Asian Future Leaders Scholarship Program — Bachelor's Scholarship

The Asian Future Leaders Scholarship Program is run by Bai Xian Asia Institute, with Shanghai Jiao Tong University conducting its own first-stage selection. It supports eligible students from East and Southeast Asia who study at SJTU in Shanghai.

For the 2026 SJTU cycle, applicants were either second- or third-year full-time undergraduates already at SJTU or admitted students committed to entering a full-time SJTU master’s program. The 2026 round is closed, and no exact opening date for the next cycle has been announced.

Benefits & funding

The scholarship provides up to US$25,000 per academic year and up to US$50,000 over no more than two years.
SJTU states that funds are paid in RMB to the recipient’s bank account in monthly installments by semester; recipients pay tuition and related fees themselves.
The mandatory BXAI Summer Program lasts up to three weeks, with its travel, accommodation, local transport, and meal costs covered separately by BXAI.
SJTU enrichment activities may include a short cultural placement, academic exchange, and a Bai Xian course paper guided by university experts.

Eligibility

Applicants in the 2026 SJTU route had to be international students from East or Southeast Asian countries or regions.
Eligible applicants were either full-time SJTU undergraduates in year two or three, or students admitted to and committed to entering a full-time SJTU master’s program.
Applicants needed strong Chinese and English proficiency, alignment with the missions of SJTU and Bai Xian, and a demonstrated commitment to intercultural exchange and volunteer service.
Recipients had to join the BXAI Summer Program and related activities and could not hold another international-student or Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan scholarship at the same time.

Can you apply?

Here's who can apply

Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.

Eligible nationalities
Brunei · Cambodia · Hong Kong · Indonesia · Japan · Laos · Macau · Malaysia · Mongolia · Myanmar · North Korea · Philippines
+ 6 more
Singapore · South Korea · Taiwan · Thailand · Timor-Leste · Vietnam
Education required
Bachelor Enrolled · Bachelor

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Application process

1
Confirm eligibility under one of the two SJTU study-status routes.
2
Prepare the latest undergraduate transcript; first-year graduate students also provide their graduate transcript.
3
Obtain at least one English recommendation letter signed by a professor and printed on official institutional letterhead.
4
Prepare Chinese and English versions of the CV and personal statement, plus the completed AFLSP application and personal-information forms.
5
Name and compress the files using SJTU’s stated format, then email the package to the address in the official notice by the deadline.
6
Shortlisted applicants attend an SJTU Bai Xian Committee interview before preliminary nominees are sent to the BXAI Academic Committee for final selection.

Program timeline

Applications opened.
March 18, 2026
Applications closed at 24:00.
April 30, 2026
The SJTU Bai Xian Committee interviewed candidates and selected preliminary nominees.
Early May 2026
Preliminary nominees were sent to the BXAI Academic Committee for final selection.
Late May 2026