China AUN scholarship: who can apply and where the application goes
Unofficial summary · Sources checked
The AUN Program is one of the Designated Scholarship Programs of the Chinese Government Scholarship. In the Scholarship Programs table of the Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship (section I (III)), its target group is students and scholars from ASEAN member states, its supporting category is postgraduates, and its application receiving agency is the AUN Secretariat, with www.aunsec.org given as the website.
Designated Scholarship Programs are "set up in accordance with cooperation agreements between China and international organizations and institutions", and an applicant "shall file an application with the international organizations and institutions concerned" (Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship, section I (III)). For the AUN Program, that organisation is the AUN Secretariat.
The scholarship match on this site asks for your study level, citizenship group, age, language of instruction and HSK level, then prints the national scholarships those answers fit, each with a label naming the conditions it could not test. A result there is a reading of the published conditions, not an award and not an eligibility decision.
The AUN row in the guide's table
| Field | What the table gives for the AUN Program |
|---|---|
| Target group | Students and scholars from ASEAN member states |
| Supporting categories | Postgraduates |
| Application receiving agency | AUN Secretariat |
| Website given | www.aunsec.org |
The neighbouring rows of the same table list wider categories for other programmes — the EU Program and PIF Program both list undergraduates, postgraduates, general scholars and senior scholars. The AUN row lists postgraduates only and names no other category.
What a postgraduate applicant has to meet
Section IV of the guide sets the general conditions. The ones that bear on a postgraduate application are:
- Be a citizen of a country other than the PRC and in good health both mentally and physically (item 1).
- For a Master's program: hold a Bachelor's degree or its equivalent, be academically excellent, and be under the age of 35 when applying (item 3).
- For a doctoral program: hold a Master's degree or its equivalent, be academically excellent, and be under the age of 40 when applying (item 4).
- For a Chinese-taught master's or doctoral program: have passed the HSK (Level 4) (item 10).
- For a program taught in a language other than Chinese: meet the admission requirements of the university of preference in terms of language proficiency and academic ability, among others (item 11).
The CSCA score report in item 7 is written there as a condition "when applying for bachelor programs", and the HSK (Level 3) conditions in items 8 and 9 are written for general scholar and senior scholar programs. Neither is written as a condition for a postgraduate application.
What the guide does not set for the AUN Program
The guide gives no quota, no application deadline date and no list of universities for the AUN Program. The guide routes the applicant to the application receiving agency, so those come from the AUN Secretariat. The guide also states no academic year, so treat any timing you hold as the timing of one cycle and confirm the current one with the AUN Secretariat.
The seven-step application process
Section V of the guide sets one process for the scholarship:
- Learn about designated Chinese universities and the majors they offer by visiting http://www.campuschina.org or other means, and identify the preferred scholarship program, designated university and major.
- Reach the designated university for admission documents.
- Reach the application receiving agency for a recommendation — for this program, the AUN Secretariat.
- Fill in and submit the Application Form for Chinese Government Scholarship online via the Chinese Government Scholarship Information System (http://www.campuschina.org).
- The application receiving agency submits the recommended candidates list and their application documents.
- The CSC organizes designated universities and experts concerned to examine applicants' eligibility and academic performance before finalizing the short-list candidates.
- The CSC notifies the admission results to the application receiving agency, which then has the applicant informed.
Two bodies therefore handle an AUN application before the CSC does: the university you want, which issues admission documents, and the AUN Secretariat, which recommends you. Results reach you through the AUN Secretariat, not directly from the CSC (step 7).
Questions people ask
Is the AUN Program open to undergraduates?
The table in section I (III) of the Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship lists one supporting category for the AUN Program: postgraduates. The row lists no undergraduates, general scholars or senior scholars for it.
Where does an AUN application actually go?
To the AUN Secretariat, the application receiving agency named for the program, at www.aunsec.org, for the recommendation (section I (III); section V, step 3). The online form itself is submitted through the Chinese Government Scholarship Information System (section V, step 4).
Does the guide name the universities, the number of awards or the deadline for the AUN Program?
No. The AUN row names no universities, no number of awards and no deadline for the AUN Program; ask the AUN Secretariat. The designated universities and majors are something section V, step 1 tells the applicant to research on campuschina.org or by other means.
Do I need HSK for the AUN Program?
For a Chinese-taught master's or doctoral program, section IV item 10 requires HSK (Level 4). For a program taught in a language other than Chinese, item 11 refers to the admission requirements of the university of preference on language proficiency and academic ability.
Sources
- Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship — China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
Checked 10 October 2026. This page is an unofficial summary, is not legal or immigration advice, is not published by the bodies named here, and if it differs from the official text or from the instructions of the body handling your application, the official text and those instructions prevail.