Chinese Government Scholarship University Program: applying through a Chinese university
Sources checked · Unofficial summary
Under the University Program of the Chinese Government Scholarship, you file your application with a Chinese university, not with a government department at home. Under the Bilateral Program, the applicant "shall file an application with the dispatching department of their home countries" — that is the route most people mean when they say they are applying "through my government". The University Program is the route where a designated Chinese university itself is the entry point.
Everything below comes from the Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship published by the China Scholarship Council on Campus China. Where that guide says nothing, this page says so rather than filling the gap from another programme's rules.
What the guide says the University Program is
The guide describes the University Program as financing the study of international students in China who are recommended by designated Chinese universities. Two points in that description carry most of the weight:
- Recommendation comes from the university side. The universities designated to run the programme put candidates forward.
- The student categories are not fixed nationally. The guide says the supporting student categories "are various which is subject to the requirements of each of these universities". One university may take undergraduates and postgraduates; another may restrict itself to a narrower set. The guide does not publish a list of what each university accepts — it directs applicants to the Campus China website to look up designated universities and the majors they offer.
The guide's general section on supporting categories lists undergraduates, postgraduates, general scholars and senior scholars across Chinese Government Scholarship programmes. For the University Program specifically, it hands the decision to each university.
How the two routes differ
| Bilateral Program | University Program | |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | Cooperation and exchange agreements or consensus between the Chinese government and governments or institutions of other countries | Designated Chinese universities recommend candidates |
| Who you file with | The dispatching department of your home country | The Chinese universities undertaking the programme |
| Categories | Undergraduates, postgraduates, general and senior scholars | Various, subject to the requirements of each university |
A third family exists alongside these two: the Designated Scholarship Programs, set up under agreements between China and international organisations and institutions, where the application goes to the organisation concerned. The guide's table lists the Great Wall, EU, AUN, PIF and WMO programmes, each with its own target group, supporting categories and receiving agency. Those are separate routes with separate receiving bodies; their terms are not the University Program's terms.
Where the application actually goes
The guide's application process has seven steps. In its own wording:
- Learn about designated Chinese universities and the majors they offer, and identify your preferred programme, university and major.
- Reach the designated university for admission documents.
- Reach an application receiving agency for a recommendation.
- Fill in and submit the Application Form for Chinese Government Scholarship online through the Chinese Government Scholarship Information System.
- The application receiving agency submits the recommended candidate list and the application documents.
- The CSC organises designated universities and experts to examine applicants' eligibility and academic performance before finalising the short-list.
- The CSC notifies admission results to the application receiving agency, which then informs the applicant.
Two things are worth drawing out. The university is where you get your admission documents, but the short-list is not the university's alone to make — the CSC examines eligibility and academic performance. And results travel back to you through the agency, not directly from the CSC.
One gap should be named plainly: in the University Program section, the guide states that the applicant files with the Chinese universities undertaking the programme, but the separate process section refers to an "application receiving agency" without restating for this programme which body plays that role. The guide does not resolve that in the text; check with the university you are applying to.
The pre-admission document every applicant needs
This is the single document requirement that applies to everyone, in every category:
Pre-Admission Documents. All applicants must provide a pre-admission document issued by the universities applying. Pre-admission documents include pre-admission notice issued by the international students' admission department or invitation letter from the schools or professors, etc.
In practice this makes contact with the university an early step rather than a late one. You cannot assemble a complete application on your own; something has to come from the institution you want to attend.
The rest of the document list
The guide lists thirteen items. Beyond the pre-admission document, the ones that most often shape an applicant's planning:
- Passport. A clear scanned copy of the information page. If the passport expires less than 12 months from the expected start date of study, renew it first and apply with the new one.
- Diploma and certificate of highest education, as a notarised photocopy. Current students submit a certificate of expected graduation or student status.
- Academic records, with notarised Chinese or English translations if the originals are in another language.
- Language qualification. For Chinese-taught master's, doctoral, general scholar and senior scholar programmes, a valid HSK score report meeting the university's requirement. Other-language programmes require relevant certificates such as IELTS or TOEFL, according to each university's requirements.
- CSCA Score Report for bachelor's degree applicants, who must register for and take the CSCA before the application deadline. The guide tells applicants to contact the target institution for the subjects required by the applied major.
- Study or research plan in Chinese or English: no less than 200 words/characters for undergraduates, 500 for scholars, 1,000 for postgraduates.
- Two recommendation letters from professors or associate professors, for postgraduate programmes or senior scholar academic education.
- Foreigner Physical Examination Form for stays of more than six months, on the original form printed by Chinese quarantine authorities, filled in in English. Results are valid for six months.
- Certificate of Non-Criminal Record, usually issued within six months before the application is submitted.
Duration and fields of study
The scholarship covers major study and Chinese language (preparatory) study. The guide states that language courses last one year, and that the duration of major study "conforms to that as required". Designated universities offer programmes across science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, economics, law, management, education, history, literature, philosophy and fine arts, among others.
What the guide does not say
The Application Guide gives no application dates, no deadlines and no quotas for the University Program. It names no universities as designated. The page itself carries no publication date and no academic year, so nothing on it can be read as the timetable for a particular cycle. For dates, quotas and the current list of designated universities, the guide points applicants to Campus China and to the universities directly.
Questions people ask
Is the University Program easier or harder than the Bilateral Program?
The guide does not compare them on difficulty, and it publishes no acceptance, award or success rates for either. What it does state is a difference in routing: one files with a dispatching department at home, the other with a Chinese university.
Can I apply to both routes at the same time?
The guide does not address this. It describes each category separately and does not state whether an applicant may file under more than one in the same cycle.
Do I need to contact the university before I can apply?
For a complete application, yes. The pre-admission document is listed as required of all applicants and is issued by the university you are applying to. The process section also places "reach the designated university for admission documents" as an early step.
Which student categories does the University Program cover?
The guide does not give a single list. It says the supporting categories are various and subject to the requirements of each university, so the answer depends on the institution.
Does the university make the final decision?
Not alone. The CSC organises designated universities and experts to examine eligibility and academic performance before finalising the short-list, and notifies results through the application receiving agency.
Sources
- Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship — China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- Chinese Government Scholarship Information System (Campus China) — China Scholarship Council
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 it differs from the official notice, the official notice prevails.