How to read the scholarship match: 'Conditions met', 'Check a condition' and 'Not met yet'
Unofficial summary · Sources checked
'Conditions met' means every condition the tool can test — study level, country group, age and language — is met on what you entered. 'Check a condition' means nothing failed, but at least one condition is beyond what the tool can read. 'Not met yet' means the programme accepts your level but a stated language condition failed on what you entered. No label is an award, and no label is an eligibility decision.
The scholarship match asks for your study level, scholarship type, citizenship group, age, the language your programme is taught in, your highest HSK level and whether you hold IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 80 or above; it prints a list of named national scholarships carrying one of the three labels, each result linking to the official notice it was taken from.
The conditions behind the Chinese Government Scholarship entries below come from the Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship published by the China Scholarship Council on Campus China (campuschina.org), and every quotation follows the wording on that page. That page carries no publication date and no academic year, so read it together with whatever the office or university handling your application publishes for your cycle.
The three labels
| Label | Printed when | What it does not tell you |
|---|---|---|
| Conditions met | Level, country group, age and language all clear on the values you entered. | Nothing about anything else: health, academic standing, whether your country has an agreement, or what your university asks for. |
| Check a condition | Nothing fails, but at least one condition cannot be tested by the tool. | Whether that condition will pass or fail. Somebody else decides it. |
| Not met yet | The programme is open to your level, but a stated language condition — an HSK level or an English score — is not met on what you entered. | Whether you have been rejected. Nothing has been decided by anybody. |
Conditions the tool can read
Age and the qualification you hold
Section IV of the guide sets both at once. Every applicant must also be a citizen of a country other than the People's Republic of China and be in good health both mentally and physically (IV.1).
| Applying for | Age | Qualification | Item |
|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate programme | under 25 | high school diploma or equivalent, academically excellent | IV.2 |
| Master's programme | under 35 | Bachelor's degree or equivalent, academically excellent | IV.3 |
| Doctoral programme | under 40 | Master's degree or equivalent, academically excellent | IV.4 |
| General scholar programme | under 45 | high school diploma or higher | IV.5 |
| Senior scholar programme | under 50 | master's degree holder, or associate professor or above | IV.6 |
Age is an optional field. Leave it out and the age condition cannot be tested on entries that carry one. Items IV.2 to IV.6 give each age limit as a number "when applying", without naming a calendar date, and Section IV does not define 'academically excellent'.
Language, by how the programme is taught
| What you apply to | What the guide requires | Item |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's programme | Take the China Scholastic Competency Assessment (CSCA) and upload a valid score report. The guide names its site as www.csca.cn | IV.7 |
| Chinese-taught general scholar programme, excluding Chinese language majors | HSK (Level 3) passed | IV.8 |
| Chinese-taught senior scholar programme | HSK (Level 3) passed | IV.9 |
| Chinese-taught master's or doctoral programme | HSK (Level 4) passed | IV.10 |
| Programme 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 | IV.11 |
Two consequences matter when you read a result. The CSCA is a bachelor's condition: the tool shows it as something every bachelor's applicant to the Chinese Government Scholarship sends, and on its own it never turns a result into 'Not met yet'. And no English test is named in Section IV — IV.11 hands the language question straight to the university, and Section VI, item 5 says applicants for programmes taught in other languages are required to provide relevant language proficiency certificates, such as IELTS or TOEFL score reports, in accordance with the requirements of each university. The IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 80 box is an input to the tool, not a score stated in the guide.
Why a result still says 'Check a condition'
The eligibility list is not the whole decision. Section I of the guide decides who receives an application, and in each programme the receiver is somebody else.
| Programme | Where the guide sends the application | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Bilateral Program | The dispatching department of your home country | I(I) |
| University Program | The Chinese universities undertaking this program | I(II) |
| Designated Scholarship Programs | The international organizations and institutions concerned | I(III) |
| Student Exchange Program | Chinese universities and their foreign partners | I(IV) |
For the University Program the guide adds that the supporting student categories are various and subject to the requirements of each university. The Student Exchange Program supports general and senior scholars for a training session of no more than 12 months (I(IV)).
Within the designated programmes, each route has its own target group, its own supporting categories and its own receiver:
| Programme | Target group | Supporting categories | Receiving agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Wall Program | Students and scholars from developing countries | Postgraduates, General Scholars, Senior Scholars | National Commission for UNESCO in the home country |
| EU Program | Students and scholars from EU member states | Undergraduates, Postgraduates, General Scholars, Senior Scholars | Office for Education and Culture, Mission of the PRC to the EU |
| AUN Program | Students and scholars from ASEAN member states | Postgraduates | AUN Secretariat |
| PIF Program | Students and scholars from Pacific Island countries | Undergraduates, Postgraduates, General Scholars, Senior Scholars | Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat |
| WMO Program | Aspiring international students and scholars in meteorological research | Undergraduates, Postgraduates | WMO |
So some of these questions are left to the office that receives the application. The guide does not publish the list of countries that hold cooperation agreements or consensus with China and does not publish the list of countries counted as developing countries for the Great Wall Program. On health under IV.1, Section VI, item 12 asks an applicant to study in China for more than six months for a photocopy of the Foreigner Physical Examination Form. The tool's own page lists the same class of blanks from its side: whether your country has an agreement with China, whether it counts as a developing country, work experience, and any condition set by the university. Those are exactly the entries that come back as 'Check a condition'. The office named in the table above answers them.
What makes a result 'Not met yet'
Only language. A mismatch of level, country group or age does not produce a label at all: entries closed to your level, country group or age are left out of the results and counted in a line under them.
For Chinese-taught programmes the tool compares HSK levels, because that is what the guide states. It prints the minimum score inside a level in the entry, for you to check yourself; the guide's items IV.8 to IV.10 state a level, not a score inside the level.
What the tool covers
Nineteen national scholarship entries:
- Chinese Government Scholarship: Bilateral Program, University Program, Great Wall Program, EU Program, AUN Program, PIF Program, WMO Program, Student Exchange Program.
- Others listed by the China Scholarship Council and separately run programmes: ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship (ACYLS); Youth of Excellence Scheme of China Program (YES China); China Link Short-term Scientific Exchange Scholarship Program (2026); MOFCOM Scholarship — CSC Program; Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship (CTUSRS); International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship — Doctor's Degree, Master's Degree, Bachelor's Degree, One-Year Study Program, One-Semester Study Program and Four-Week Study Program.
Scholarships run by a single province or a single university are not in the tool. Results can be copied or printed. This site does not accept or submit applications and is not affiliated with any ministry, embassy, scholarship body or university.
Questions people ask
Does 'Conditions met' mean I have been awarded the scholarship?
No. A result is not an award and not an eligibility decision. Section IV of the guide states the eligibility conditions; Section I states who receives the application, and that body reaches its own conclusion on your file.
Must I take the CSCA to apply for a bachelor's programme?
Under item IV.7, yes: an applicant takes the China Scholastic Competency Assessment and uploads a valid score report when applying for bachelor programmes. The guide names the assessment's own site as www.csca.cn.
Which HSK level does the guide set for a Chinese-taught master's programme?
HSK (Level 4), under item IV.10, which covers Chinese-taught master's and doctoral programmes. Chinese-taught general scholar programmes, excluding Chinese language majors, and Chinese-taught senior scholar programmes are set at HSK (Level 3) under items IV.8 and IV.9.
Does the guide name an English test or score for programmes taught in English?
Section IV does not name one. Item IV.11 requires you to meet the admission requirements of the university of preference in terms of language proficiency and academic ability, among others; the university states what that means. Section VI, item 5 adds that applicants for programmes taught in other languages provide relevant language proficiency certificates, such as IELTS or TOEFL score reports, in accordance with the requirements of each university; it states no score.
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, and is not published by the bodies named above; where anything here differs from the official text or from the instructions of the body handling your application, that text and those instructions prevail.