What is the Great Wall scholarship for China?
Unofficial answer · Sources checked
The Great Wall scholarship is the UNESCO/People's Republic of China (The Great Wall) Co-Sponsored Fellowships Programme, a Chinese Government Scholarship programme for students and scholars from developing countries who study at a selected number of Chinese universities as postgraduates or visiting scholars. It is not open to direct application: candidates apply through the National Commission for UNESCO of their home country, which nominates them, and only nominated applications are accepted by UNESCO. The 2026-2027 edition had a candidate deadline of 23 January 2026 and a nomination deadline of 10 February 2026; both are past and belong to that edition.
What the rules say
The UNESCO page for the 2026-2027 edition states that UNESCO and the Government of the People's Republic of China co-sponsor 75 fellowships, of which 27 vacancies were open for new recruitment to candidates from 135 developing Member States in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Europe and the Arab region. Candidates must be nationals of one of the invited Member States and must meet the age, language and academic requirements of the chosen programme, the admission requirements of the university they apply to, and be in good health both mentally and physically.
The fellowships cover two kinds of study: a one-year Visiting Scholar programme (as a General Scholar or a Senior Scholar), or a Master's or Doctoral degree programme with a duration of 2 to 5 years. Study programmes are taught in English or Chinese, subject to availability at the selected universities. The page's About section describes these places as being for the academic year 2025-2026, while the edition is labelled 2026-2027 with enrolment in September 2026; the pages read for this page do not explain the difference.
The eligibility requirements set by the UNESCO page are summarised below. Age is measured at the time of enrolment in September 2026, and the Chinese requirement applies only where the chosen programme is taught in Chinese.
| Route | Qualification held | Age limit | Chinese level if Chinese-taught |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Scholar (one year) | High school diploma | Not older than 45 | HSK Level 3 |
| Senior Scholar (one year) | Master's degree, or associate professor position or above | Not older than 50 | HSK Level 3 |
| Master's degree | Bachelor's degree | Not older than 35 | HSK Level 4 |
| Doctoral degree | Master's degree | Not older than 40 | HSK Level 4 |
English proficiency is required for all routes. The page states that candidates for English-taught programmes should submit an international English certificate such as IELTS or TOEFL, and that a candidate who cannot provide one must submit a UNESCO Certificate of Language Knowledge (Annex IV), signed and stamped by a certified language institution or tutor; candidates for Chinese-taught programmes must submit valid HSK score reports as required by the programme.
Other documentary conditions are also stated on the page. A pre-admission letter is mandatory for the current edition, and may take the form of a pre-admission notice from the university's international student admission department or an invitation letter from the university or a professor. Documents must be in English or Chinese, with notarised translations where the originals are in another language; notarised photocopies of the highest diploma are required, and prospective graduates may instead provide official proof that their studies are complete. The Foreigner Physical Examination Form must be completed in English, cover every listed item, and carry the physician's signature, the hospital stamp and a sealed photograph; the result is valid for 6 months. Applicants must use an ordinary passport, not a service or diplomatic one.
How nomination works
The application runs through the National Commission for UNESCO of the candidate's home country, and the UNESCO page states that, because of UNESCO's intergovernmental character, individual applications are not accepted and universities or other entities cannot nominate candidates. A candidate reads the Application Guidelines, contacts the National Commission for the national procedure, obtains a pre-admission letter, submits the online application in the Chinese Government Scholarship Information System (campuschina.org) using Agency Number 00001 and Programme Category "Type A Application" — which brings up UNESCO as the matched agency name — then submits the form and supporting documents to the National Commission by 23 January 2026. Once the National Commission informs the candidate of nomination, the candidate sends the form and documents to the programme mailbox given on the page, thegreatwall@unesco.org; the National Commission then submits the nomination letter and documents to UNESCO by 10 February 2026.
The Chinese Government Scholarship Application Guide published by the China Scholarship Council lists the Great Wall Program in its scholarship programmes table with the target group "students and scholars from developing countries", the supporting categories postgraduates, general scholars and senior scholars, and the National Commission for UNESCO in the home country as the application receiving agency.
Who decides
Selection of fellowship recipients is made by the concerned Chinese universities and approved by the Chinese authorities and UNESCO, taking gender equality and diversity into consideration; the National Commissions are then informed by UNESCO. Successful candidates receive an official award letter, and the page states that a candidate who has received no notification from UNESCO by 15 August 2026 should consider the application unsuccessful. Under the current programme framework the fellowship cannot be renewed or extended under the same programme, though the page records no objection to a fellow continuing studies in China with other funding. Neither UNESCO nor the Government of China provides financial support or accommodation for the spouse or dependents of a fellow.
What the official pages do not say
The UNESCO page read for this page does not state what the fellowship pays for — tuition, accommodation, a living allowance, insurance or travel are not listed in its text — and the annexes it links, including the Application Guidelines, the list of invited Member States, the system instructions and the two forms, were not read for this page. Ask the National Commission for UNESCO of your country what the award covers. The page also does not name the selected universities or the fields of study offered; it directs candidates to the China Scholarship Council website for those, and the CSC guide read for this page gives only the programme's target group and categories. No figures are given for how many candidates a country may nominate or how many of the 27 vacancies go to any one region.
Related questions
Can I apply for a bachelor's degree under the Great Wall Programme?
No. The UNESCO page states that undergraduate (bachelor's) degree studies are not available under this programme. A candidate holding a high school diploma or above can instead apply to the General Scholar Programme, a one-year visiting programme at undergraduate level.
Do I need an HSK certificate to apply?
Only if your programme is taught in Chinese: HSK Level 3 for the General or Senior Scholar visiting programmes, and HSK Level 4 for a Master's or Doctoral degree programme. English-taught programmes require proof of English proficiency, either an international test certificate such as IELTS or TOEFL, or the UNESCO Certificate of Language Knowledge (Annex IV).
Can I apply to UNESCO directly?
No. Because UNESCO is intergovernmental, applications must be channelled through the National Commission for UNESCO of your country of origin, and only applications nominated by that Commission are accepted. Individual applications, and nominations by universities or other bodies, are not considered.
Can the fellowship be extended after it ends?
Not under this programme. The page states that renewal or extension under the same UNESCO fellowships programme is not possible, and advises a fellow who wishes to study further in China with other funding to consult the host university and the China Scholarship Council as early as possible.
Sources
- UNESCO/The People's Republic of China - The Great Wall Co-Sponsored Fellowships Programme 2026-2027 — UNESCO (unesco.org)
- Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship — China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
Checked 10 October 2026
This page is an unofficial summary by studyinchina.chat: it is not legal or immigration advice, it is not published by or affiliated with UNESCO, the China Scholarship Council or any government body, and the official text and the instructions of the National Commission for UNESCO, university or authority handling your case prevail if they differ.