Study grants in China
China is a rare case where the state funds foreign students on a large scale and at all levels. Three tiers of scholarships overlap: national, provincial, and university — and you can apply to all of them simultaneously.
How education financing works here
The government scholarship is the largest stream: it covers tuition, dormitory, a monthly stipend, and health insurance. Applications can be submitted in two ways — directly through the university or via an authorised body in your home country, and the requirements differ between the two. A separate stream exists for Confucius Institute scholarships, aimed at those going to study the language or teach Chinese.
Provinces and universities pay on top
Major cities and provinces have their own scholarships for international students, and universities maintain internal funds. These are rarely visible on general portals — look on the English version of a specific university’s website, in the international students section.
What to prepare in advance
A Chinese language exam for Chinese-language programs, or an international certificate for English-language ones. Educational documents must be legalized, and a medical certificate in the required format is needed for both the scholarship and the visa.
Programmes
Chinese Government Scholarship — government scholarship
tuition, dormitory, monthly payment, health insurance
Confucius Institute scholarship
tuition, accommodation, monthly payment, insurance
Schwarzman Scholars — master’s scholarship at Tsinghua University
full tuition, on-campus accommodation, meals, flights, study trips within China, and a personal expense stipend
We do not publish exact application dates: they change every year, and this page is meant to last months. The card shows an intake window in plain language and a link to the official page, where the date is always current.
Other countries
Links to official pages have been verified 16 August 2026.