China Scholarship Council Doctoral Scholarships

Deadline

Likely in March 2025

Annual Value

Approximately $26,400 stipend plus tuition costs

Citizenship

International

Degree Level

Doctoral

The China Scholarship Council (CSC) is a government agency in China which provides scholarships to students for doctoral and postdoctoral studies abroad. UBC has developed an agreement with the CSC to be a preferred host institution for CSC scholarship holders. These scholarships will be awarded to students across a wide range of disciplines.

2024: The CSC online application opens between March 10 and March 29, 2024 (Beijing Time zone). CSC will notify applicants of the final results in July 2024.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply, applicant must be a citizen of the People’s Republic of China and does not have permanent resident status in another country. Please note the following:

Residents of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are not eligible.
The age of the applicant shall not exceed 35 years of age (born after January 1, 1989).

In terms of student status, the applicant must:

be a current undergraduate student at a university or research institute in China or an undergraduate student who recently graduated (typically within one year) from a university or research institute in China;
be a current Master's degree student at a university or research institute in China or a Master's degree student who recently graduated (typically within one year) from a university or research institute in China;
be a current Master's degree student at a foreign university or research institute or a Master's degree student who recently graduated (within one year) from a foreign university or research institute (e.g., UBC); or
be a self-funded, first-year PhD degree student, who has graduated with a Master's degree within the past 12 months, at a foreign university or research institute (e.g., UBC).

Furthermore, the applicant must meet the academic and language requirements for admission to a UBC doctoral program. Individual programs may have additional requirements, please refer to specific Graduate Degree Programs for detailed information. To be eligible to apply, applicant must be enrolled in, have applied for, or will apply for admission to a full-time PhD program at UBC. Please respect the internal deadline to apply for admission for your intended program of study.

For complete eligibility criteria (in simplified Chinese), please visit the CSC website:

Applicant: https://www.csc.edu.cn/article/1953
Language requirements: https://www.csc.edu.cn/article/1937
CSC Guidance on the joint scholarship program 2024: https://www.csc.edu.cn/article/2852

If there is any inconsistency or conflict between the English and Chinese versions, the Chinese version shall prevail.

Please note that CSC scholarship recipients are required to return to China shortly after completing their doctoral degree. They are required to complete two years of service in China as per the funding agreement between the student and CSC.

Application Procedures

applying to csc for scholarship funding

CSC online application system (in simplified Chinese): http://apply.csc.edu.cn (application period is from March 10-29, 2024, Beijing time)
Instructions for applicants currently studying in China (in simplified Chinese): https://www.csc.edu.cn/article/1715
Instructions for applicants currently studying outside of China (in simplified Chinese): https://www.csc.edu.cn/article/1716

Applying to UBC as a Full Doctoral Student

Determine which PhD program you would like to apply to and visit the program’s website to learn more.
Collect the required transcripts and reference letters
Take the TOEFL or IELTS test, and ensure your test results are sent to the University of British Columbia (institution code: 0965)
Investigate faculty members in the graduate program you intend to apply to. Many graduate programs recommend that before applying, you make contact via email with a faculty member in the department under whose mentorship you would like to study. This person may be able to support your application in the selection process
Apply online and arrange to have your transcripts and letters sent to the graduate program you are applying to. You must indicate on the application that you will apply for the CSC scholarship
Once you have received an offer of admission from UBC, apply to the CSC doctoral scholarship program via your current university. For more information, see: https://www.csc.edu.cn/
Ensure your UBC academic unit/graduate program completes the UBC nomination process. See Nomination Procedures listed below.

Applying to UBC as a Visiting Doctoral Student

Research the UBC website and identify one or two UBC professors that you believe would be a good match for your research interests. A searchable database of faculty members and their research areas can be found at: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/prospective-students/research-supervisors
Write a short summary of your research project or interests, and your reasons for wanting to come to UBC as a visiting doctoral student
Contact the professors via email and send your research summary. Ask whether they will accept you as a visiting student. Be sure to mention that you will be applying for a CSC scholarship to cover your expenses. The professor may ask you to send transcripts or letters of reference, or to provide TOEFL test results
If a supervisor agrees to accept you, you will need to apply to come to UBC as a Visiting International Research Student (VIRS). Details of the application process, etc. can be found on the VIRS website
A letter of invitation from a UBC supervisor or a letter of admission will be sent to you
Once you receive this letter, apply for the CSC visiting doctoral student scholarship. For more information, see: https://www.csc.edu.cn/
As there is a fee associated with the VIRS process applicants may prefer to use the supervisor’s letter of invitation as part of their application. Please be aware, however, that all successful applicants for funding must ensure they complete the VIRS process in a timely manner once the results of the competition are known. Delays in doing so may impact a student’s ability to apply for, and receive, a study permit/student visa in time for September
Remember to ensure your UBC host supervisor, or a member of your host UBC academic unit/graduate program, completes the required UBC nomination process. See Nomination Procedures listed below.

Nomination Procedures

If a program wishes to recommend a potential CSC recipient for admission, the admitting program must commit to providing financial support that is adequate to cover tuition costs for the student for the duration of the CSC Scholarship (normally four years). UBC-V students will also be awarded the International Tuition Award (ITA, currently $3,200 per year), so programs are responsible for the difference between the student's tuition and the amount of ITA funding.

The funds for this financial support can come from any combination of RA-ships, TA-ships or awards. Ongoing funding is conditional upon the student’s adequate academic progress in the program.

Graduate programs must inform Grad Studies of which students they would like to recommend by completing the requisite Qualtrics survey found at https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_diDVDmOK9oU6URg. Please note, only eligible graduate program staff should be completing this survey. Submissions using this survey completed by the applicant/student will NOT be accepted.

Meet Award Holders

Bingxin Zhou

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD)

Development of High Energy Density Anodes for Lithium Metal Batteries

Pan Deng

Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD)

Neutrophil inflammatory responses: neutrophil reverse migration and NETosis

Further Information

For further information, please visit the China Scholarship Council website.

Questions about CSC funding at UBC can be directed to graduate.awards@ubc.ca