CAS-ANSO Scholarship (Degree Program)

Benefits & funding

• Tuition is covered; UCAS lists the waived tuition as CNY 40,000 per academic year for doctoral study and CNY 30,000 per academic year for master’s study.
• Monthly living stipend of CNY 3,000 for master’s students; CNY 6,000 for PhD students before the qualifying examination and CNY 7,000 after passing it.
• Accommodation and comprehensive medical insurance are covered; UCAS budgets CNY 800 per person for the insurance.
• The CNY 600 application fee is waived for CAS-ANSO scholarship applicants at UCAS.
• A one-time international travel subsidy and a visa fee allowance; applicants already in China do not receive the travel subsidy. For ANSO-CAS-TWAS/UNESCO scholars these two items are sponsored by TWAS/UNESCO under its own financial arrangement.
• Funding runs for up to 36 months for a master’s degree and up to 48 months for a doctorate, with no extension.

Eligibility

• Applicants must not hold Chinese citizenship and must hold a valid foreign passport. The structured nationality field is left open because it can record only required nationalities, not an excluded one; applicants from every country outside China may apply.
• Age is set by birth-date cut-offs that differ by degree: in the 2026 cycle master’s applicants had to be born on or after 1 January 1996 and PhD applicants on or after 1 January 1991. No single structured age cap is used, because one number would misstate one of the two routes.
• Master’s applicants need a degree equivalent to a Chinese bachelor’s degree; doctoral applicants need a degree equivalent to a Chinese master’s degree.
• Applicants must be proficient in English or Chinese. UCAS accepts an IELTS or TOEFL result or other proof of English proficiency, and requires HSK Level 5 with at least 180 points for Chinese-instructed programs.
• Applicants currently pursuing a degree at a Chinese university or institution are not eligible, and scholars may not take up other assignments during the scholarship period.
• Applying to both UCAS and USTC in the same cycle leads to disqualification; each applicant chooses one host.
• Applicants must meet the host university’s general admission standards for international students, including its good-character and good-health requirements.
• Within the ANSO-CAS-TWAS/UNESCO category, awards go to PhD applicants from developing countries, 10 places are prioritized for climate-related research, and non-exclusive consideration is extended to applicants from Least Developed Countries and to women.

Application process

1. 1
   Choose one host institution, either UCAS or USTC, and identify a program and research field offered there.
2. 2
   Register on that host’s online admission system for international students and follow the current call for master’s or doctoral degree programs.
3. 3
   Complete the application and select the CAS-ANSO Scholarship option in the system; doctoral applicants from developing countries may also tick the ANSO-CAS-TWAS/UNESCO box.
4. 4
   Upload the required documents, which at UCAS include a CV, passport copies, degree certificates, transcripts, reference letters, a motivation letter and proof of English proficiency.
5. 5
   Make sure referees submit their letters before the same deadline, which applies to applicants and referees alike.
6. 6
   Wait for the host university to notify the result through its application system or by email.

Program timeline

1. The 2026 call for applications opened.

   Oct 15, 2025

2. Deadline for applicants and referees, Beijing time.

   Jan 31, 2026

3. June 2026

   ANSO announced that evaluation of the 2026 cycle was complete; UCAS and USTC notify candidates through their own systems or by email.

4. Awardees begin their studies.

   Autumn 2026

5. 2027 cycle

   Not yet published as of this write-up; the previous call opened in October.