Chinese Government Scholarship 2027/2028: Type A, Type B, Agency Numbers and Deadline

The Chinese Government Scholarship (CGS, often called the CSC Scholarship) is China’s fully funded award for international students at bachelor’s, master’s, PhD and non-degree level. It is administered by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) for the Ministry of Education and pays tuition, a university dormitory or housing subsidy, medical insurance and a monthly stipend of RMB 2,500 (bachelor’s), RMB 3,000 (master’s) or RMB 3,500 (PhD). You apply on campuschina.org through one of two routes: Type A, through a Chinese embassy or your government, or Type B, directly through a Chinese university.

Applications for the 2027/2028 Chinese Government Scholarship are now open. Chinese embassies began posting their calls in late October 2026, and the embassy in South Sudan set its deadline at 20 January 2027. Each embassy and university sets its own deadline, and most fall between January and March 2027. One big change since 2025: bachelor’s applicants now need a CSCA test score. I checked the details below against Chinese embassy notices and university scholarship pages on 25 October 2026.

Chinese Government Scholarship at a glance

What the CSC Scholarship covers

The full scholarship package is the same on both routes. University pages at Xiamen University and China University of Geosciences list these rates.

Medical insurance is worth RMB 800 a year per person (RMB 400 for programmes under six months). The scholarship also covers a year of Chinese language preparation when your programme needs it.

Type A, Type B and the “Type C” myth

Several guides claim that Type B pays no stipend and that a Type C partial award also exists. The official notices do not support that. Type A and Type B are the two program categories in the CSC system, and both carry the full package above: Xiamen University’s 2026 Type B call and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics’ Type B call both list tuition, housing, insurance and the monthly stipend. Partial awards do exist in China, but they are separate provincial or university scholarships, not a third CSC category.

Costs the CSC Scholarship does not cover

• International airfare: the embassy notices for Fiji and Indonesia state that you pay your own flight
• University application fees where charged (SUFE, for example, listed CNY 830 or 1,660 for its 2026 programmes)
• Medical tests, police certificates, notarised copies, translations, test fees and visa costs before you leave
• Living costs above the stipend; RMB 2,500 goes further in a provincial city than in Beijing or Shanghai

Chinese Government Scholarship eligibility

You must be a non-Chinese citizen in good physical and mental health and meet your target university’s admission rules. Universities such as Xiamen count age on 1 September of the year you start.

Language and test rules

• Chinese-taught master’s or PhD: HSK level 4
• Chinese-taught general or senior scholar: HSK level 3 (Chinese language students are exempt)
• English-taught programmes: IELTS, TOEFL or another proof, at the level each university sets (SUFE asked for IELTS 6.5, TOEFL iBT 80 or Duolingo 110 in 2026)
• Bachelor’s applicants: a valid CSCA score report, with subjects set by your target university and major

The CSCA is new. For the 2026 intake it was held on 21 December 2025 and 25 January 2026. For 2027/2028, the South Sudan embassy notice says registration falls in November or December 2026 or January 2027, and you must sit it before your application deadline. Register on csca.cn as soon as test dates appear.

Eligibility edge cases

• Other Chinese funding: you cannot hold another Chinese government or university scholarship at the same time, except one-time awards. Embassy notices warn that hiding other funding leads to disqualification and a three-year ban.
• Final-year students: you can apply with proof of student status and must show the degree certificate when you register in September.
• Passport validity: at least 12 months from the expected start date, so renew before applying if needed.
• Applicants under 18: you need documents from a legal guardian in China.

Deadlines for the 2027/2028 round

(based on this year’s date; confirm on the official page when the call opens) The South Sudan date is already official for 2027/2028. The others are last round’s dates moved forward one year. Check each number against the new notice before you submit, because a wrong number means your file never reaches the agency.

To find your own Type A number, open the scholarship notice on your Chinese embassy’s website or your national scholarship board’s page. For Type B, look for the university’s “Chinese Government Scholarship, Chinese University Program” notice on its international admissions site.

CSC’s own timeline

How to apply for the Chinese Government Scholarship

1. Choose your route and agency: decide Type A or Type B and find the matching agency number.
2. Get a pre-admission document: a pre-admission notice from a university’s international office, or an invitation letter from a school or professor. Email professors from October with a short, specific message about their research.
3. For Type B, apply to the university first: many universities, like SUFE, want you to pass their admission and interview before you apply in the CSC system.
4. Register on campuschina.org: click “Scholarship Application for Students”, create an account and fill in your personal details.
5. Enter the program category and agency number: Type A or Type B, and the number. The agency name should appear automatically.
6. Pick up to three universities and upload documents: universities are matched by your student category and teaching language.
7. Submit and print: after submission you cannot edit your details. You can withdraw before processing starts, fix the file and resubmit, but a withdrawn application that is not resubmitted is never processed.
8. Follow your agency’s extra step: some embassies want a printed or emailed copy of the form, some want hard copies, others accept online only. The South Sudan embassy asks for photocopies of the full package at its office.

The CSC does not authorise agents or intermediaries to apply for you. Use only campuschina.org and your embassy or university.

Document checklist

Get the medical form and police certificate last, but not too late: both expire after about six months, and police clearances can take weeks in some countries.

Writing the study plan or research proposal

Write a plan that is specific to you and to the programme you chose. This order works for most applicants:

1. Background: what you studied and the gap you noticed.
2. Aim: one clear question or skill you want to develop.
3. Why this university and supervisor: name labs, papers or courses.
4. Plan by year: language year if any, courses, research steps.
5. After China: the job or project you are aiming for at home.

A sample opening: “Power cuts in my city last for hours each day, and most clinics run vaccine fridges on diesel. During my bachelor’s I built a small solar cold-box prototype, and I want to study renewable energy engineering to make it cheap enough for rural clinics.”

Common mistakes

• Entering the wrong agency number or picking Type A with a university’s number
• Uploading a medical form older than six months
• Missing the CSCA test date for a bachelor’s application
• Mass-emailing professors with copied text
• Applying through an agent who charges a “CSC fee”
• Assuming the deadline in a generic guide is your embassy’s deadline

Who should apply, and who should not

Apply if you meet the age limit, can get a pre-admission letter or are willing to email professors early, and are happy to live on a modest stipend. English-taught master’s and PhD programmes are open to most applicants without Chinese.

Think again if you cannot pay your own flight, need a large stipend to support dependants, or want a bachelor’s degree but cannot sit the CSCA in time.

How the CSC Scholarship compares

If you already know your university, our guides to individual CSC universities, such as the Wuhan University CSC Scholarship, go into one school’s process. The CSC Scholarship is also on our list of scholarships with no application fee.

FAQs on the Chinese Government Scholarship

What is the CSC Scholarship deadline for 2027?

There is no single deadline. Each embassy and university sets its own, mostly between January and March 2027; the Chinese embassy in South Sudan, for example, closes on 20 January 2027.

What is the difference between Type A and Type B?

Type A means you apply through a Chinese embassy or your government with their agency number. Type B means you apply through a Chinese university with its agency number; both routes give the same full scholarship.

Is HSK required for the Chinese Government Scholarship?

Only for Chinese-taught programmes: HSK 4 for master’s and PhD, HSK 3 for general and senior scholars. English-taught programmes ask for IELTS, TOEFL or similar instead.

How much is the CSC Scholarship stipend?

RMB 2,500 a month for bachelor’s students, RMB 3,000 for master’s students and general scholars, and RMB 3,500 for PhD students and senior scholars.

Sources and updates

Stipends, insurance amounts, age limits and the language rules come from the Chinese Government Scholarship pages of Xiamen University and China University of Geosciences (Wuhan). The 2027/2028 South Sudan call, its agency number and deadline come from the Chinese Embassy in South Sudan’s notice of 23 October 2026. The 2026/2027 dates, agency numbers, CSCA dates, document list and application steps come from the notices of the Chinese embassies in Fiji, Indonesia and the Maldives and the Consulate General in Montreal. Type B examples come from Xiamen University’s 2026 University Program guide and SUFE’s 2026 Type B notice. Where campuschina.org itself was unavailable, I relied on these official notices, which quote its rules. Checked on 25 October 2026.

Jude Chinecherem

I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.