1. Check the eligibility criteria

Make sure you fulfil all of the eligibility criteria, including the China Scholarship Council (CSC) criteria before you apply.

2. Apply for a PhD programme

Apply directly to the University for a postgraduate research programme in early December 2025. Exact dates will be published soon.

You must:

• select 'CSC-UoB joint PhD scholarship' from the funding source drop-down list in the application form.
• enter '100%' as the funding proportion.

Make sure you have a valid language certificate (if required by your course) before the application deadline.

3. Receive a PhD offer and a scholarship nomination

If you receive a PhD offer from the University, you are considered for a scholarship nomination.

Successful candidates will receive a formal scholarship nomination letter around February 2026.

4. Submit your application to the China Scholarship Council

Apply directly to the China Scholarship Council between March and early April 2026. Exact dates to be confirmed with CSC and published in due course.

Required documents

To apply, you will need:

• your formal scholarship nomination letter
• your offer of study letter.

The list of required documents for Chinese domestic applicants and overseas Chinese applicants is available on the CSC website. For more information, read the CSC Q and A document.

5. Find out if you are successful

The CSC will select successful scholarship recipients in June 2026. The University will then contact all candidates with the results.