.
Who tells me if I have been awarded?
The Chinese host university does. CSC sends award results to the host universities on a monthly basis, and step five of the process has the universities notify applicants.
Sources
- China Link Short-term Scientific Exchange Scholarship Program (2026), published by the China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org).
Checked 10 October 2026.
This page is an unofficial summary written by China Scholarships Index; it is not published by the China Scholarship Council or Campus China, and the official notice prevails wherever the two differ.