Good news! Confucius Institute Scholarship is currently open. Confucius Institute Scholarship 2021 is a fully funded scholarship for international students. Confucius Institute Scholarships are given for particular doctoral studies, research stays, and participation in international conferences, Chinese language and culture courses. If you are interested in scholarships offered for postgraduates and researchers you can take a look here.
Benefits of Confucius Institute Scholarship
Confucius Institute scholarship includes tuition and lodging fees (in a university residence, in a room shared with another person), basic medical insurance and a monthly allowance for personal expenses, divided as follows:
- 2,500 Yuan per month for BTCSOL students or Chinese language and culture course (about 350 USD / month).
- 3,000 Yuan per month for MTCSOL students (equivalent to about 420 USD / month). Check official page of the Confucius Institute scholarships benefits details.
Categories and Duration of the Confucius Institute Scholarship
- Scholarships for the study of the Chinese language and culture. There are three types:
- Scholarships for an academic year: They are a total of 11 months that can start in September (until July of the following year) or in March (until January of the following year).
- Scholarships for an academic semester: The actual duration of the scholarship is 5 months. It can be the semester that goes from September to January (winter) or the one that goes from March to July (summer).
- Scholarships to study four weeks: One-month courses are taught during the winter holidays in China (December-January) or during the summer holidays (July-August).
- Scholarships for future teachers of Chinese. There are three modalities:
- Scholarship to study the Master in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (MTCSOL): It lasts 2 academic years.
- Scholarship of one academic year of Chinese language and culture + 2 years of MTCSOL: In total there are 3 academic courses.
- Scholarship to study the bachelor in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (BTCSOL): It has duration of 4 academic courses.
The CIS scholarships to train Chinese language teachers usually start in September or March. The application for these scholarships must be made online. In the course of the process, the system will propose you the possibility of choosing, in order of priority, two universities from the 150 universities that offer this scholarship throughout the country. See the universities which offer Confucius Institute Scholarship
How to Apply for Confucius Institute Scholarship
To apply for Confucius Institute Scholarship:
- Deadline: Until the beginning of May (usually day 1) if you want to apply for a scholarship to start in September, and until the beginning of November if you want to start in March.
- Delivery of applications: If you are a student of the Confucius Institute (ideal to apply for this scholarship), contact the in charge person of the scholarships. The application must be made online in the official page of the Confucius Institute scholarships (you need to have all the documents scanned, including your passport and a passport size photo).
- Result date : The final result of the scholarship students can be found on the official page of the Confucius Institute scholarships at the beginning of July (if you are going to start in September) or at the beginning of January (if you start in March).
- Sending documents to process the visa: The necessary documents to process the visa are sent by postal mail within 15 days after the publication of the result. At this point of the procedure I recommend patience, since you may have to wait more than a month to receive the letter.
Eligibility for Confucius Institute Scholarship
Documents and eligibility requirements for Confucius Institute Scholarship:
- Not have a Chinese nationality and enjoy good health. If you are going to study for a period longer than six months, you need to prove that you are in good physical and mental condition to process your residence permit in China. For this, you will have to deliver, once at your destination university (it is not a required document during the application period), a duly completed copy of the official Chinese medical form or Foreigner Physical Examination Form.
- Applicants must be between the ages of 16 and 35 (it is extended up to 45 years for people who demonstrate that they are working as Chinese teachers at the time of applying for the scholarship). Candidates for undergraduate scholarships cannot go beyond 20 years of age.
- It is essential to have a degree of Chinese language level (written and oral HSK and, in some cases, BCT and oral BCT are also accepted). This prerequisite is based on the type of scholarship. To check the complete language requirements, click here.
- Minimum qualification: Regarding the MTCSOL scholarship, it is necessary to deliver the diploma and the academic record of undergraduate studies. In the instance of the BTCSOL grant or the Chinese language courses, you must prove that you have completed your high school studies. If you do not have this documentation in English or Chinese, you will have to submit a sworn translation to either of the two languages.
- Recommendation letter in the case of scholarship candidates who want to study a Chinese course or to study BTCSOL, and two in the case of MTCSOL scholarship candidates. The letters must be signed by the in charge person of the Confucius Institute through which you apply for the scholarship.
- For MTCSOL scholarship, those applicants who demonstrate that they have a job as Chinese Language professors after completing the master’s degree studies in China will be preferred.
- In the case of one-semester or four-week scholarships, you do not have studied in China before.
NOTE: During the online application process, you will be required to write a short motivation letter that details your reasons and expectations before the scholarship (about 300 words).