What is the MOFCOM scholarship?

The MOFCOM Scholarship-CSC Program is a postgraduate scholarship established by China's Ministry of Commerce and administered by the China Scholarship Council for students from developing countries. It supports English-taught Master's study of two to three years or doctoral study of three years, and winners are exempted from tuition, given free on-campus accommodation, a stipend, insurance and international travel under the enrollment guide. Applicants first obtain the approval and recommendation of the relevant department of their own government and then submit as that department requires; where the home government allows it, they submit directly to the Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office of the Chinese Embassy in their country. The enrollment guide prints no deadline date and directs applicants to ask the application receiving authority for each year's deadline.

What the enrollment guide says

The enrollment guide is the MOFCOM SCHOLARSHIP-CSC Program (Enrollment Guide), published by the China Scholarship Council on Campus China. It opens by describing Degree Education Programs sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of China as designed to foster high-end business officials and managerial personnel for recipient countries, offering one-year and two-year master programs as well as three-year doctoral programs in applied fields, fully conducted in English. It then introduces the MOFCOM Scholarship-CSC Program itself as set up by the Ministry of Commerce to further strengthen communication and cooperation with other countries and develop talent for developing countries; from 2015 it mainly sponsors young and middle-aged talents from recipient countries to pursue postgraduate degree education in China, with the China Scholarship Council entrusted to administer the scholarship.

The rules are set out in the guide's named sections.

Section I — Supporting categories, duration of scholarship and instruction language. The guide states that the MOFCOM Scholarship-CSC Program supports a Master's program for 2–3 years or a PhD program for 3 years, and that scholarship winners must register for an English-taught program.

Program	Length the scholarship supports	Stipend stated per year
Master's	2–3 years	36,000 RMB
PhD	3 years	42,000 RMB

Section II — Where & When to Apply. The Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office (ECCO) of the Chinese Embassy in your country will be open for application. The guide tells applicants to consult the application receiving authority for the deadline of each year.

Section III — Eligibility. To be eligible, applicants must:

• Be a citizen of a developing country other than the People's Republic of China, and be under the age of 45.
• Be healthy physically and mentally, with a physical examination report issued by a local public hospital, and not have any disease or condition listed: (a) diseases prohibited by Chinese Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Laws and Regulations; (b) other severe chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, cardio-cerebrovascular disease or diabetes, psychological diseases, or other infectious diseases that may harm public health; (c) recovery period after major surgery or acute disease attacks; (d) severe physical disability; (e) pregnancy.
• Have at least three years' working experience, hold a bachelor's degree when applying for a master's program, and hold a master's degree when applying for a doctoral program.
• Meet the professional-category condition: be a public official of division level and above (or corresponding level) in government sectors, senior management staff of organizations and enterprises, or an academic backbone of a university or research institution. The guide adds that serving staff whose educational background or working experience is relevant to the applied program are preferred.
• Have sufficient English for the academic requirements of the program, equivalent to IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 80 and above level.
• Show potential for professional development and be committed to promoting friendly exchanges and cooperation between the host country and China.
• Not be studying in China and not be admitted to other scholarship programs provided by the Chinese government.

Section IV — Scholarship Coverage. The guide lists the following:

1. Exemption from tuition fee, teaching material fee, research and survey fee, allowance of English-taught program, and dissertation guidance fee.
2. Free on-campus accommodation.
3. Stipend stated under "Monthly stipend": 36,000 RMB per year per master student and 42,000 RMB per year per PhD student.
4. A one-off resettlement fee of 3,000 RMB per person.
5. Free medical insurance for international students.
6. One-time round-trip international airfare for all students — the first flight to China after enrollment and the flight back to the home country upon graduation — plus a maximum of "n−1" round-trip international airfares for home visits, where "n" is the length of schooling year set when the student was enrolled by the program and is at most three, taken one time per year at the end of an academic year.
7. Compulsory annual review for all students; those who pass the review may continue to enjoy the full scholarship in the next year.
8. Other expenses managed and used by the Ministry of Commerce or the universities as a whole and not distributed to students. The Ministry of Commerce provides financial assistance only within the enrolled academic duration, and students who postpone their graduation will not receive continuing sponsorship.

Who decides and where to apply

Administration of the scholarship is entrusted to the China Scholarship Council, and the program is set up by China's Ministry of Commerce, according to the guide's introductory paragraphs. Section II names the Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office of the Chinese Embassy in the applicant's country as the office that will be open for application and calls it the application receiving authority. Section V sets the order. Applicants "shall obtain the approval and recommendation from the relevant department of host country before applying" and then submit according to that department's requirements. Where the home government allows applicants to submit directly to the Embassy of China, they obtain a permission or recommendation letter from that government and hand the original, with the other application documents, to the Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office. The home government's department asks that office in writing for an official recommendation letter, and the guide states that applications without the recommendation of the Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office will not be considered. Section VI then says each applicant can choose one major and three preferred universities out of the 26 designated universities, and that the China Scholarship Council places each applicant in one university only, on the basis of their choice and the universities' requirements. For the deadline, ask the Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office of the Chinese Embassy in your country.

What the official page does not say

Section II of the guide states no academic year and gives no deadline date; it refers applicants to the receiving authority for each year's deadline instead. On timing, Section VII says scholarship winners receive the admission package from the Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office by the end of August and must register at the host university before the deadline, "which is usually September". Sections V to VII give no dates for the stages of review between submission and that admission package, and Section V states that no explanation will be given on the enrollment result.

Related questions

Who can apply for the MOFCOM scholarship?

It is aimed at citizens of developing countries other than the People's Republic of China who are under 45, pass a physical examination, have at least three years' working experience and the required degree for the level applied to, meet the stated English level, fit one of the professional categories, show development potential, and are not already studying in China or holding another Chinese government scholarship, as listed in Section III of the enrollment guide.

How long does the scholarship fund study?

Section I states that the MOFCOM Scholarship-CSC Program supports a Master's program for 2–3 years or a PhD program for 3 years, and that winners must register for an English-taught program. Section IV adds that funding runs only for the enrolled academic duration and that students who postpone graduation receive no continuing sponsorship.

What expenses does the scholarship cover?

Section IV lists exemption from tuition and several academic fees, free on-campus accommodation, the annual stipend amounts, a one-off resettlement fee of 3,000 RMB, free medical insurance, and the specified international airfares for arrival, graduation return and home visits. Continuation of the full scholarship depends on passing the compulsory annual review.

Where is the application submitted and what is the deadline?

Section II says the Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office of the Chinese Embassy in the applicant's country will be open for application. Section V adds the step before it: applicants first obtain the approval and recommendation of the relevant department of their own government and submit as that department requires, and they hand documents to the Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office themselves only where their government allows direct submission. The enrollment guide prints no deadline date and instructs applicants to consult that authority for the deadline of each year.

Sources

• MOFCOM SCHOLARSHIP-CSC Program (Enrollment Guide) — China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)

Checked 10 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary, is not legal or immigration advice, is not published by or affiliated with the China Scholarship Council or any ministry, embassy, scholarship body or university, and the official enrollment guide and the instructions of the university, embassy or exit-entry office handling your case prevail if they differ.