Application Guide for 2026 CSC Scholarship-High Level Graduate Programs

Chinese Government Scholarship-High Level Graduate Programs in Central University of Finance and Economics (hereafter CUFE), sponsored by China’s Ministry of Education, is a full scholarship that provides funding for international students studying full-time in China.

CUFE as one of China's key universities under the direct leadership of the Ministry of Education, enjoys the patronage of both the central and municipal governments, including the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, and Beijing municipal government. It is listed in Project 211 and also among the first universities to enter Project 985 Innovation Platform, which aims to enhance the strength of double first-class disciplines and the creation of a number of world-class disciplinary clusters.

CUFE is selected into the Double First Class Initiative, a national project with the goal of fostering world standards in China's universities, whose applied economics is rated A+ by the Ministry of Education in the fourth round of national academic evaluation.

CUFE is honored as “cradle of experts in the field of finance and management sectors in China”, which has trained over 190,000 high-quality talents of all levels for the national economic construction and social development. It is the first university of finance and economics created by China’s Central Government shortly after the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

CUFE has 16 first-level disciplines of academic master’s programs, 21 professional master’s programs, and 7 first-level disciplines of PhD programs.

CUFE is located in Beijing, the capital of China, with convenient transportation to downtown areas.

2026 Offered Programs

*Professional master’s programs

Eligibility

1.Non-Chinese citizens with a bachelor/master’s degree or above in good physical and mental health, generally under 35 years old (for Master’s)/40 years old (for PhD).

2.The requirements set by the Document No. 12 (2020) of Ministry of Education of the PRC should be met for CUFE applicants as well.

Application Period

November 1, 2025–March 6, 2026

Application Schedule (Tentative)

March 6  Application closed.

March 11  Initial document review.

March 12–22  Academic review, online interview and submission of the proposed admission list.

March 23–25 Provisionally admitted students should upload the pre-admission notice to the CSC system.

March 31 Interview results released and the information of students to be admitted should be reported to CSC.

Mid April  CSC expert review.

Late April  CSC scholarship final results released.

Application Procedure

1.Submit CSC online application

Log in to the Chinese Government Scholarship Information System (http://studyinchina.csc.edu.cn/), download the completed CSC application form. Please note: select Type B, CUFE Agency number:10034.

2.Submit CUFE online application.

Sign in to CUFE International Student Service System (https://cufe.17gz.org/).

3.Pay 600 RMB application fee.

Please note that payments are accepted only via the online payment system in the online application system, on which WeChat, AliPay, and foreign credit cards can be used, while wire transfers are NOT accepted. Please refer to the payment guide (https://sice.cufe.edu.cn/info/1064/5374.htm).

4.Initial document review.

5. Academic review，online interview and submission of the proposed admission list.

6. Provisionally admitted Students should upload the pre-admission notice to the CSC system.

7.The list of CSC scholarship candidates should be reported to CSC.

8.CSC scholarship final results released.

List of Application Documents

1.CSC Application Form.

2.CUFE Application form (automatically generated in the CUFE International Student Service System). Please note a scanned signature needs to be uploaded.

3.Ordinary passport with personal information.

4.The bachelor’s degree/master’s degree or a certificate stating student status, expected graduation date, and school performance.

5.The academic transcripts.

6.Language proficiency certificate.

Programs offered in Chinese: HSK-5 210 or above; Programs offered in English: IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, DUOLINGO or other standardized test results or other proof of English proficiency.

7.Study plan (about 800-1000 words).

8.Master’s thesis or other thesis paper (only for the PhD applicants).

9.2 recommendation letters (the recommender must be an associate professor or a scholar with a corresponding title or above).

10.The Foreigner Physical Examination Form.

11.The Non-Criminal Record (issued by the local police office).

Important Reminders on Application Documents

All application documents must be in Chinese or English; documents not in Chinese or English must be notarized and translated into Chinese or English. Application documents and application fee will NOT be returned regardless of admission results.

All documents submitted must be true, accurate, and complete. CUFE reserves the right to withdraw the admission notice or expel enrolled students otherwise.

Evaluation

Applicants who have passed academic document review will be shortlisted for online interviews. The interview time will be sent by e-mail. Therefore, the email address left in the application system must be the applicant’s personal email, authentic and permanently valid.

Admission

According to the interview results, CUFE should select the best candidates and report to the China Scholarship Council, which will organize the expert review.

CUFE will officially release CSC final results after the expert review.

Review of Documents

After the admission results are released, CUFE will conduct another round of document review. If violations are found, the university reserves the right to withdraw the admission notice and cancel the applicant's admission.

Registration

1.All scholarship students should purchase health insurance before entry into China, Please refer to the Insurance Payment Instruction for details (https://sice.cufe.edu.cn/info/1088/7369.htm).

2.All scholarship students must register during the time specified in the admission notice. Students who fail to register by the deadline without justifiable reasons will be regarded as giving up the admission. Registration time: early September 2026 (Please refer to the admission notice for the registration date).

Evaluation and Re-evaluation of Admission Qualifications

CUFE will evaluate and re-evaluate student admission qualifications upon and after registration. If the admission notice, personal information, or other documents are found to be inaccurate during the evaluations or if fraud and other similar circumstances exist, the student will be disqualified and admission will be cancelled.

Contact Us

CUFE Admissions Office for International Students

Address: Room 1011 CUFE Tower, No. 39 South College Road, Haidian, Beijing, China

Postal Code: 100081

Tel: +8610-62288286

E-mail: lxs@cufe.edu.cn

Admission Website: https://sice.cufe.edu.cn/admissions/index.htm