This is the scholarship most people still call the Confucius Institute Scholarship. It is run by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, and it funds study at Chinese universities for people heading into Chinese language teaching.
Six categories sit under one name. Doctoral, master's and Bachelor's degrees in International Chinese Language Education, for a maximum of four, two and four academic years. A one-year programme of up to eleven months, a one-semester programme of up to five months, and a four-week programme. Online one-year and one-semester programmes exist too, but they cover tuition only.
The money differs by category. RMB 3,500 a month for doctoral students, RMB 3,000 for master's students, and RMB 2,500 for undergraduates and for one-year and one-semester students. Four-week students get no living allowance at all. On top of that: tuition, a free on-campus room that is usually a double, and medical insurance at RMB 800 a year for anyone staying longer than a year.
Moving off campus converts the room into cash, at RMB 1,000 a month for doctoral students and RMB 700 for everyone else, but it needs the host institution's approval first.
HSK and HSKK scores are the gate, and they rise with the level. Level 6 at 200 plus HSKK Advanced at 60 for the doctorate. Level 5 at 210 plus HSKK Intermediate for the master's. Level 4 at 210 for the Bachelor's. Scores must be within their two-year validity when submitted.
Nothing moves without a Recommending Institution. A Confucius Institute, an independent Confucius Classroom, a selected HSK test centre, a foreign educational institution, a Chinese department or teacher training programme at a foreign university, a professional association for Chinese language teaching, or a Chinese embassy has to put the applicant forward, and its head signs the reference letter.
Age runs 16 to 35 on 1 September, with two adjustments: in-service Chinese teachers can go to 45, and Bachelor's applicants are usually expected to be under 25.
Deadlines follow the intake rather than the calendar year. 15 May for September starts, 31 October for March, 15 April for July and 15 September for December, all Beijing time, with results about three months before the programme begins.
Two rules catch repeat applicants and degree holders. Anyone who has received a similar scholarship within the past three years cannot in principle take the one-semester or one-year programme. And doctoral and master's candidates who can produce an employment contract with a teaching institution for after their studies are given priority.
The 2024 application guidelines, which are the current English version published by CLEC, were checked on 16 September 2026. CLEC's list of host institutions for 2026 was live at the same time.