General scholar and senior scholar: two Chinese Government Scholarship categories
Unofficial entry · Sources checked
In the Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship, a general scholar is an applicant who holds a high school diploma or higher and applies for a general scholar program. A senior scholar is an applicant who holds a master's degree or is an associate professor or above and applies for a senior scholar program. Both are supporting categories of the scholarship, published by the China Scholarship Council.
See also Universities and degrees on this site.
Definition
Section II(I) states that Chinese Government Scholarship programs sponsor "undergraduates, postgraduates, general and senior scholars." Section IV, items 5 and 6, set the qualification and age limit for each category.
What the official text says
The table below sets out the lines that section IV, section III and section VI give for each category.
| General scholar | Senior scholar | |
|---|---|---|
| Qualification held (section IV) | High school diploma (or higher) (item 5) | Master's degree holder, or associate professor (or above) (item 6) |
| Age limit (section IV) | Under the age of 45 (item 5) | Under the age of 50 (item 6) |
| HSK line for Chinese-taught programmes (section IV) | HSK (Level 3), excluding Chinese language majors (item 8) | HSK (Level 3) (item 9) |
| Stipend line (section III, item 3) | Master's students/general scholars: CNY 3,000 per month | Doctoral students/senior scholars: CNY 3,500 per month |
Section IV, item 11, sets a condition for programmes taught in a language other than Chinese. The applicant must meet the admission requirements of the university of preference in terms of language proficiency and academic ability, among others.
Section VI, item 5, requires applicants for master's, doctoral, general scholar and senior scholar programmes taught in Chinese to submit a valid HSK score report that meets the corresponding Chinese language proficiency requirements.
Section VI, item 8, asks for a study or research plan written in Chinese or in English, of no less than 500 words/characters for scholars.
Section VI, item 9, asks for two recommendation letters in Chinese or in English from professors or associate professors. The item applies to applicants for a postgraduate program or for academic education as a senior scholar. It names senior scholars. It does not name general scholars.
Section I(I), the Bilateral Program, is open to undergraduates, postgraduates, general and senior scholars.
Section I(IV), the Student Exchange Program, is designed to support general and senior scholars for a training session of no more than 12 months.
The table of Scholarship Programs in section I(III) lists supporting categories row by row:
| Programme | Supporting categories named in the row | Application receiving agency |
|---|---|---|
| Great Wall Program | Postgraduates; general scholars; senior scholars | National Commission for UNESCO in the home country |
| EU Program | Undergraduates; postgraduates; general scholars; senior scholars | Office for Education and Culture, Mission of the PRC to the EU |
| AUN Program | Postgraduates | AUN Secretariat |
| PIF Program | Undergraduates; postgraduates; general scholars; senior scholars | Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat |
| WMO Program | Undergraduates; postgraduates | WMO |
Related terms
- Chinese Government Scholarship
- HSK
- Application documents
- Bilateral Program
- Student Exchange Program
- Designated Scholarship Programs
- Stipend
Sources
- Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship, China Scholarship Council (Campus China)
Checked 11 October 2026.
This entry is an unofficial summary. It is not legal or immigration advice, and it is not published by the bodies named. The official text and the instructions of the body handling your case prevail if they differ.