Chinese Government Scholarship for a PhD: age 40, the master's degree rule and CNY 3,500 a month

To apply for a doctoral degree under the Chinese Government Scholarship, the Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship requires you to be a citizen of a country other than the PRC and in good health, to hold a Master's degree or its equivalent, and to be under 40 when you apply. For a Chinese-taught doctoral programme you must have passed HSK Level 4. Doctoral students receive a stipend of CNY 3,500 per month.

Every rule below comes from that one guide, published by the China Scholarship Council on Campus China. Where the guide is silent, this page says so rather than filling the gap with the rules of another programme.

The degree and age rule

The eligibility section sets four conditions that bear on a doctoral application:

• You must be a citizen of a country other than the PRC and in good health, both mentally and physically.
• You must be an academically excellent holder of a Master's degree or its equivalent.
• You must be under the age of 40 when applying for a doctoral programme.
• You must meet the admission requirements of your preferred university in terms of language proficiency and academic ability, among others, when applying for a programme taught in a language other than Chinese.

The guide describes applicants as "academically excellent" but does not define the term, give a grade average, or name who judges it. It also does not say how the age of 40 is calculated beyond "when applying". For comparison, the same section sets 25 for undergraduate and 35 for master's applicants.

Chinese-taught study: HSK Level 4

Applicants for a Chinese-taught master's or doctoral programme must have passed HSK (Level 4). The documents list repeats this: applicants for master's, doctoral, general scholar and senior scholar programmes taught in Chinese must submit a valid HSK score report that meets the corresponding Chinese language proficiency requirement.

The guide does not state a minimum score within Level 4, and does not state how long an HSK report remains valid.

The CSCA (China Scholastic Competency Assessment) appears in the guide only as a requirement for bachelor's applicants. It does not apply to doctoral applicants.

Doctoral study taught in a language other than Chinese

For a doctoral programme taught in a language other than Chinese, the guide does not set an HSK requirement. It requires you to meet the admission requirements of the university of preference in terms of language proficiency and academic ability, among others, and to provide relevant language proficiency certificates such as IELTS or TOEFL score reports in accordance with the requirements of each university.

The guide itself sets no IELTS or TOEFL band. The number is set by the university.

The research plan

A study or research plan written in Chinese or in English is required, of no less than 1,000 words or characters for postgraduates. (The same line sets 200 for undergraduates and 500 for scholars.) The guide gives no upper limit and no required headings or structure.

Recommendation letters

An applicant for a postgraduate programme must submit two recommendation letters in Chinese or in English, from professors or associate professors. The guide does not require the referees to be at a particular institution, and does not describe how they should know the applicant.

Pre-admission documents

All applicants must provide a pre-admission document issued by the universities they apply to. The guide defines these documents as including a pre-admission notice issued by the international students' admission department, or an invitation letter from the schools or professors, and so on.

That is the whole of what it says on the point. It uses the term "pre-admission documents", not "supervisor's acceptance letter", and it does not single out one of those documents as the one a doctoral applicant must submit.

The rest of the document checklist

The doctoral-relevant items are:

• Application Form for Chinese Government Scholarship, filled in online.
• A clear scanned copy of the information page of an ordinary passport. If the passport's validity is less than 12 months calculated from the expected start date of study, renew it and use the renewed passport for the application.
• Notarized photocopy of the diploma and certificate of highest education. Current students submit a certificate of expected graduation or student status from their university.
• Academic records, with notarized Chinese or English translations if they are in another language.
• Language qualification certificates, as described above.
• Pre-admission documents.
• Study or research plan.
• Two recommendation letters.
• For study in China longer than six months, a photocopy of the Foreigner Physical Examination Form, filled in in English on the original printed by Chinese quarantine authorities, covering all listed items and carrying the physician's signature, the hospital's official stamp and a sealed photograph. Results are valid for six months.
• A valid Certificate of Non-Criminal Record (or Police Clearance Certificate) from the local public security authority, usually issued within six months before the submission date.

Two items apply to other categories only: own works for arts or design applicants, and guardian documents for applicants under 18.

What the scholarship covers

Item	What the guide states
Tuition	Tuition fees
Accommodation	Free university dormitory or accommodation subsidy
Stipend	CNY 3,500 per month for doctoral students (and senior scholars); CNY 3,000 for master's students and general scholars; CNY 2,500 for undergraduates
Medical insurance	Comprehensive medical insurance: CNY 800 per person per year; CNY 400 per person for programmes lasting less than six months

The guide does not state how many years the award runs, how the stipend is paid during university breaks, or whether the stipend continues after the funded period.

How the application runs

The guide sets out seven steps:

1. Learn about designated Chinese universities and the majors they offer, and identify your preferred scholarship programme, university and major.
2. Reach the designated university for admission documents.
3. Reach an application receiving agency for a recommendation.
4. Fill in and submit the Application Form for Chinese Government Scholarship online through the Chinese Government Scholarship Information System.
5. The application receiving agency submits the recommended candidates list and the application documents.
6. The CSC organizes designated universities and experts concerned to examine applicants' eligibility and academic performance before finalizing the short-list.
7. The CSC notifies admission results to the application receiving agency, which informs the applicant.

Which agency receives your application depends on the programme: the dispatching department of your home country for the Bilateral Program, the Chinese university for the University Program, the international organization concerned for the designated scholarship programs, and the Chinese university and its foreign partner for the Student Exchange Program. The guide carries no deadline dates.

Related pages on this site: the Chinese Government Scholarship overview and the how to apply steps.

What the guide does not say

The guide page carries no publication date and no academic year, so no deadline on this page should be read as current. Beyond that, on doctoral matters it does not:

• define "academically excellent";
• state a doctoral programme length or a number of funded years;
• set an IELTS or TOEFL band, or a validity period for an HSK report;
• require a document called a supervisor's acceptance letter, beyond the pre-admission documents wording quoted above;
• state how the age of 40 is calculated.

Questions people ask

Do I need a master's degree before I can apply?

Yes. The eligibility section requires an academically excellent holder of a Master's degree or its equivalent for a doctoral programme. The guide does not list any alternative route for applicants who are still completing a master's degree, though the documents section allows a current university student to submit a certificate of expected graduation or student status instead of the diploma itself.

Is there an age limit for doctoral applicants?

Yes. Applicants must be under the age of 40 when applying for a doctoral programme. The guide does not state how the age is calculated or at which point in the cycle it is measured.

Do I need HSK if my PhD is taught in English?

The guide requires HSK Level 4 only for Chinese-taught master's or doctoral programmes. For a programme taught in a language other than Chinese, it requires you to meet your university's admission requirements on language proficiency and academic ability, and to provide certificates such as IELTS or TOEFL as that university requires.

How long must the research plan be?

No less than 1,000 words or characters, written in Chinese or in English. The guide sets no maximum and no required structure.

Who can write the recommendation letters?

Professors or associate professors, and you need two of them, in Chinese or in English. The guide does not restrict them to a particular institution.

Is an invitation letter from a professor the same as a supervisor's acceptance letter?

The guide does not use the term "supervisor's acceptance letter". It requires a pre-admission document issued by the university you apply to, and says these include a pre-admission notice from the international students' admission department or an invitation letter from the schools or professors, and so on. Which form your university asks for is not specified in the guide.

How much does a doctoral scholarship pay?

CNY 3,500 per month, according to the stipend line in the coverage section, which places doctoral students together with senior scholars. Tuition, accommodation and comprehensive medical insurance are covered separately, as set out in the table above.

Does the guide give the application deadline?

No. The page carries no publication date, no academic year and no deadline dates. Deadlines for a given cycle are set elsewhere, and the receiving agency or university confirms them.

Sources

• Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship — China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)

Checked 10 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary prepared for China Scholarships Index; it is not published by the China Scholarship Council, Campus China or any university, and where this summary and the official notice differ, the official notice prevails.