Chinese language scholarships: one year, one semester and four weeks
Unofficial summary · Sources checked
The International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025 has three non-degree categories: the Scholarship for One-Year Study Program, the Scholarship for One-Semester Study Program and the Scholarship for Four-Week Study Program (Application Guidelines for International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025, items 4, 5 and 6). They differ on start month, how long funding runs, which fields each one names, the HSK and HSKK lines each sets, and, for the four-week category, on who submits the application.
The scholarship match on this site compares your study level, country group, age and HSK level against 19 national scholarship entries, including the three non-degree International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship programmes; it prints the minimum score inside a level for you to check, flags conditions it cannot test, and a result is not an award. Try it at /tools/scholarship-match/.
The wording quoted below is taken from the English text of the guidelines.
The three categories side by side
| Category | Starts | Funded for | Fields named | HSK | HSKK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One-Year Study (item 4) | September 2025 | maximum 11 months | international Chinese language education; Chinese language and literature, Chinese history, Chinese philosophy; Chinese language study | 270 (Level 3) for education; 180 (Level 4) for literature, history, philosophy; 210 (Level 3) for Chinese language study | required for education; 60 (Intermediate) for literature, history, philosophy; priority if provided for Chinese language study |
| One-Semester Study (item 5) | September 2025 or March 2026 | maximum 5 months | international Chinese language education, Chinese language and literature, Chinese history, Chinese philosophy; traditional Chinese medicine or Taiji culture | 180 (Level 3) for the first group; a score required for traditional Chinese medicine or Taiji culture | required for the first group; priority if provided for traditional Chinese medicine or Taiji culture |
| Four-Week Study (item 6) | July or December 2025 | maximum four weeks | Chinese language study, traditional Chinese medicine, Taiji culture, Chinese language plus homestay with a Chinese family | a score required | not mentioned in item 6 |
When each one starts and how long it is funded
The one-year category commences in September 2025 and the scholarship is provided for a maximum of eleven months (item 4) — eleven, not twelve.
The one-semester category commences either in September 2025 or March 2026, for a maximum of five months (item 5).
The four-week category commences either in July or December 2025, for a maximum of four weeks (item 6).
These are the dates of that cycle. The guidelines are signed "January, 2025" and name programme start dates from July 2025 to March 2026; as of 10 October 2026, when this page was checked, all of those dates are in the past.
Which fields each category names
The one-year category covers three groups: international Chinese language education; Chinese language and literature, Chinese history or Chinese philosophy; and Chinese language study (item 4).
The one-semester category covers international Chinese language education, Chinese language and literature, Chinese history or Chinese philosophy, plus traditional Chinese medicine or Taiji culture programs (item 5).
The four-week category covers Chinese language study, traditional Chinese medicine, Taiji culture, or Chinese language plus homestay with a Chinese family program (item 6).
Traditional Chinese medicine and Taiji culture appear in the two shorter categories, not in the one-year category. The one-year category is the only one of the three that names Chinese literature, history and philosophy as a group with its own HSK line.
The HSK and HSKK lines
Each category sets its own line, so a score that satisfies one does not automatically satisfy another.
One-year (item 4). International Chinese language education: a minimum score of 270 on the HSK (Level 3), and an HSKK score is required. Chinese language and literature, Chinese history or Chinese philosophy: a minimum of 180 on the HSK (Level 4) and 60 on the HSKK (Intermediate Level). Chinese language study: a minimum of 210 on the HSK (Level 3), with priority given to applicants who provide an HSKK score.
One-semester (item 5). International Chinese language education, Chinese language and literature, Chinese history or Chinese philosophy: a minimum of 180 on the HSK (Level 3), and an HSKK score is required. Traditional Chinese medicine or Taiji culture: HSK scores are required, and priority goes to those who also provide an HSKK score.
Four-week (item 6). An HSK test score is required for all four fields. Item 6 does not state a minimum HSK score for this category, and it does not mention HSKK.
Note two things the print does not smooth over: the one-year education line reads 270 at Level 3 while the one-year Chinese language study line reads 210 at Level 3, and the one-year literature/history/philosophy line reads 180 at Level 4. The guidelines print a score and a level together; where a score looks out of place for the level printed beside it, take the printed text to the office handling your application.
What the four-week category requires that the others do not
The four-week program may be organized and applied for by a Recommending Institution, with 10–15 participants per group (item 6). Before the trip, a detailed study plan shall be made in consultation with the Host Institution(s) and submitted to CLEC for review and approval (item 6).
Item 6 does not describe an individual application route for the four-week category, and items 4 and 5 do not say whether the one-year or one-semester categories can be applied for through a group. Section III describes online registration on the scholarship website for all programs, and Appendix 2 asks every applicant for a reference letter from the head of the Recommending Institution.
Who the 2025 eligibility rules cover
The eligibility section applies to the scholarship as a whole (Section I). Applicants must be non-Chinese citizens, be friendly to China with no criminal record, be in good physical and mental health and in good academic and behavioral standing, and be interested in Chinese language education and related work.
On age: applicants must be aged between 16 and 35 on September 1, 2025. The maximum age limit for in-service Chinese teachers may be extended to 45, while those who apply for a Bachelor's degree scholarship shall be younger than 25 under most circumstances.
What the guidelines do not say
Section III and Appendix 1 do settle some of these points. Online registration was to open on February 20, 2025, and applications for programs commencing in July, September and December 2025 and March 2026 had to be complete by April 15, May 15, September 15 and October 31 respectively; results are announced about three months before the program starts. The monthly living allowance is RMB 2,500 per person for one-year and one-semester study program students, and four-week students are excluded from the living allowance (Appendix 1). The guidelines mention no application fee.
They do not say what happens if a program is extended beyond its maximum funded period. They do not state whether the 10–15 participant range in item 6 is a minimum, a maximum or both. Item 6 gives no HSKK line for the four-week category, and no minimum HSK score for it.
For any of those points, the official text and the office handling your application decide.
Questions people ask
Can I apply for the four-week program on my own?
Item 6 says the program may be organized and applied for by a Recommending Institution with 10–15 participants per group, and that a study plan must go to CLEC for review and approval before the trip. It does not describe an individual route. Ask the institution or office you would apply through.
Does one-year funding cover a full calendar year?
No. The one-year category provides the scholarship for a maximum of eleven months, starting in September 2025 (item 4).
Is HSKK always required?
Not in every category. It is required for international Chinese language education in the one-year category and for the four named fields in the one-semester category; it is a priority factor, not a stated requirement, for Chinese language study (one-year) and for traditional Chinese medicine or Taiji culture (one-semester); item 6 does not mention it for the four-week category.
Are the 2025 start dates still open?
No. They are the dates of that cycle: the guidelines are signed "January, 2025" and name programme start dates from July 2025 to March 2026. As of 10 October 2026, when this page was checked, all of those dates are in the past.
Is a four-week score line lower than a one-semester line?
Item 6 requires an HSK score for the four-week category but states no minimum for it, while item 5 states 180 on the HSK (Level 3) for its main group. The two are not stated in comparable form, so no minimum can be inferred for the four-week category from the one-semester figure.
Sources
- Application Guidelines for International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025 — Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC, chinese.cn)
Checked 10 October 2026. This page is an unofficial summary, is not legal or immigration advice, is not published by the bodies named, and if anything here differs from the official text or from the instructions of the body handling your application, the official text and those instructions prevail.