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PhD scholarships in China: the national programmes that fund a doctorate

Unofficial summary · Sources checked

Four national programmes name doctoral study in their official notices: the Chinese Government Scholarship (doctoral category), the International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship (Doctor's Degree in International Chinese Language Education), the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship (Doctoral Students) and the MOFCOM Scholarship-CSC Program (PhD program). Each notice sets its own degree, age, language and funding-length conditions, and no figure below is carried over from another programme.

The scholarship match filters these 19 national entries by study level, citizenship, age and language, prints the conditions it cannot test, and links each result to the official notice it came from; a result is not an award or an eligibility decision.

Chinese Government Scholarship: the doctoral lines in the guide

The Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship (China Scholarship Council, Campus China) gives three doctoral rules:

  • Degree held and age: item 4 of section IV requires an academically excellent holder of a Master's degree or its equivalent, under the age of 40, when applying for a doctoral program.
  • Language: item 10 of section IV requires HSK (Level 4) for a Chinese-taught master's or doctoral program. Item 11 covers a program taught in a language other than Chinese: the applicant must meet the admission requirements of the university of preference in language proficiency and academic ability, among others.
  • Stipend: item 3 of section III sets the stipend for doctoral students/senior scholars at CNY 3,500 per month. The same coverage list names tuition fees, free university dormitory or accommodation subsidy, and comprehensive medical insurance.

Section II of the guide gives no length of schooling or length of funding for the doctoral category: it says only that the language courses last one year and that the duration of the scholarship for major study conforms to that as required. The other three programmes set their own doctoral stipends, given in the sections below.

The guide's scholarship programmes table lists supporting categories for the Great Wall, EU, AUN, PIF and WMO programmes; those rows name "postgraduates" and do not separately name a doctoral category or say whether "postgraduates" includes doctoral study. The rows do name where applications go: the National Commission for UNESCO in the home country (Great Wall), the Office for Education and Culture, Mission of the PRC to the EU (EU Programme), the AUN Secretariat (AUN), the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIF) and WMO (WMO).

International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship: the doctoral category

The Application Guidelines for International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025 (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, chinese.cn) describe one doctoral category, Scholarship for Doctor's Degree in International Chinese Language Education:

  • Length: the program commences in September 2025 and the scholarship is provided for a maximum of four academic years.
  • Degree held: a Master's degree in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, linguistics, international Chinese language education, or education-related disciplines.
  • Language: a minimum score of 200 on the HSK Test (Level 6) and 60 on the HSKK test (Advanced Level).
  • Priority: given to applicants who can provide an employment contract with a teaching institution upon completing their studies in China, or proof to the same effect.

Section I, item 5 sets the age: aged between 16 and 35 years on September 1, 2025, with the maximum age limit for in-service Chinese teachers extendable to 45. Appendix 1, item 3 sets the monthly living allowance for doctoral students in International Chinese Language Education at RMB 3,500 per person. The doctoral category in Section II, item 1 states no work-experience requirement. The guidelines are dated January 2025 and written for programmes starting between July 2025 and March 2026; those are the dates of that cycle. The application website named in them is chinese.cn.

ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship: the doctoral category

The Guidebook to the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship (China Scholarship Council, Campus China) covers doctoral students in section 1 and section 4:

  • Length: 3-4 academic years of schooling and 3-4 academic years of scholarship; recipients must complete their studies within the duration of the scholarship.
  • Instruction language: English. Candidates are strongly advised to register for English-taught programs, and their English proficiency must meet the language requirements of the applied programs.
  • Degree held and age: item (e) of section 4 requires a graduate/master's degree and an age under 45 for a PhD degree.
  • Language score: item (c) requires an IELTS score of at least 6.0 or a TOEFL score of at least 80.
  • Other conditions in section 4: citizenship of an ASEAN Member State, sound physical and mental health, at least one year of work experience in government agencies, public or private institutions, universities, think-tanks or similar social agencies, not being a concurrent awardee of a Chinese government scholarship, and meeting the other admission requirements of the universities applied to.

Section 3 gives no application deadline date: it says applications generally open from January to March every year and tells applicants to consult the ACYLS national focal points or the AUN Secretariat for the current year's deadline; the page's focal point list is headed "As of 2026". Section 2 sets the stipend for doctoral students at 5,000 RMB per month.

MOFCOM Scholarship-CSC Program: the doctoral category

The MOFCOM SCHOLARSHIP-CSC Program (Enrollment Guide) (China Scholarship Council, Campus China) states in section I that the programme supports a Master's program for 2-3 years or a PhD program for 3 years, and that scholarship winners must register for an English-taught program. Section III sets the doctoral conditions:

  • Degree held and work experience: at least three years' working experience and a master's degree holder when applying for doctoral program.
  • Age: under the age of 45.
  • Citizenship: citizen of a developing country other than the People's Republic of China.
  • Language: sufficient English meeting the academic requirements of the program, equivalent to IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 80 and above.
  • Profile: incumbents with relevant educational background or working experience are preferred; applicants must be public officials of division level and above (or corresponding level) in government sectors, senior management staff of organizations and enterprises, or academic backbones of universities and research institutions.
  • Health: physically and mentally healthy, with a physical examination report issued by a local public hospital and none of the listed diseases or situations.
  • Exclusivity: neither studying in China nor admitted to other scholarship programs provided by the Chinese government.

Section II gives no academic year and no deadline date; it tells applicants to consult the application receiving authority for the deadline of each year. Section IV, item 3 ("Monthly stipend") gives 42000RMB per year per PhD student.

The four doctoral lines side by side

Programme Degree you must hold Age limit Language line Length of funding stated
Chinese Government Scholarship, doctoral Master's degree or equivalent Under 40 HSK (Level 4) for a Chinese-taught doctoral program; otherwise the university's own language and academic requirements Not stated for the doctoral category (Section II)
International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship, Doctor's Degree Master's degree in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, linguistics, international Chinese language education or education-related disciplines 16 to 35 on 1 September 2025; may be extended to 45 for in-service Chinese teachers HSK (Level 6) minimum 200 and HSKK (Advanced) minimum 60 Maximum four academic years
ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship, doctoral Graduate/master's degree Under 45 IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 80; English-taught programs advised 3-4 academic years
MOFCOM Scholarship-CSC Program, PhD Master's degree, plus at least three years' working experience Under 45 English equivalent to IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 80 and above; English-taught program required 3 years

Work experience is a stated condition in two of the four: at least one year for ACYLS, at least three years for MOFCOM. The eligibility list in section IV of the Chinese Government Scholarship guide (items 1 to 11) and the ICLT 2025 doctoral category (Section II, item 1) state no work-experience requirement.

The CNY 3,500 per month stipend is the Chinese Government Scholarship guide's doctoral line. The other three notices are separate programmes with their own terms and their own stipends: Appendix 1, item 3 of the ICLT guidelines gives RMB 3,500 per person per month for doctoral students in International Chinese Language Education; section 2 of the ACYLS guidebook gives 5,000 RMB per month for doctoral students; and section IV, item 3 of the MOFCOM guide gives 42000RMB per year per PhD student. Do not carry a figure from one programme to another.

Questions people ask

Is there an age limit for every one of these doctoral scholarships?

All four name one: under 40 for the Chinese Government Scholarship doctoral category, under 45 for ACYLS, under 45 for MOFCOM and, for ICLT 2025, aged between 16 and 35 years on September 1, 2025 (Section I, item 5), with the maximum age limit for in-service Chinese teachers extendable to 45.

Which programme states the longest funded period for a doctorate?

The ICLT 2025 guidelines state a maximum of four academic years and ACYLS states 3-4 academic years for doctoral students; MOFCOM states 3 years for the PhD program. Section II of the Chinese Government Scholarship guide states no length for the doctoral category.

Do I need Chinese or English?

It depends on the programme and on the language of instruction. The Chinese Government Scholarship guide sets HSK (Level 4) for a Chinese-taught doctoral program and defers to the university for programmes taught in another language. ICLT requires HSK (Level 6) with a minimum of 200 and HSKK (Advanced) with a minimum of 60. ACYLS and MOFCOM are English programmes: ACYLS requires IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 80 and advises English-taught programs, and MOFCOM requires registration for an English-taught program with English equivalent to IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 80 and above.

Can I hold one of these and another Chinese government scholarship at the same time?

Two notices say no. ACYLS requires that an applicant not be a concurrent awardee of a Chinese government scholarship. MOFCOM requires that an applicant be neither studying in China nor admitted to other scholarship programs provided by the Chinese government. The eligibility list in section IV of the Chinese Government Scholarship guide has no such condition. The ICLT 2025 guidelines mention an earlier scholarship only in Section VI, item 1, which says that in principle applicants who have received a similar scholarship within three years are not eligible for the One-Semester Study Program or One-Year Study Program; it does not cover the doctoral category.

Where the two wordings on a condition differ, which one applies?

This page states both and does not choose between them. The office or receiving authority handling your application decides which wording applies to your case, and its instructions prevail.

Sources

Checked 10 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary, is not legal or immigration advice, is not published by the bodies named above, 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.

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