Are you looking for scholarships in china is presented for academic year 2025-2026, please look no further as I will be giving you information on how to go about getting a scholarship in this blog post. Though it requires a lot of actions, documentations and preparations, at the end it is an opportunity that worth a lot. Chinese Scholarships mostly cover tuition and accommodation fees and will also include a benefit of monthly stipends for your personal expenses.
In this blog post, I will be writing of some clues that will help you decide which scholarship is best for you, as well as the steps and documents necessary to apply for them and all you need to know about it.
What type of scholarships are available to study in China?
There are three most available scholarships beneficial to study in Chinese universities:
- Chinese Government Scholarships
- Scholarships from the Provincial Governments of China
- Confucius Institute Scholarships (governmental entity majorly for teaching of the Chinese language to foreigners)
These scholarships in China are open to all nations. Citizens from all countries of the world can apply to these scholarships, depending on educational agreements and ties between the students home country and china.
However, there are many scholarships available apart from the aforementioned one, such as inter-university scholarships, some are put in place by private organizations, scholarships awarded by Chinese universities, or others that may be granted by educational institutions in your country. I will put more energy majorly only on the most popular and universal scholarships in china.
Which type of Chinese Scholarship is suitable for me?
There are a lot of questions that would come to mind and it has to be taackled, what course are you going to study? Are you to study Chinese language (to obtain a university diploma of advanced studies), or do a degree (Bachelor’s Degree, Master of Science or PhD). Then, you reason which city you want to study, as this will influence the choice of your scholarship.
In China entities that gives scholarships have agreements or are collaborating with many universities nationwide (in China everything belongs or is connected in some way to the government). After all, some of of the governments agency that provide scholarships, such as the Confucius Institute and the various universities, are part of the government.
Several scholarships quotas are gotten from these agreements that each financier give to each university in respect to your of course. Students from all countries are eligible to apply for Chinese government scholarship, which makes it to be so competition.
Once you have been able to answer the question asked above, about what you intend to study, where, when, you have to proceed to the next stage by knowing which scholarship is available by different Universities, their requirements and how many scholarship they are giving by chosen course.
Answers to many of these question can be gotten online, but not all universities have information on their web pages, you can decide to get necessary information by sending mails to the universities official email to make necessary enquiry.
Scholarships to Learn Chinese Language in China
Some international student seek to take Chinese language course at a Chinese university. It would have been an added advantage if you have been studying the language in your country, the rate at which you will learn will be faster but if you haven’t learn Chinese before now, it is a nice thing as you are trying to explore and learn new things.
The three scholarships mentioned earlier gives scholarship to student studying Chinese language course students, the Confucius Institute scholarship is the best for this purpose (it also offers grants for doctoral students and researchers, though they are very rare). This scholarship requires you have a brick knowledge of Chinese before with certificates to back up your claim from one of the accredited learning hub worldwide.
One of the criteria to apply for scholarships of the national and provincial governments to do a Chinese course, though it has it own advantage but it is not necessary to have studied the language previously. This scholarship is so competitive that it is so difficult to get.
The Chinese government push it way to make sure this scholarship is available enough to scholarship seekers, it is also important to check and research for universities that give out this scholarship.
If you have already studied Chinese with certification, I strongly recommend that you apply for the Confucius Institute scholarship to study Chinese in China. If you meet all other requirements, there is nothing stopping you from getting the scholarship.
For potential candidates that have not studied Chinese or have never been a student of the Confucius Institute, you should change channel and rather request Chinese government or the provincial government that is available the city in which you want to study.
Scholarships for Undergraduate or Postgraduate Studies in China
A lot of students both home and international student, find China as a home to studying different degrees,; undergraduate, master or doctorate, whether in Chinese or English. It is very important you must research which universities offer your desired course, secondly, ask if this universities offer scholarships to students granted by the government (national or provincial). Click here to start your search.
You then will have to contact the university to know how many students grant Chinese government scholarship and provincial government scholarship (this information will not be gotten anywhere, only if you request for it from the school directly not from the internet).
There are basically two ways to apply for the Chinese government scholarship(national). One is applying through authorized agencies ( Chinese embassy in your country or some international organizations in your field, or professional membership, such as the European Union, etc.), or you have to apply directly as a student.
This two ways of applying can attract scholarships, though they are slight criteria change, even different quotas are allocated to each. Students who applied through the embassy in their home country will only have to compete with applicants in their same home country applying, but if the student apply directly to the school, the student is applying with other potential students applying from all over the world.
Scholarships from provincial governments, way of application for this scholarship is quite different, you will have to be in china to drop your application and request to get a scholarship from your desired university. Travelling to China to get the scholarship tend to reduce the pressure on these scholarships as many international students won’t want to travel to china to get it done
Points to Note
- If you are applying in university with higher educational ranking, then remember, that there will be so you will compete with to get the scholarship, hence, your chances are slim.
- If you are applying for two government scholarships, you should decide if you want to apply for full or partial financing though it is easier to get partial scholarship, than full scholarship.
Popular Scholarships in China
I will be showing you guide on popular scholarships in China. Step by step procedure to apply for these scholarships;
1. Chinese Government Scholarship (CSC Scholarship)
Chinese government scholarship makes funds available to undergraduate, postgraduate, and Chinese language study programs, even to student that are into research and are living in the country.
This type of funding, the Chinese government scholarships are divided into:
- Total or type A Scholarship: this covers the students registration fees, accommodation (usually shared room in the university hostel), basic medical insurance and a monthly allowance for personal expenses (between 2,500 and 3,500 Yuan per month, equivalent of 350 and 500 USD respectively).
- Partial or type B Scholarship: covers the same as the total, except for the students monthly allowance for personal expenses.
- Type C Scholarship: it is a partial scholarship that includes some of the benefits of the total scholarship but not all.
2. Chinese Provincial Government Scholarships
This scholarships is granted to students by the provincial governments, including the governments of the four Chinese cities called “municipalities under central jurisdiction” (Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing and Shanghai).
These scholarships are open to undergraduate, masters and doctoral studies, even to Chinese language courses. Not all universities have scholarships from their provincial government scholarship for all types of courses.
Chinese Provincial Government Scholarships provides funds that covers student registration fees, accommodation in a university residence (shared room) and health insurance will be covered. If you are awarded this scholarship you will also receive a handsome amount of money per month for personal expenses as recipient.
3. Confucius Institute Scholarship (CIS)
The Confucius Institute scholarship are very popular among international students. It is a government idea which is to promote knowledge of the Chinese language and culture around the world. It offers numerous study scholarship in a total of 150 universities annually.
Confucius Institute scholarships covers tuition fee and accommodation fees (shared apartment in university hostel), basic medical insurance and a monthly allowance for personal expenses.
4. Scholarships for high school students in China
This type of scholarship, it is not as popular as the ones mentioned earlier, the scholarship is available to study in a Chinese high school. This scholarship opportunity will be through bilateral agreements between China and your home country.
I hope this article will guide you to which scholarship are the available scholarships to study in China and to give adequate guide on choosing which scholarship is the best for you. It may seem very saucy, and complicated, but there are thousands of students from all over the world who enjoys scholarship opportunities every year.
If you meet all the requirements, it is necessary for you to arrange your documents and start applying to available one and kick start your path way to a successful education and career in China.