Around 120 scholars enrol each year, and roughly 75% of them come from outside the Chinese Mainland. The fellowship reaches all of them: tuition, accommodation, a monthly stipend, one return flight and the cost of field study. No stipend figure is published.
The degree is a master's in China Studies, taught across philosophy and religion, economics and management, law and society, politics and international relations, literature and culture, and history and archaeology. Graduation takes at least 31 credits plus a written and orally defended thesis. Chinese language study is compulsory for every international scholar, and field studies to regions across the Mainland are built into the programme.
Two rules quietly decide who can apply. The international route requires non-Chinese citizenship and a valid passport, and someone who emigrated from the Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan needs passport or citizenship documents predating 30 April 2021 plus proof that Chinese nationality was cancelled. And Peking University does not allow enrolment in two degree programs at once, so a current Bachelor's student must expect the diploma by August of the enrolment year.
References are narrower than most schemes allow. Only full professors or associate professors count, and they must teach in the applicant's intended field of study.
Applicants from partner universities have an extra step before the portal opens to them: their home university runs an internal pre-selection, and the Academy application follows it.
English test scores have to arrive directly from the testing organisation, with the Academy named as recipient at booking time. The TOEFL institution code is C488, and the home, online and retake variants of the major tests are not accepted.
The admissions page was checked on 16 September 2026.