China Scholarship Council (CSC) Information for Prospective Students

PhD

If you are interested in applying for a full PhD program at the University of Alberta, most departments will require that you first find a U of A professor who will agree to supervise your potential PhD program. Once you have done that, you can then apply online. Please check the website of the department you want to apply to, and confirm their application requirements and procedures.

You will need to submit your online application to the UofA before March, to ensure enough time to review and make a decision on your application before the CSC application deadline of March 31. Please ensure you indicate on your application if you intend to apply to CSC. 

If are you admitted to a PhD program, you will need to include the following documents in your application to CSC:

  1. A standard admission offer from the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (GPS). This letter must include a statement that explains that if the student receives a CSC scholarship, the U of A will provide scholarship funding to cover his/her tuition fees for the first four years of the PhD program (GPS will automatically include this in the letter if the department informs them you are a CSC applicant, so be sure to mention you are applying to CSC in your online application).
  2. A letter from the applicant's supervisor at the U of A, containing the following:
    1. The applicant's name, date of birth, and home university in China
    2. The name of the supervisor at the U of A
    3. The proposed start and end dates (month/year) for the PhD program. For the end date, providing an average length of time for completion of the degree will be sufficient.
    4. The signature of the supervisor
  3. A study plan, in English, minimum 1000 words, signed by the supervisor at the U of A (the applicant may write the study plan).
  4. A 1-2 page CV from the supervisor at the U of A, summarizing education, employment history, current research, and publications (last five years). The supervisor must sign it.
  5. If you are approved for the CSC scholarship, you may then use your U of A admission letter and your CSC funding letter to apply for your visa/study permit to come to Canada.

Please email a copy of your CSC scholarship letter to uaissp@ualberta.ca in order to have your U of A scholarship applied to your tuition. Your scholarship will end at the same time your CSC living stipend payments will end, up to a maximum of 4 years. Please note, the U of A tuition payment will NOT cover the cost of some undergraduate courses, auditing some courses, and no Spring/Summer courses other than thesis registration.

Visiting PhD students

If you are a current PhD student in China who wants to come to U of A to do research for your PhD, you will need to find a U of A professor who will agree to supervise you. You will then need to provide the following documents for your application to CSC by their deadline of March 31st:

  1. A letter from the prospective supervisor at the U of A, containing the following:
    1. The applicant's name, date of birth, and home university in China
    2. The name of the supervisor at the U of A
    3. The proposed start and end dates (month/year)
    4. The research area.
    5. Confirmation that the supervisor is satisfied with the applicant’s level of English.
    6. The signature of the supervisor
  2. A study/research plan, in English, minimum 1000 words, signed by the supervisor at the U of A (the applicant may write the study plan).
  3. A 1-2 page CV from the supervisor at the U of A, summarizing education, employment history, current research, and publications (last five years). The supervisor must sign it.

Please DO NOT apply to U of A as a student, as CSC PhD visitors will have ‘academic visitor’ status and will not have formal registration. No tuition will be charged as an academic visitor.

If you are approved for CSC, please provide a copy of your CSC funding confirmation letter to your U of A supervisor, who will then proceed with the process of formally inviting you through our Academic Visitors Office.

Postdoctoral scholars

If you want to come to the University of Alberta as a postdoctoral scholar, you will need to find a U of A professor who will agree to supervise you. You will then need to provide the following documents for your application to CSC by their deadline of April 30th:

  1. A letter from the prospective supervisor at the U of A, containing the following:
    1. The applicant's name, date of birth, and home university in China
    2. The name of the supervisor at the U of A
    3. The proposed start and end dates (month/year)
    4. The research area
    5. Confirmation that the supervisor is satisfied with the applicant’s level of English
    6. The signature of the supervisor
  2. A study/research plan, in English, minimum 1000 words, signed by the supervisor at the U of A (the applicant may write the study plan).
  3. A 1-2 page CV from the supervisor at the U of A, summarizing education, employment history, current research, and publications (last five years). The supervisor must sign it.

If you are approved for CSC, please provide a copy of your CSC funding confirmation letter to your U of A supervisor, who will then proceed with the process of formally inviting you.

Please note, the CSC scholarship does not meet the minimum stipend requirement for postdoctoral scholars at U of A, so the U of A supervisor/department must agree to provide additional top-up funding.

Contact Us

For further information, please contact uaissp@ualberta.ca.