Key facts
- Deadline
- Monday 6 January 2025
- Funding start date
- Wednesday 1 October 2025
- Number of funding places
- Multiple opportunities available
- Country eligibility
- International (specific country)
- Specific country
- China
- Source of funding
- University of Leeds
Up to 13 China Scholarship Council/University of Leeds Scholarships are available for International fee paying students who are nationals of the People's Republic of China in any Faculty within the University of Leeds. The fully funded research scholarship is available for 3 years full-time. The University of Leeds covers the full costs of international fees, China Scholarship Council provides maintenance, flight and visa costs.<br /> <br /> Closing date for Application forms 17:00 UK time Monday 6 January 2025
<p>Candidates can apply with their own Research project or one of the Faculty predefined projects if applicable.</p> <ul> <li> <p>These awards are available to applicants who would be liable to pay academic fees at the full international fee rate;</p> </li> <li> <p>Applicants must be citizens of the People’s Republic of China at the time of application, including overseas Chinese students who may be eligible for application, subject to China Scholarship Council (CSC) policy at the time;</p> </li> <li> <p>Applicants must agree to return to China upon completion of their PhD research degree at the University of Leeds;</p> </li> <li> <p>Applicants must satisfy the selection criteria set out by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) by completing the CSC Application Form and CSC Employer Reference Form which can both be found at <a href="http://www.csc.edu.cn" target="_blank">http://www.csc.edu.cn</a> (the application period for the CSC maintenance award is in March/April), ensuring that the correct Scholarship scheme has been selected – CSC-Leeds Joint Programme Channel (<span class="underline_text">not</span> the Individual Channel), as there are several different schemes.</p> </li> </ul> <h4>Duration of the Award</h4> <ul> <li>Full-time (3 years) the award will be made for one year in the first instance and renewable for a further period of up to two years, subject to satisfactory academic progress.</li> </ul> <h4>Funding</h4> <ul> <li> <p>The University of Leeds award provides the full international fee.</p> </li> </ul> <h4>Other Conditions</h4> <ul> <li> <p>Applicants must not have already been awarded or be currently studying for a doctoral degree </p> </li> <li> <p>Awards must be taken up by 1 October 2025</p> </li> <li> <p>Awards are available for new Postgraduate Researchers undertaking full-time research study leading to the degree of PhD. Students already registered for PhD research study are excluded from applying</p> </li> <li> <p>Applicants must live within a reasonable distance of the University of Leeds whilst in receipt of this Scholarship.</p> </li> </ul> <h4>Selection Process</h4> <ul> <li> <p>Each School selects a shortlist of applicants who they wish to nominate for the award. The University of Leeds Scholarship Selection Panel selects the final list of awards based on academic merit and no other factors such as financial hardship are taken into account.</p> </li> <li> <p>Unsuccessful applicants will be informed of the application outcome approximately 4 weeks after the application closing date. Shortlisted applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application by the end of May/beginning of June 2025.</p> </li> </ul>
<p><strong>Stage 1</strong> </p> <ul> <li>First of all apply for a relevant <a href="http://www.leeds.ac.uk/info/130206/applying/91/applying_for_research_degrees" target="_blank">research programme of study</a> by completing the <strong>study</strong> application form.</li> </ul> <p paraeid="{1cb12a88-4c7f-4a7c-9a2b-534fa11ffa74}{162}" paraid="617466781">In order to be considered for the scholarship you must submit all the required supporting documents for your application for study*. Any study applications that are not accompanied by the documents requested by the scholarship deadline will not be considered for the award. </p> <p paraeid="{1cb12a88-4c7f-4a7c-9a2b-534fa11ffa74}{162}" paraid="617466781">Please note that an unsuccessful application for this scholarship does not exclude you from applying for other research study opportunities or scholarships offered by the University of Leeds. </p> <p paraeid="{1cb12a88-4c7f-4a7c-9a2b-534fa11ffa74}{176}" paraid="615424475">*The supporting documents you need to provide with your study application are listed on website for the School/Faculty in which you are applying to study. </p> <p><strong>Stage 2</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p>Once you are in receipt of your 9 digit Student Application ID <a href="https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/leeds/china-scholarship-council-university-of-leeds-scholarships-2025" target="_blank">complete the online <strong>scholarship</strong> application form</a>.</p> </li> </ul> <p><em>As an international research-intensive university, we welcome students from all walks of life and from across the world. We foster an inclusive environment where all can flourish and prosper, and we are proud of our strong commitment to student education. Across all Faculties we are dedicated to diversifying our community and we welcome the unique contributions that individuals can bring, and particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to Black, Asian, people who belong to a minority ethnic community, people who identify as LGBT+; and people with disabilities. Applicants will always be selected based on merit and ability.</em></p> <p>Please note that, due to the large volume of applications, the Postgraduate Scholarships Office will not enter into any correspondence regarding the progress of an application until the outcome is known.</p>
Applicants must normally hold a First Degree at undergraduate level equivalent to at least a UK First Class Honours degree and should be considered to be the 'best of the best' (eg successful applicants are likely to be in the top 5% of their MSc/MA and BSc/BA cohorts and already in receipt of prizes at national or international level). Applicants should either have graduated with the appropriate First Degree or be in their final year of study. <br /> <br /> To meet the First Class Degree equivalence, we require between 85% to 95% depending on the Chinese degree awarding institution. Please contact the Postgraduate Research Admissions team to check (contact details can be found below).<br /> <br /> Applicants whose first language is not English must have already met the University's English Language requirements by Monday 6 January 2025 or be a current undergraduate student in their final year or a current postgraduate student at a University in an English speaking country.
The University of Leeds requires the minimum English language entry requirement for postgraduate research study is an IELTS of 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in each component (reading, writing, listening and speaking) or equivalent. If the School/Faculty to which you have applied has a higher English language entry requirement you must meet this higher requirement. The test must be dated within two years of the start date of the course in order to be valid.
<p>For further information please contact the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/research-applying/doc/postgraduate-research-admissions-contacts" target="_blank">Postgraduate Research Admissions team</a> in the Faculty you intend to study OR <a href="mailto:pg_scholarships@leeds.ac.uk">Postgraduate Scholarships</a>.</p> <p>The China Scholarship Council-University of Leeds scholarship is <strong>available across all Faculties and subject areas.</strong></p>