General scholar and senior scholar: the two non-degree categories of the Chinese Government Scholarship

On Chinese Government Scholarship (CGS) application forms, ‘general scholar’ and ‘senior scholar’ are the two scholar categories named in the eligibility section. The Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship states the eligibility line for each: a general scholar is “a holder of a high school diploma (or higher) under the age of 45 when applying for a general scholar program”, and a senior scholar is “a master’s degree holder or an associate professor (or above) under the age of 50 when applying for a senior scholar program”. Which one you are depends on which of those two stated lines you meet.

What the CSC application guide says about the two categories

The Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship lists the following for the two categories.

Education and age. The eligibility section says:

• General scholar: “be a holder of a high school diploma (or higher) under the age of 45 when applying for a general scholar program”.
• Senior scholar: “be a master’s degree holder or an associate professor (or above) under the age of 50 when applying for a senior scholar program”.

HSK rule for Chinese-taught study. The eligibility section says an applicant must “have passed the HSK (Level 3) when applying for a Chinese-taught general scholar program (excluding Chinese language majors)”, and must “have passed the HSK (Level 3) when applying for a Chinese-taught senior scholar program”. The guide’s documents section adds that applicants for master’s, doctoral, general scholar, and senior scholar programs taught in Chinese must submit a valid HSK score report that meets the corresponding Chinese language proficiency requirements.

Stipend. The scholarship coverage section lists: “Master’s students/general scholars: CNY 3,000 per month” and “Doctoral students/senior scholars: CNY 3,500 per month”. The same section lists tuition fees, free university dormitory or accommodation subsidy, and comprehensive medical insurance (CNY 800 per person per year; CNY 400 per person for programs lasting less than six months).

Study or research plan length. The documents section says a study or research plan written in Chinese or in English must be “no less than 500 words/characters for scholars”. The guide does not give a separate word count for general scholars or senior scholars; it uses the one “scholars” line.

Recommendation letters. The documents section says: “An applicant for a postgraduate program or for academic education as a senior scholar shall submit two recommendation letters in Chinese or in English from professors or associate professors”. The passage names senior scholars doing academic education; it does not name general scholars. The guide does not state a recommendation-letter requirement for general scholars in that passage.

The Student Exchange Program

The CGS guide describes a Student Exchange Program: “launched in accordance with exchange and cooperation agreements between Chinese universities and foreign partners, is designed to support general and senior scholars for a training session of no more than 12 months.” It says an applicant shall file an application with Chinese universities and their foreign partners. See also the Student Exchange Program page on this site.

How the China Link notice defines the two categories

The China Link Short-term Scientific Exchange Scholarship Program (2026) notice gives its own definitions. See also the China Link Short-term Scientific Exchange Scholarship Program page on this site.

Funding categories (2.1). The notice says: “General scholar: applicable to current undergraduates or graduates. Senior scholar: applicable to current Ph. D candidates or faculties.”

Duration (2.2). The notice says duration is “1-12 months” and “Start study in China no later than August 31, 2027.”

Working language and fields (2.3–2.4). The notice says working language is “English or Chinese, depending on the program provided by the Chinese host universities”, and study/research fields are “All disciplines other than Chinese language study.”

Funding (3). The notice says successful applicants receive a full scholarship from CSC during their stay in China, including tuition waiver, free on-campus accommodation, comprehensive medical insurance and a monthly stipend of “CNY 3,000 for general scholars; CNY 3,500 for senior scholars”.

Eligibility (4). The notice requires applicants to be a citizen of a country other than the People’s Republic of China and in good health both mentally and physically; to be “under 45 applying for general scholars” and “under 50 applying for senior scholars”; to be registered as a full-time student or employed as full-time academic staff at CSC’s foreign partner university by the time of application and throughout the proposed stay in China; and to have obtained admission qualification from the host Chinese university for the next intake.

Application process (5). The notice says applicants shall contact the host Chinese university in advance to obtain admission qualification, then log in to the Chinese Government Scholarship Information System at https://studyinchina.csc.edu.cn/#/login to complete the CSC online scholarship application. It says the CSC application portal is open to applicants all year round, host Chinese universities must submit the scholarship nomination list to CSC at least 2 months before the students’ arrival in China, CSC notifies Chinese host universities of scholarship award results on a monthly basis, and host Chinese universities notify scholarship award results to applicants.

Questions people ask

What is a general scholar in the CGS application guide?

The Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship says a general scholar is a holder of a high school diploma (or higher) under the age of 45 when applying for a general scholar program. Its coverage section lists the monthly stipend for “Master’s students/general scholars” as CNY 3,000.

What is a senior scholar in the CGS application guide?

The guide says a senior scholar is a master’s degree holder or an associate professor (or above) under the age of 50 when applying for a senior scholar program. Its coverage section lists the monthly stipend for “Doctoral students/senior scholars” as CNY 3,500.

Do general and senior scholars need an HSK certificate?

The guide says an applicant for a Chinese-taught general scholar program (excluding Chinese language majors) must have passed HSK (Level 3), and an applicant for a Chinese-taught senior scholar program must have passed HSK (Level 3). The documents section requires a valid HSK score report for Chinese-taught general scholar and senior scholar programs.

How long can a Student Exchange Program training session last?

The CGS guide says the Student Exchange Program is designed to support general and senior scholars for a training session of no more than 12 months.

How does the China Link notice define the two categories?

The China Link notice (2026) says general scholar is applicable to current undergraduates or graduates and senior scholar is applicable to current Ph.D candidates or faculties. It sets the age lines at under 45 for general scholars and under 50 for senior scholars, the duration at 1–12 months, and requires study in China to start no later than 31 August 2027.

Sources

• Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship — 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 bodies named, and the official notice prevails if they differ.