What is the Confucius Institute scholarship?
Unofficial answer · Sources checked
In the current official guidelines, the award is the International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship, established by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), and Confucius Institutes are listed as one of the Recommending Institutions that may put forward outstanding students and in-service Chinese language teachers for it. The 2025 guidelines do not use the name "Confucius Institute Scholarship". The Campus China scholarship index still lists "Confucius Institute Scholarships" as one of its category filters.
What the rules say
The document read for this page is the Application Guidelines for International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025, published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation. Its preamble states that CLEC set up the Scholarship for eligible Chinese language teachers outside China, and that applicants go on to study international Chinese language education and related programs at Chinese universities, called Host Institutions in the text. The guidelines are dated January 2025 and cover programs starting between July 2025 and March 2026.
Recommending Institutions, in the preamble's list, are: Confucius Institutes; independent Confucius Classrooms; selected HSK test centers; foreign educational institutions; Chinese language teacher training programs and Chinese departments at foreign universities; professional associations for Chinese language teaching; and Chinese embassies and consulates abroad. Section V states that Recommending and Host Institutions provide consulting, recommendation and enrollment services under the Guidelines.
Eligibility, under section I, requires an applicant to:
- be a non-Chinese citizen;
- be friendly to China, have no criminal record, and abide by Chinese laws and regulations and the rules of the Host Institution;
- be in good physical and mental health and in good academic and behavioral standing;
- be interested in Chinese language education and related work;
- be aged between 16 and 35 on September 1, 2025 — the maximum age for in-service Chinese teachers may be extended to 45, while applicants for a Bachelor's degree scholarship are, under most circumstances, younger than 25.
How the application ran
Section III states that online registration opened on February 20, 2025 on the International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship website at http://www.chinese.cn, where applicants could search for Recommending and Host Institutions, submit materials online and track the process. Successful applicants confirm with the Host Institution and register on the date given in the Letter of Admission.
| Program start | Applicant deadline (Beijing Time) | Review completed by |
|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | April 15 | April 25 |
| September 2025 | May 15 | May 25 |
| December 2025 | September 15 | September 25 |
| March 2026 | October 31 | November 10 |
All four deadlines belong to that 2025 intake and have passed. CLEC entrusts an expert panel with the review, and decisions are based on HSK and HSKK levels and scores, geographical distribution and other factors; results are announced about three months before the program starts.
Section VI adds two conditions worth noting. In principle, applicants who received a similar scholarship within three years are not eligible for the One-Semester Study Program or the One-Year Study Program. Degree students are subject to the annual assessment under the Annual Assessment Procedures of the Scholarship.
What the official pages do not say
Neither document read for this page states that the scholarship was renamed, or gives a date for any change of name; they simply use different names for the award. The sections of the 2025 guidelines read for this page do not state any stipend amount, tuition coverage or other money figure, and the Campus China scholarship index does not state amounts or deadlines either. For curriculum, course listings and enrollment matters, the guidelines direct applicants to contact the Host Institutions.
Related questions
Who can recommend me for the scholarship?
The preamble lists Confucius Institutes, independent Confucius Classrooms, selected HSK test centers, foreign educational institutions, Chinese language teacher training programs and Chinese departments at foreign universities, professional associations for Chinese language teaching, and Chinese embassies and consulates abroad as Recommending Institutions.
How old can I be and still apply?
Section I sets the age between 16 and 35 on September 1, 2025, with the maximum extended to 45 for in-service Chinese teachers, and with Bachelor's degree applicants under 25 under most circumstances.
Can the scholarship be taken away after I am admitted?
Yes, in the cases listed in section VI: failing the pre-enrollment medical examination, withdrawing before completing the program, failing to register at the university without prior permission, or suspending studies disqualify a student from the scholarship.
Sources
- Application Guidelines for International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025 — Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC, chinese.cn)
- Scholarships index (category filter) — China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship application website — Center for Language Education and Cooperation
Checked 10 October 2026
This page is an unofficial summary of the official pages named above, is not legal or immigration advice, and is not published by or affiliated with any of the bodies named; where they differ, the official text and the instructions of the university, embassy or exit-entry office handling your case prevail.