When a China scholarship stipend is paid in full, halved or stopped: the 15th-of-the-month rule
Sources checked · Unofficial summary
Your first stipend is not tied to a fixed date in the calendar; it is tied to the month in which you register. Register on or before the 15th and that month is paid in full. Register after the 15th and that month is paid at half. After registration, three things change what you receive: time spent outside China, suspension or withdrawal, and the end of your programme.
Which documents these rules come from
The rules below come from three official documents, and each rule is attributed to the one that states it. These are separate awards with separate terms; the fact that one notice states a rule does not mean the others do.
- The Guidebook to the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship, published by the China Scholarship Council (Campus China), covering the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship. Its "Coverage and Standard" section is quoted below. The focal point list on that page is headed "As of 2026", and the page gives no application deadline date.
- The Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship notice, also published by the China Scholarship Council (Campus China), covering the Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship. The page gives no academic year and no deadline date. Its "Tips for Coming to China" section uses the wording "ACYLS winners" in the first sentence although the page is about the Silk Road scholarship.
- The Application Guidelines for International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025, published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), covering the International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship. The guidelines are dated January 2025 and were written for programmes starting between July 2025 and March 2026; the dates in them belong to that cycle and have already passed.
The rules side by side
| Situation | ACYLS guidebook | Silk Road notice | ICLT 2025 guidelines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Register on or before the 15th of the month | Full stipend of that month | Full stipend of that month | Full allowance of that month ("before the 15th (inclusive)") |
| Register after the 15th of the month | Half stipend of that month | Half stipend of that month | Half of the amount |
| Outside China more than 15 days for personal reasons | Stipend stopped during the absence; school holidays excluded | Stipend stopped during the absence; school holidays excluded | Allowance suspended during the absence; summer and winter vacations excluded |
| Graduation | Stipend for another half a month following the graduation date | Stipend for another half a month following the graduation date | Paid until half a month after the graduation date set by the Host Institution |
| Suspended, withdrawn or disciplined | Not stated; the guidebook says failure to pass the annual review may result in expulsion from university and cancellation of the scholarship | Not stated; the notice says return tickets are provided only upon completion of study | Allowance suspended from the date of suspension, withdrawal, or notification of disciplinary action |
The registration wording is nearly identical in the first two documents. The ICLT guidelines add the word "inclusive", which settles the one boundary the other two leave implied: the 15th itself counts as on time.
Leaving China for more than 15 days
The ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship guidebook and the Silk Road notice use the same sentence: if a registered student stays out of China for more than 15 days due to personal reasons, school holidays excluded, the stipend is stopped during the absence from China. The ICLT guidelines say the same thing in different words — the living allowance is suspended during the period of absence when a recipient leaves China for more than 15 days for personal reasons during the study period, excluding summer and winter vacations.
None of the three documents defines how those 15 days are counted, so whether they are consecutive or accumulated across a year is not something the official texts answer. Nor do they say what happens to the withheld money afterwards.
Suspension, withdrawal and discipline
Only one of the three documents states a rule here. The ICLT guidelines say that if a scholarship recipient is suspended or withdrawn from school for personal reasons, or is subject to disciplinary action by the Host Institution, the living allowance is suspended from the date of suspension, withdrawal, or notification of disciplinary action.
The ACYLS guidebook covers a different situation: enrolled students' performance is subject to an annual review by the China Scholarship Council and the host universities, and failure to pass the review may result in expulsion from university and cancellation of the scholarship. The Silk Road notice does not set out a suspension rule; it says return tickets will be provided to recipients only upon their completion of study. What happens to the monthly stipend if an ACYLS or Silk Road recipient is suspended mid-year is not stated in either document.
Payment at graduation
All three documents end the stipend the same way: half a month beyond graduation. The ACYLS guidebook and the Silk Road notice say graduating students will receive stipend for another half a month following the graduation date. The ICLT guidelines say the living allowance for graduating students is paid until half a month after the graduation date set by the Host Institution — the date is the one the institution sets, not one the student chooses.
The monthly amounts, programme by programme
ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship (ACYLS guidebook): master's students 4,000 RMB per month, doctoral students 5,000 RMB per month, research scholars 5,000 RMB per month. Recipients also receive a one-time settlement fee of 3,000 RMB from the host university upon registration, provided to master's students, doctoral students and research scholars and issued in Chinese currency. The guidebook notes that host universities may request students to have an RMB bank account in China to receive the stipend, and encourages enrolled students to contact their host universities for details.
Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship: the coverage table lists the stipend as 36,000 CNY per person per academic year, with the length of the scholarship given as one academic year (12 months). The same table lists accommodation at 8,400 CNY, tuition at 25,000 CNY and medical insurance at 800 CNY, plus a one-time international round-trip air fare, economy class only. The notice states that the stipend is paid by the host university on a monthly basis; it does not state a monthly figure as such, only the annual one.
International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship (ICLT 2025 guidelines): 2,500 RMB per person per month for undergraduates, one-year study program students and one-semester study program students; 3,000 RMB for master's students in International Chinese Language Education; 3,500 RMB for doctoral students in International Chinese Language Education. Four-week study program students are excluded from the living allowance. Recipients who are approved to live off-campus receive an accommodation allowance instead — 1,000 RMB per person per month for doctoral students and 700 RMB for other students, paid monthly or quarterly by the Host Institution.
What the documents do not say
None of the three states a payment date within the month, or how long a transfer takes to reach a student's account. None of them explains what happens to a stipend withheld during an absence once the student returns. The ACYLS guidebook and the Silk Road notice do not state what happens to the monthly stipend if a student is suspended, withdraws or is disciplined.
On registration deadlines, the documents differ in what they cover. The ICLT guidelines say scholarship recipients must register with the university within the period stipulated in the Letter of Admission, and that otherwise the scholarship will be revoked. The ACYLS page gives no application deadline date, and the Silk Road page gives no academic year and no deadline date.
Questions people ask
If I register on 20 September, how much stipend do I get for September?
Half of that month's amount, under all three documents. The ACYLS guidebook and the Silk Road notice say students who register after the 15th of the month receive a half stipend of that month, and the ICLT guidelines say students registered after the 15th are entitled to half of the amount.
Do school holidays count towards the 15 days outside China?
No. The ACYLS guidebook and the Silk Road notice exclude school holidays from the count, and the ICLT guidelines exclude summer and winter vacations. Time away for personal reasons is what triggers the suspension; time away during those holiday periods is not counted, according to the wording in each document.
When is the ACYLS one-time settlement fee paid?
Upon registration, according to the ACYLS guidebook, which states that recipients receive the one-time settlement fee from the host university upon their registration. The standard is 3,000 RMB per person, issued in Chinese currency, for master's students, doctoral students and research scholars. The guidebook does not say how it is paid or how soon after registration.
Do I need a Chinese bank account to receive the stipend?
The ACYLS guidebook says host universities may request their scholarship students to have an RMB bank account in China to receive the stipend, and encourages enrolled students to contact their host universities for more details. The Silk Road notice and the ICLT guidelines do not state a bank account requirement.
Does the living allowance stop if my university disciplines me?
Under the ICLT guidelines, yes: the living allowance is suspended from the date of suspension, withdrawal, or notification of disciplinary action. The ACYLS guidebook and the Silk Road notice do not state a rule for this case.
Is the stipend paid during the summer before graduation?
The documents state the rule at the end of study rather than at specific points before it: the ACYLS guidebook and the Silk Road notice provide stipend for another half a month following the graduation date, and the ICLT guidelines pay the allowance until half a month after the graduation date set by the Host Institution. Within the scholarship duration, the monthly payment continues; the texts do not describe how individual months between the annual review and graduation are handled.
Sources
- Guidebook to the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship — China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road 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)
Checked 10 October 2026
This page is an unofficial summary written by China Scholarships Index; it is not published by the China Scholarship Council, Campus China, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, CLEC or any university, and if this summary and the official notice differ, the official notice prevails.