Dormitory or accommodation subsidy: what each China scholarship notice says about housing
Sources checked · Unofficial summary
Scholarship students on the programmes covered here are normally housed in a university dormitory, and most of the official notices say that dormitory is free. The exception on money for living off campus is the International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025 guidelines: they allow off-campus living only with the host institution's approval, and then pay doctoral students RMB 1,000 per person per month and other students RMB 700 per person per month. No other notice in this set gives an off-campus housing allowance, and where a notice is silent on room type or amount, this page says so instead of borrowing the rule from another programme.
The table below collects the housing line from each notice. The sections that follow give the conditions, and note which notices describe a room type and which do not use the word "free".
Quick comparison
| Notice | Housing it provides | Room type | Off-campus allowance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship | Free university dormitory or accommodation subsidy | Not stated | None given |
| International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025 | Free on-campus accommodation | Typically double rooms | RMB 1,000/month (doctoral), RMB 700/month (other students), after application and approval |
| Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship | Free university dormitory; accommodation listed at CNY 8,400 per person per academic year, paid to the host university | Not stated | None given |
| Guidebook to the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship | University dormitory, one single room per recipient (does not say free) | One single room per recipient | None given |
| MOFCOM Scholarship–CSC Program | Free on-campus accommodation | Not stated | None given |
| China Link Short-term Scientific Exchange Scholarship Program (2026) | Free on-campus accommodation | Not stated | None given |
Chinese Government Scholarship
The Chinese Government Scholarship Application Guide lists coverage as tuition, "free university dormitory or accommodation subsidy", a monthly stipend, and comprehensive medical insurance. On housing, the guide offers either a free dormitory or an accommodation subsidy, but it gives no amount for the subsidy, no room type, and no condition or payment for living off campus. The accommodation subsidy is a coverage line only; the guide does not explain how a student would receive it or how much it would be.
International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025
The International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025 guidelines, published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, are the only document here that answers the off-campus question directly. Host institutions use the accommodation fees to provide free on-campus accommodation, which the guidelines describe as typically double rooms. A recipient may live off campus only after applying and getting approval from the host institution. When that happens, doctoral students receive an accommodation allowance of RMB 1,000 per person per month and other students receive RMB 700 per person per month, paid on a monthly or quarterly basis by the host institution.
The guidelines are dated January 2025 and were written for programmes starting between July 2025 and March 2026. Those are the dates of that cycle, and they have passed. The same document sets a separate monthly living allowance — RMB 2,500 for undergraduates and one-year or one-semester students, RMB 3,000 for master's students in International Chinese Language Education, and RMB 3,500 for doctoral students in that field — but that living allowance is not the off-campus housing allowance described above.
Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship
The Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship is funded by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and places recipients at Beijing Language and Culture University for one academic year of Chinese language study. The notice says recipients will be provided with a free university dormitory, and that the accommodation funds are allocated directly to the host universities. Its coverage table lists accommodation at CNY 8,400 per person per academic year, alongside a stipend of CNY 36,000, tuition of CNY 25,000 and medical insurance of CNY 800. The notice gives no room type and no allowance for living off campus; the CNY 8,400 figure is the programme's per-person accommodation budget for the year, not a cash payment to a student who rents off campus.
ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship (ACYLS)
The ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship guidebook says recipients will be provided with a university dormitory, with one single room for each recipient. That is the only notice in this set that names a room type other than the ICLT double-room description, and it is the only one that does not say the dormitory is free. The guidebook gives no off-campus allowance and sets no condition for living outside the dormitory. The guidebook does set stipend levels — RMB 4,000 a month for master's students and RMB 5,000 a month for doctoral students and research scholars — but it does not tie that money to housing.
MOFCOM Scholarship–CSC Program
The MOFCOM Scholarship–CSC Program enrollment guide lists "free on-campus accommodation" among its coverage items, together with tuition and fee exemptions, a monthly stipend (CNY 36,000 per year for master's students and CNY 42,000 per year for PhD students), a one-off resettlement fee of CNY 3,000, free medical insurance and international airfare. The guide states no room type and gives no figure or rule for living off campus.
China Link Short-term Scientific Exchange Scholarship Program (2026)
The China Link Short-term Scientific Exchange Scholarship notice for 2026 says successful applicants receive a full scholarship covering tuition waiver, free on-campus accommodation, comprehensive medical insurance and a monthly stipend (CNY 3,000 for general scholars, CNY 3,500 for senior scholars). It does not describe a room type and does not provide an allowance for off-campus housing. The programme runs for 1–12 months; the notice is silent on housing outside the free on-campus accommodation line.
Questions people ask
Does any China scholarship notice pay students to live off campus?
Only the International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025 guidelines do. They allow off-campus living after the host institution approves an application, and then pay RMB 1,000 per person per month to doctoral students and RMB 700 per person per month to other students. Every other notice in this set either provides a dormitory or, in the Chinese Government Scholarship case, mentions an "accommodation subsidy" without giving an amount or an off-campus rule.
Is the university dormitory free on all of these programmes?
No. The Chinese Government Scholarship guide offers a free dormitory or an accommodation subsidy; the Silk Road, MOFCOM and China Link notices say free on-campus accommodation; the ICLT 2025 guidelines say free on-campus accommodation. The ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship guidebook says recipients will be provided with a university dormitory with one single room each, but it does not say the dormitory is free.
Which notices describe the room type?
Two notices do. The ICLT 2025 guidelines say free on-campus accommodation is typically in double rooms. The ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship guidebook says each recipient gets one single room. The Chinese Government Scholarship guide, the Silk Road notice, the MOFCOM guide and the China Link notice do not state a room type.
Is the Silk Road accommodation figure of CNY 8,400 paid to the student?
No. The Silk Road notice's coverage table lists accommodation at CNY 8,400 per person per academic year, and the text says recipients receive a free university dormitory while the accommodation funds are allocated directly to the host universities. The figure is a programme budget line, not an allowance paid to a student for renting off campus. The notice gives no off-campus allowance.
Sources
- Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship, China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- Application Guidelines for International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025, Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC, chinese.cn)
- Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship, China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- Guidebook to the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship, China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- MOFCOM SCHOLARSHIP-CSC Program (Enrollment Guide), China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- China Link Short-term Scientific Exchange Scholarship Program (2026), China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
Checked 10 October 2026
This page is an unofficial summary, is not published by the China Scholarship Council, Campus China, the Center for Language Education and Cooperation or any university or body named here, and where this summary and an official notice differ, the official notice prevails.