The Agency Number decides everything else
The Chinese Government Scholarship is administered by the China Scholarship Council, but you do not apply to the CSC directly. You apply through an agency, and the very first field of the online application is that agency's number. Everything downstream — which documents you need, when the deadline falls, whether hard copies are wanted — follows from which agency you go through.
The agency number is issued by the receiving agency and, in the CSC's own wording as republished by Chinese embassies, is given to recommended candidates only. The programme category and the agency number are matched to each other and both are mandatory; entering the number fills in the agency name automatically. If you do not have a number, you do not yet have a route in, and that is the problem to solve first.
Agencies are of two kinds. Some are Chinese embassies, which run bilateral programmes for their host country. Others are Chinese universities, roughly three hundred of which are designated by the Ministry of Education to receive scholarship students. Institutions outside that list cannot host you on this scholarship.
You may apply through more than one agency, but no applicant is granted more than one scholarship. You will find a specific cap widely quoted — a maximum of three applications, two of one type and one of the other. We could not find that rule on any official page and so do not state it. Ask your agency.
Type A and Type B
The two categories describe who processes your application, not how good the scholarship is.
| Type A | Type B | |
|---|---|---|
| Processed by | A non-university agency, typically a Chinese embassy under a bilateral programme | A designated Chinese university, which recommends you directly |
| You obtain the agency number from | That embassy or body | That university |
| Practical consequence | You follow your embassy's announcement and its deadline | You often complete two applications: the university's own admission system and the CSC system |
The Type B route is the one that surprises people. Being recommended by a university generally means applying to that university for admission in its own system first, and separately completing the CSC application. Some universities charge an application fee for their own system. Peking University, for instance, requires its admission application to be made before the scholarship application.
You will see a Type C described on various websites. We could not confirm it from any official source and so do not describe it here.
The document set
Assembled from what Chinese embassies publish for recent intakes. Your own agency's announcement governs, but the shape is consistent.
- The application form, completed in Chinese or English
- Passport information page — renew first if your passport has less than a year to run from the intended start of study
- Your highest diploma, notarised
- Academic transcripts
- A language certificate: HSK for Chinese-taught programmes, or an English test for programmes taught in English
- A CSCA score report, for applicants to bachelor's programmes
- A study plan or research proposal
- Two recommendation letters, from an associate professor or above, in Chinese or English
- The Foreigner Physical Examination Form
- A non-criminal record certificate, issued within six months of submission
- A pre-admission letter, if you have one
- An art portfolio for art majors, and legal-guardian documents for applicants under eighteen
The language rule is stated in these terms: documents in languages other than Chinese or English must be accompanied by notarised Chinese or English translations. The Foreigner Physical Examination Form is to be completed in English, and is expected to be complete, signed by the physician, stamped by the hospital and with the photograph sealed. An incomplete form is a common reason for rejection.
Study plan lengths vary by agency rather than following one national rule. Embassy announcements commonly specify a few hundred words for undergraduate applicants and more for postgraduates; Beijing Normal University asks postgraduates for over a thousand. Use the number in your own agency's announcement.
Age limits
These appear consistently across embassy announcements and are worth checking early, because they are absolute rather than advisory.
| Applying for | You must hold | Age limit |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's study | A high school qualification | Under 25 |
| Master's study | A bachelor's degree | Under 35 |
| Doctoral study | A master's degree | Under 40 |
| General scholar programmes | Two years of university study or above | Under 45 |
| Senior scholar programmes | A master's degree or associate professor rank or above | Under 50 |
Official sources
There is no single deadline
This is the most common practical mistake. Each agency sets its own closing date, and they differ by weeks. Recent cycles have seen embassy deadlines in early and mid February, and university deadlines spread from the end of December through to the end of February. Peking University tells applicants simply to follow the schedule announced by their processing authority.
Results are generally announced around late July or early August, which means the gap between submitting and knowing is long. Plan your certification and translation work around the deadline you are actually subject to, not around a date you read somewhere.
Whether hard copies are required also varies. Recent embassy announcements have said no paper materials are needed and that originals should not be posted, while some universities refuse hard copies entirely. Older CSC guidance describing bound duplicate paper sets is still in circulation. Follow your agency's current announcement.
Points that are commonly misunderstood
- A pre-admission letter is not a required document. Applicants who hold one are described as having priority, but its absence does not disqualify you.
- Only a letter from the university's admissions office counts as a pre-admission letter. An encouraging email from a prospective supervisor does not.
- An application that has been submitted can be withdrawn and edited, but it must then be submitted again. An application left in an edited but unsubmitted state is not processed.
- The scholarship covers tuition, campus accommodation or a housing allowance, a monthly stipend and comprehensive medical insurance. International travel is generally excluded from unilateral programmes, though some bilateral programmes include it.
Stipend and allowance figures appear on individual university pages and vary between them. We have not reproduced any figure here, because the amounts we found were published by universities rather than by the CSC itself. Take the number from your own agency's announcement.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Agency Number in the CSC application?
It identifies the body processing your application — a Chinese embassy or a designated Chinese university — and it is the first mandatory field in the online system. It is issued by that agency to candidates it is recommending, and it is matched to the programme category. Without one you cannot complete the application.
What is the difference between Type A and Type B?
Type A applications are processed by a non-university agency, typically a Chinese embassy running a bilateral programme. Type B applications are processed by a designated Chinese university that recommends you directly. Type B commonly means two applications: the university's own admission system and the CSC system.
Do I need a pre-admission letter?
No. Official guidance states that a pre-admission letter from a Chinese university is not a necessary application material, though applicants holding one are described as having priority. It must come from the university's admissions office — an email from a prospective supervisor is not a pre-admission letter.
When is the CSC deadline?
There is no single deadline. Each agency publishes its own, and recent cycles have seen dates ranging from late December through to the end of February. Follow the announcement of the specific embassy or university you are applying through.
Do my documents need to be in Chinese?
Chinese or English are accepted. The embassy announcements we checked require documents in any other language to be accompanied by notarised Chinese or English translations, and require the Foreigner Physical Examination Form to be completed in English. Your own agency's announcement governs, so check the wording there — universities differ over whether the word notarised attaches to the translation or to the copy of the certificate.