Fully Funded Scholarships in China 2026: CSC and Provincial Programmes

China is the destination where the largest number of fully funded places exist, and most of them run through one scheme. The Chinese Government Scholarship covers tuition, accommodation in a university dormitory, a monthly living allowance and medical insurance, and it is administered through the China Scholarship Council with universities doing much of the recruiting.

There are two routes. Type A runs through a bilateral programme, where a ministry or embassy in your country nominates candidates. Type B runs through the Chinese university, which recruits directly and forwards applications to the council. The same documents serve both, but the route decides who reads your file first and how early you have to submit.

Provincial and municipal governments run their own schemes alongside the national one. Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong all fund international students at universities in their region, usually with tuition and a smaller stipend, and they are less competitive than the national scheme because fewer applicants know they exist. University president scholarships and Silk Road programmes sit below those, often with a specific list of eligible countries.

Some of those country lists matter more than others. The Silk Road programme, for instance, is aimed at Belt and Road countries, and individual universities publish their own list of eligible nationalities. If your country appears on one university's list it may not appear on another's, so the list is worth checking before you write the study plan.

The documents are consistent: the online form, degree certificates and transcripts, a study or research plan, two recommendation letters, a foreigner physical examination form, a passport copy and language evidence. Translations and notarised copies are required where the originals are not in Chinese or English. The physical examination is the slowest item and the one applicants leave until the last week.

Language decides the programme list. Chinese-taught programmes require HSK evidence at a level set by the university, and many offer a preparatory year. English-taught programmes accept English evidence, with the requirement set per university rather than by the council.

Timing runs on an annual cycle, with the portal opening once a year and universities setting internal deadlines well before the central one. Starting in December for the following September is normal; starting in March is usually too late for the university route.

Two mistakes recur. Applying to a university that does not host the programme you want, which the agency number directory will tell you, and treating the scholarship as admission when the department still has to accept you academically.