Scholarships in China 2026 for International Students

The Chinese Government Scholarship is the backbone of funding in China, and most of the university awards on this list are the same scholarship offered through a particular university. The package is consistent from page to page: a tuition waiver, a place in a university residence or a housing allowance, comprehensive medical insurance and a monthly stipend set by government standards.

The stipend depends on the level of study. Several awards here print the same scale, for example Tianjin University's Silk Road Scholarship: 2,500 RMB a month for bachelor's students, 3,000 RMB for master's and 3,500 RMB for PhD. A few university-only awards pay less, such as the Dalian University of Technology Presidential Scholarship at 1,500 RMB a month for master's students.

Below the national scholarship sit awards from local governments, such as the Beijing Government Scholarship and the Shanghai Government Scholarship, and from universities themselves, such as the Zhengzhou University President Scholarship for PhD students, which lists a full tuition waiver, a 3,500 RMB monthly stipend and 1,000 RMB a month towards housing.

Not every university award is full. Zhejiang Normal University offers a Type A that covers tuition only, with no stipend, and lower types that cover half. Check which type a page describes.

Pakistani applicants have a route that most nationalities do not: the Silk Road scholarships for Belt and Road countries. The Silk Road Scholarship names Pakistan among its eligible countries, and so does Tianjin University's Silk Road Scholarship, alongside Bangladesh, Nigeria, Indonesia, Malaysia and others. There is also an HEC China Road and Bridge Corporation scholarship for Pakistani students.

Beyond these, the national CSC scholarship and the university awards open to all nationalities are open to Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi and Nigerian applicants on the same terms as everyone else.

42 awards here fund a master's degree and 30 a PhD. Two master's programmes stand apart from the CSC system: the Schwarzman Scholars Program at Tsinghua University and the Yenching Academy at Peking University, both taking applicants from any country; the Yenching page lists tuition, housing at the Academy, a monthly stipend, medical insurance and a return flight. For science, the CAS-ANSO Scholarship of the Chinese Academy of Sciences funds master's and PhD study and gives special consideration to applicants from least developed countries and to women.

Undergraduate awards usually come with an age limit: Xi'an Jiaotong University asks for applicants under 25, and Jinan University for applicants between 18 and 25. The University of Macau waives tuition and residential college fees for bachelor's students it admits. If you want to teach Chinese, there is the Confucius Institute Scholarship, and the language-teacher award at Zhejiang University of Technology takes applicants aged 16 to 35, or up to 45 for teachers already working.

The next dated deadlines among these awards:

• Yenching Academy Scholarship - 30 November 2026

Many CSC places follow each university's own admission calendar; the award pages give the details.