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Documents for applying to a Chinese university: the scholarship guide's reference list

The documents you prepare depend on the route you take. If you apply for the Chinese Government Scholarship, section VI of the Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship lists thirteen documents in a fixed order; every one of them is a condition of that scholarship, not a general rule for self-funded study. For a self-funded place, the list comes from the university's own admissions brochure.

The thirteen documents in section VI of the scholarship guide

  1. Application Form for Chinese Government Scholarship, filled in online (section VI, item 1 of the scholarship guide).
  2. A clear scanned copy of the information page of your ordinary passport. If the validity period of the currently held passport is less than 12 months (calculated from the expected start date of study), renew the passport and use it for the scholarship application. An applicant who cannot obtain a passport due to objective reasons may submit valid documentation or documentary evidence that carries the full English name, gender, nationality and date of birth of the applicant, upon the approval of the application receiving agency (section VI, item 2 of the scholarship guide).
  3. Diploma and certificate of highest education, as a notarized photocopy. An applicant who is a current university student shall submit the certificate of expected graduation or student status issued by the university (section VI, item 3 of the scholarship guide).
  4. Academic records. Records in a language other than Chinese or English shall be attached with notarized translations in Chinese or English (section VI, item 4 of the scholarship guide).
  5. Language qualification certificates. Applicants for master's, doctoral, general scholar and senior scholar programs taught in Chinese must submit a valid HSK score report that meets the corresponding Chinese language proficiency requirements. Applicants for programs taught in other languages are required to provide relevant language proficiency certificates, such as IELTS or TOEFL score reports, in accordance with the requirements of each university (section VI, item 5 of the scholarship guide).
  6. CSCA Score Report. Applicants seeking a bachelor's degree must register for and take the CSCA before the application deadline and obtain a valid Score Report. Contact the target institution to inquire about and obtain the required test subjects for the applied major (section VI, item 6 of the scholarship guide).
  7. Pre-Admission Documents. All applicants must provide a pre-admission document issued by the universities applied to. Pre-admission documents include a pre-admission notice issued by the international students' admission department, or an invitation letter from schools or professors, etc. (section VI, item 7 of the scholarship guide).
  8. A study or research plan written in Chinese or in English: no less than 200 words/characters for undergraduates; no less than 500 words/characters for scholars; no less than 1000 words/characters for postgraduates (section VI, item 8 of the scholarship guide).
  9. Recommendation letters. An applicant for a postgraduate program, or for academic education as a senior scholar, shall submit two recommendation letters in Chinese or in English from professors or associate professors (section VI, item 9 of the scholarship guide).
  10. An applicant for an arts or design program shall provide his or her own works, such as videos and paintings (section VI, item 10 of the scholarship guide).
  11. An applicant under the age of 18 shall submit the legal documents of his or her legal guardian(s) in China (section VI, item 11 of the scholarship guide).
  12. An applicant to study in China for more than six months shall submit a photocopy of the Foreigner Physical Examination Form (the original, printed by Chinese quarantine authorities, shall be filled in in English and kept by the applicant). The medical examinations must cover all items listed in the Form. Incomplete records, or those without the signature of the attending physician, the official stamp of the hospital, or a sealed photograph of the applicant, are invalid. Medical examination results are valid for only six months (section VI, item 12 of the scholarship guide).
  13. An applicant shall submit a valid Certificate of Non-Criminal Record (or Police Clearance Certificate) issued by the local public security (such as the police station), usually issued within six months prior to the submission date of the application (section VI, item 13 of the scholarship guide).

Self-funded applications

Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security is written in Chinese; the English wording below is this site's translation of that text.

For a self-funded application, the document list is the one in the university's own admissions brochure. Order No. 42, Article 11 states that higher education institutions formulate and publish their own international student admissions brochure in accordance with state enrollment provisions, and enroll international students according to the conditions and procedures set out in that brochure. The same institutions shall examine the entry qualifications and proof of financial support of foreign citizens who apply, and conduct an examination or assessment of them; admission of international students is decided by the school, and a school must not enroll those who do not meet enrollment conditions (Order No. 42, Article 12).

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary. It is not published by or affiliated with the Ministry of Education, the China Scholarship Council or any university, is not legal advice, and the official text and the current notice of the university or authority handling your case prevail if they differ.

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