China Scholarship Council: Scholarships

Award Overview

Value & Duration

PhD degree program students:

CSC contribution: a living allowance (including health insurance) as prescribed by the Chinese Government for up to forty-eight (48) months, a return international airfare and visa application fees.

U of T (graduate unit or supervisor) contribution: funding equivalent to the full cost of tuition and fees, and endeavour to provide other economic supports whenever possible by offering teaching assistantships or research assistantships. Units are expected to cover any differential in funding between the CSC Scholarship and that of the normal funding package provided to international students.

Visiting PhD students:

CSC will provide successful candidates a living allowance (including health insurance) as prescribed by the Chinese Government for the duration of the scholarship as determined by CSC, plus return international airfare and visa application fees. U of T will provide the necessary resources and equipment, e.g. office space, laboratory, computer, network, library access.

Purpose

In partnership with the University of Toronto (U of T), the China Scholarship Council (CSC) offers scholarships to outstanding Chinese students who will pursue doctoral studies at U of T under the established collaborative program: China Scholarship Council – University of Toronto Joint Funding Program.

The CSC aims to fund in its annual competition:

  • 15 Chinese students for U of T’s PhD program for up to 48 months
  • 5 Chinese visiting PhD ​students at U of T for up to 24 months

Eligibility

To qualify for a CSC PhD degree scholarship, the applicant must at minimum:

  • Be a citizen of the People’s Republic of China. Applicants who have permanent residency in another country are ineligible for this opportunity. Residents of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are also ineligible for this opportunity.
  • Have received an offer of admission letter from the University of Toronto formatted appropriately for the CSC application.
  • See full eligibility criteria on CSC website.

Please note that recipients are required to sign a legal document agreeing to return to China for two years after completing their studies.

Applicants must review the full list of eligibility criteria, application instructions, and terms and conditions to hold the award available on the CSC website.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted through the CSC Application Platform. Please see the CSC website for the deadline to apply and other application details.

See details below for PhD and Visiting applicants.

 

PhD degree program a​​pplicants:

Step 1: Apply to U of T for admission to a PhD program as required, but early enough to obtain an official offer of admission letter before CSC application deadline.

IMPORTANT: When applying, indicate on the SGS Admissions Application (GradApp) that you will be applying for the “China Scholarship Council – University of Toronto Joint Funding Program.” In addition, make sure to notify the graduate unit and your potential supervisor that you will also be applying for a CSC scholarship.

Step 2: Apply to CSC via the CS​C Application Platform

Once you receive the appropriate official U of T offer of admission letter, you may then use this letter to include in your CSC application. Please note that as per CSC guidelines, the offer letter must state that admission is conditional upon obtaining CSC funding. Admission conditional upon obtaining confirmation of a conferred master’s degree is permitted. The letter must not include conditions such as academic performance or English language proficiency.

Your CSC application may also ask you to provide (upload) other documents, including letters of recommendation, transcripts, and proof of residency.  Please refer to the full list of items on the CSC website (in Chinese) specific to your applicant status (in China vs study abroad) when submitting your application.

 

Visiting PhD students:

Step 1: Visit the SGS International Visiting Graduate Student (IVGS) Study Abroad Program website for instructions.

Step 2: Find a prospective supervisor.

You are encouraged to review the list of degree programs on the School of Graduate Studies website. Each fact sheet  links to the website of the graduate unit (department, faculty, or institute) offering that program, where you can review a list of faculty members. Before contacting a prospective supervisor, please check the School of Graduate Studies’ listing to ensure that they do, in fact, hold a graduate faculty appointment.

Step 3: Your prospective supervisor should draft a letter of invitation that clearly lays out the agreed terms of the visit. The letter and the IVGS Study Abroad Agreement need to be signed by the appropriate parties. Once all signatures have been obtained, send the completed and letter to sgs.international@utoronto.ca for final approval.

Step 4: If the School of Graduate Studies approves the visit, you will be issued an official offer of admission to the School of Graduate Studies as a full-time visiting graduate student. Once you receive the appropriate offer letter, you can include it in your CSC application.

Step 5: Apply to CSC via the CSC Application Platform by the CSC’s deadline. ​

Results

CSC will communicate the results directly to applicants.

Contacts & Resources

The CSC administers this competition. All questions from applicants regarding aspects of the competition process (e.g., eligibility, required documents, deadlines, results) should therefore be directed to the CSC:

Program Officer
Division of American and Oceanian Affairs
China Scholarship Council
Tel：010-6609-3952
ca@csc.edu.cn​
https://www.csc.edu.cn/​

Graduate units may direct questions about U of T’s memorandum of understanding with the CSC or about award administration* to:

Janine Harper
Graduate Awards Officer
School of Graduate Studies
janine.harper@utoronto.ca
Tel: 416-978-3555

*Please note: As there is an approved memorandum of understanding between U of T and CSC, graduate units are permitted to issue, and CSC requires, offers of admission conditional upon the student securing CSC scholarship support by the deadline to register. Graduate administrators (not applicants) should contact Janine Harper for information on admission codes that must be included in letters.