PhD in China: how supervisor contact fits the pre-admission step

Under the Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship, the rules on this page are conditions of that scholarship, not general admission rules. Section VI item 7 requires all applicants to provide a pre-admission document issued by the universities applying. Item 7 does not say that you must contact a professor, and it does not say how to approach one.

What item 7 requires

Item 7 says that pre-admission documents include a pre-admission notice issued by the international students' admission department. It also includes an invitation letter from the schools or professors, "etc." Item 7 ends its list with "etc.", so the two kinds it names are examples. Item 7 gives no deadline for the document.

The seven steps in section V

Section V has seven numbered steps. They are reproduced here with the guide's numbering and wording, lightly trimmed:

1. An applicant shall learn about designated Chinese universities and majors they offer by visiting websites (the Campus China website) or other means, and identify the preferred scholarship program, designated university and major.
2. An applicant shall reach the designated university for admission documents.
3. An applicant shall reach an application receiving agency for a recommendation.
4. An applicant shall fill in and submit the Application Form for Chinese Government Scholarship online via the Chinese Government Scholarship Information System.
5. The application receiving agency shall submit the recommended candidates list and their application documents.
6. The CSC will organize designated universities and experts concerned to examine applicants' eligibility and academic performance before finalizing the short-list candidates.
7. The CSC will notify the admission results to the application receiving agency that will subsequently have the applicant informed.

Section V names no step at which the pre-admission document is issued. Step 2 is where the applicant reaches the designated university for admission documents. Step 3 is where the applicant reaches an application receiving agency for a recommendation.

Suggestion, not a rule: If you want an invitation letter from a professor, you could first identify a professor whose research matches your plan, using the designated university's own information. Then you could ask whether that professor can issue an invitation letter. Neither section V nor item 7 requires this step.

Which scholarship category fits a PhD plan

Section I lists four categories. Each one says where the application is filed:

• Bilateral Program: "An applicant shall file an application with the dispatching department of their home countries." Section I(I) says this program is open to undergraduates, postgraduates, general and senior scholars.
• University Program: The program finances international students who are recommended by designated Chinese universities. "An applicant shall file an application with Chinese universities undertaking this program." Section I(II) says the supporting student categories are subject to the requirements of each of these universities.
• Designated Scholarship Programs: "An applicant shall file an application with the international organizations and institutions concerned."
• Student Exchange Program: "An applicant shall file an application with Chinese universities and their foreign partners." This program supports general and senior scholars for a training session of no more than 12 months.

Section I does not name doctoral study in any of the four categories. For a doctoral plan, read the category description first and then the rules of the university you are applying to.

Other document rules in section VI

Some other items in section VI also apply to graduate applicants, and each is a separate requirement:

• Item 5 requires applicants for master's, doctoral, general scholar, and senior scholar programs taught in Chinese to submit a valid HSK score report that meets the corresponding Chinese language proficiency requirements.
• Item 8 requires a study or research plan of no less than 1000 words/characters for postgraduates.
• Item 9 requires an applicant for a postgraduate program to submit two recommendation letters in Chinese or in English from professors or associate professors.

Item 9 is a separate requirement from item 7. A recommendation letter under item 9 and a pre-admission document under item 7 are different documents.

Questions people ask

Do I have to contact a professor before I apply?

Item 7 does not say that you must. It requires a pre-admission document from the universities applying. An invitation letter from a professor is one kind of pre-admission document listed in item 7. A pre-admission notice from the international students' admission department is another kind.

Who issues the pre-admission document?

Item 7 says it is issued by the universities applying. Item 7 names the international students' admission department, and the schools or professors, as issuers of the kinds it lists.

Sources

• Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship (China Scholarship Council, Campus China)

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, and it is not legal advice. If the official text and the current notice of the university or authority handling your case differ, the official text and that notice prevail.