Great Wall Program: the UNESCO route to a Chinese Government Scholarship

The Great Wall Program is one of the programmes in the Chinese Government Scholarship table of the CSC Application Guide; it targets students and scholars from developing countries and is applied for through the National Commission for UNESCO in the applicant's home country, not directly to UNESCO; the online application in the Chinese Government Scholarship Information System is also mandatory. Under the 2026-2027 edition covered by the UNESCO page, candidates were to submit their application to that National Commission by Friday, 23 January 2026, and the National Commission was to submit nominations to UNESCO by Tuesday, 10 February 2026; both dates have passed. The route covers a one-year Visiting Scholar programme (General or Senior scholar) or a Master's or Doctoral degree programme.

If you want to see which of the 19 national scholarship entries in this site's scholarship match your profile may fit, the tool asks for your study level, scholarship type, citizenship group, optional age, programme language, highest HSK level and whether you hold IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 80 or above, then prints each open entry with one of three labels — 'Conditions met', 'Check a condition' or 'Not met yet' — compares HSK level only and prints the minimum score inside a level for you to check, and links to the official notice behind it; a result is not an award and not an eligibility decision.

What the CSC guide says about the Great Wall Program

The CSC Application Guide's 'Scholarship Programs' table (section I (III)) carries this row for the Great Wall Program:

Field	What the row says
Target group	Students and scholars from developing countries
Supporting categories	Postgraduates, general scholars, senior scholars
Application receiving agency	National Commission for UNESCO in the home country
Website given	https://en.unesco.org/countries

(CSC Application Guide, 'Scholarship Programs' table, Great Wall Program row.)

The same table lists other programmes with different receiving agencies — the EU Program through the Office for Education and Culture, Mission of the PRC to the EU; the AUN Program through the AUN Secretariat; the PIF Program through the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat; and the WMO Program through WMO — but this article does not apply their terms to the Great Wall Program.

Who the UNESCO page says can apply

The UNESCO page for the 2026-2027 edition says candidates must be nationals of the invited Member States it lists. It groups those states by region and counts them as follows (UNESCO page, 'Invited Member States'):

• Africa — 46 Member States: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
• Asia and the Pacific — 38 Member States: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Niue, Palau, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Viet Nam.
• Arab States — 13 Member States: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, State of Palestine, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Yemen.
• Latin America and the Caribbean — 26 Member States: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Venezuela (Bolivian Republic of).
• Europe — 12 Member States: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Ukraine.

The page's 'About the Programme' section says the fellowships are intended for students and researchers from 135 developing Member States in those regions. It describes a total of 75 co-sponsored fellowships, with 27 vacancies open for new recruitment in that edition. It also says that women candidates and candidates from Africa and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are strongly encouraged to apply, because of the priority UNESCO places on gender equality, Africa and SIDS. The 'About the Programme' section describes the 75 fellowships as being for the academic year 2025-2026, while the page title and the eligibility age references on the same page refer to the 2026-2027 edition and September 2026 enrolment; the page does not explain that difference.

Levels, duration and language of study

The CSC guide row names the supporting categories as postgraduates, general scholars and senior scholars. The UNESCO page sets out the routes (UNESCO page, 'Eligibility Requirements'):

• A one-year Visiting Scholar programme, as a General Scholar or a Senior Scholar.
• A Master's or Doctoral degree programme, with duration of study ranging from 2 to 5 years.

The UNESCO page FAQ states that undergraduate (bachelor's) degree studies are not available under this Programme; the General Scholar Programme, a one-year visiting programme, is open to candidates holding a high school diploma (or above) who wish to pursue a one-year visiting scholar programme at the undergraduate level. The 'About the Programme' section describes the fellowships as being at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. This article does not tell you which of those two wordings to follow; ask the National Commission for UNESCO handling your application.

The page says the fellowships are tenable at a selected number of Chinese universities and that, subject to availability of study programmes, they will be taught in English or Chinese. For Chinese-taught programmes, candidates should have acquired a certain level of Chinese proficiency before undertaking research or study in their field. For the fields of proposed studies at the selected universities, the page refers readers to the official China Scholarship Council web page (UNESCO page, 'Available Study Programmes').

Eligibility conditions

All candidates must meet the eligibility requirements in age, language and academic qualifications for the chosen programme, meet the admission requirements of the applied universities in academic ability, language proficiency and other relevant criteria, and be in good health both mentally and physically (UNESCO page, 'Eligibility Requirements'). The table below separates the routes; all ages are at the time of enrolment, September 2026.

Route	Academic qualification	Maximum age at enrolment (September 2026)	Language condition
General Scholar (one-year visiting)	High school diploma	45	English proficiency required; Chinese-taught visiting scholar: HSK Level 3
Senior Scholar (one-year visiting)	Master's degree, or associate professor position or above	50	English proficiency required; Chinese-taught visiting scholar: HSK Level 3
Master's degree programme	Bachelor's degree	35	English proficiency required; Chinese-taught degree: HSK Level 4
Doctoral degree programme	Master's degree	40	English proficiency required; Chinese-taught degree: HSK Level 4

(UNESCO page, 'Eligibility Requirements' — One-year Visiting Scholar Programmes and Degree Programmes.)

Language documents (UNESCO page FAQ, 'Is a language proficiency certificate required when applying for this Fellowships Programme?'):

• For English-taught programmes, submit a certificate of an international English proficiency test, such as IELTS or TOEFL. If you cannot provide an international English certificate, you must submit a UNESCO Certificate of Language Knowledge (Annex IV), duly signed and stamped by a certified language institution or language tutor, to prove sufficient language knowledge.
• For Chinese-taught programmes, submit valid HSK score reports as required by the applied programme.

What the fellowship provides

The UNESCO page does not say what the fellowship provides: it lists no tuition, accommodation, living allowance, medical insurance or travel, and states no amount. Section III (Scholarship Coverage) of the CSC Application Guide lists, for the Chinese Government Scholarship, tuition fees; a free university dormitory or accommodation subsidy; a monthly stipend (CNY 2,500 for undergraduates, CNY 3,000 for Master's students/general scholars, CNY 3,500 for doctoral students/senior scholars); and comprehensive medical insurance (CNY 800 per person per year, or CNY 400 per person for programs lasting less than six months). The guide's table places the Great Wall Program among the Chinese Government Scholarship programmes, but the UNESCO page does not itself say that these items and amounts apply to the fellowship. The only financial statement on the UNESCO page is in its FAQ: neither UNESCO nor the Government of China provides financial support or accommodation for the spouse or dependents of a fellow. The 'Available Study Programmes' section refers readers to the official China Scholarship Council web page for the fields of study at the selected universities. The annexes linked on the page — the Application Guidelines, Annex I list of invited Member States, Annex II instructions for the Chinese Government Scholarship Information System, Annex III Foreigner Physical Examination Form and Annex IV UNESCO Certificate of Language Knowledge — This page does not describe the contents of those documents.

How to apply: the steps named on the page

The steps below follow the UNESCO page's 'How to Apply?' section and its notes. One action per sentence, in order:

1. Read the Application Guidelines for the 2026-2027 UNESCO/China Co-Sponsored Fellowships Programme. (Step 1)
2. Contact the National Commission for UNESCO of your home country to ask about the national application procedures. (Step 2)
3. Get a pre-admission letter; it is mandatory for the current edition. (Step 2 and FAQ)
4. Attach any admission notice, pre-admission letter or invitation from professors you already have. (Step 2)
5. Submit the online application and the required supporting documents in the Chinese Government Scholarship Information System at https://campuschina.org. (Step 3)
6. Send the online application form and all supporting documents to your National Commission for UNESCO by Friday, 23 January 2026. (Step 4)
7. When your National Commission tells you that you are nominated, send your online application form and supporting documents to thegreatwall@unesco.org. (Step 5)
8. Your National Commission must submit the nomination letters and all application documents to UNESCO by Tuesday, 10 February 2026. (Step 6)

Notes on the steps (UNESCO page, 'How to Apply?' note and 'Submission and Selection of Candidates'):

• Only applications nominated by a National Commission are accepted by UNESCO.
• Each nominated candidate must submit the online application in the Chinese Government Scholarship Information System before the deadline; an application without online registration will not be considered.
• Individual applications are not accepted by UNESCO, because of its intergovernmental character; applications must be channelled through the National Commission.
• A National Commission selects qualified candidates and transmits the copies of the online Application Forms and all application documents of nominated candidates to UNESCO.
• Incomplete applications, or online applications submitted beyond the nomination deadline, will not be considered.

In the Chinese Government Scholarship Information System, enter Agency Number 00001 and Programme Category 'Type A Application'; after the agency number is entered, the matched agency name (UNESCO) is shown automatically on the page (UNESCO page FAQ, 'What "Agency Number" and "Programme Category" should the candidates choose...').

Selection and result

The concerned Chinese universities select the fellowship recipients, and the selection is approved by the Chinese authorities and UNESCO, taking into consideration gender equality and diversity (UNESCO page, 'Submission and Selection of Candidates'). UNESCO informs the National Commissions for UNESCO of the selected fellows.

Successful candidates are informed by UNESCO of their selection through an official award letter. The page states that candidates who do not receive notification from UNESCO by 15 August 2026 should consider that their application has not been successful; in the 2026-2027 cycle, 15 August 2026 has passed (UNESCO page FAQ, 'Does UNESCO inform candidates of the result of their application?').

Under the current programme framework and regulations, a fellowship cannot be renewed or extended under the same UNESCO fellowships programme. UNESCO states it has no objection if a fellow continues studies in China with other types of funding — other scholarships provided by the China Scholarship Council or external sponsors — and advises consulting the host university and the China Scholarship Council as early as possible if extra years of study are wanted (UNESCO page FAQ, 'Can I renew or extend this fellowship...').

Other application rules from the page

• Nationality: Only nationals of the invited Member States listed on the page may apply (UNESCO page, 'Eligibility Requirements').
• Nomination: Only the National Commission for UNESCO can nominate an application; educational institutions or other entities cannot nominate candidates (UNESCO page FAQ, 'Can educational institutions or other entities nominate candidates?').
• Passport: Applicants must submit an ordinary passport; a service or diplomatic passport cannot be used (UNESCO page FAQ, 'Can candidates use a service or a diplomatic passport to apply for the Programme?').
• Prospective graduates: A person who has completed bachelor's or master's studies but has not yet been issued a degree certificate may still apply, and must provide official proof that studies have been completed, such as an official letter issued by the university (UNESCO page FAQ, 'Are prospective graduates eligible...').
• Documents language: Application documents must be in English or Chinese; original documents in another language must be submitted with a notarized translation in English or Chinese (UNESCO page FAQ, 'Are application documents in languages other than English and Chinese acceptable?').
• Notarization: Applicants must submit notarized photocopies of their highest diploma; prospective diploma recipients instead provide official proof of student status. Diplomas and academic transcripts in a language other than English or Chinese must be accompanied by a notarized translation (UNESCO page FAQ, 'Should any application documents be notarized?').
• Health form: The Foreigner Physical Examination Form is mandatory and must be completed in English, covering all listed items; records that are incomplete, or lack the attending physician's signature, the hospital's official stamp, or a sealed photograph, are invalid. The result is valid for 6 months, so the examination should be timed accordingly (UNESCO page FAQ, 'Is the Foreigner Physical Examination Form mandatory?').
• Extracurricular activities: Academic qualifications and other eligibility criteria are the primary parameters for UNESCO's screening; subject to the criteria of individual universities and study programmes, extracurricular activities may be considered by host institutions in further academic evaluation (UNESCO page FAQ, 'Are extracurricular activities taken into consideration...').

Questions people ask

Can I apply for a bachelor's degree under the Great Wall Program?

No. The UNESCO page FAQ states that undergraduate (bachelor's) degree studies are not available under this Programme. The General Scholar Programme, a one-year visiting programme, is open to candidates holding a high school diploma (or above) who wish to pursue a one-year visiting scholar programme at the undergraduate level. The 'Degree Programmes' list on the UNESCO page names Master's and Doctoral programmes and no bachelor's degree route.

Do I need a pre-admission letter from a Chinese university?

Yes. A pre-admission letter is mandatory for application in the current edition. Pre-admission documents may include a pre-admission notice issued by the international students' admission department, or an invitation letter from the university or a professor. As most Chinese universities open their application cycles for international students in autumn or winter, the page advises contacting target universities early to obtain the documents.

Who can nominate me for the programme?

Only the National Commission for UNESCO of your home country can nominate an application. The UNESCO page FAQ states that educational institutions or other entities cannot nominate candidates, and that all applications must be channelled through the National Commission because of UNESCO's intergovernmental character.

What agency number and programme category do I enter in the system?

Enter Agency Number 00001 and Programme Category 'Type A Application'. After the agency number is entered, the matched agency name (UNESCO) is automatically shown on the page.

When would I hear whether I was selected?

Successful candidates are informed by UNESCO through an official award letter. The page states that candidates who do not receive notification from UNESCO by 15 August 2026 should consider that their application has not been successful; for the 2026-2027 cycle, that date has passed.

Can the fellowship be renewed or extended?

No, not under the same programme. The page states it is impossible to renew or extend a fellowship under the same UNESCO fellowships programme, but UNESCO has no objection if a fellow continues studies in China with other types of funding, such as other scholarships provided by the China Scholarship Council or external sponsors. If a fellow wants or needs extra years of study, the page advises consulting the host university and the China Scholarship Council as early as possible.

Does the programme support a fellow's spouse or dependants?

No. Neither UNESCO nor the Government of China provides financial support or accommodation for the spouse or dependents of a fellow.

Sources

• UNESCO/The People's Republic of China - The Great Wall Co-Sponsored Fellowships Programme 2026-2027, UNESCO (unesco.org)
• 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, and the official text and the instructions of the body handling your application prevail if they differ.