Chinese nationals have the opportunity to apply for funding to pursue their PhD studies abroad through the China Scholarship Council (CSC) for a maximum of 48 months. UMCG supervisors interested in hosting a prospective full CSC PhD student should secure acceptance from the Graduate School of Medical Sciences (GSMS) for the candidate's application to the CSC.

General notes:

• The GSMS is the only authoritative body responsible for admitting CSC scholarship candidates to its PhD program. Applicants who have not followed the procedure outlined on these webpages will not be admitted. This also means that candidates who have received a Letter of Acceptance that was not issued by the GSMS, will not be admitted to the PhD program, even if they have been selected by the CSC to receive a PhD scholarship.
• All UMCG supervisors must follow the procedure outlined on the CSC supervisors page. Note that for call year 2025, there is a pre-selection process if you want your candidate to be eligible for a GSMS-funded “Top-Up”. Deadline: 17 February 2025
• All candidates must follow the procedure outlined on the CSC: Prospective PhD Students webpage.
• This procedure is only applicable to prospective “full PhD” applicants to the CSC, who will obtain their PhD degree solely from the University of Groningen. Applicants for CSC “Sandwich PhDs,” as well as those seeking other Chinese (i.e., non-CSC) or international scholarships, should follow the process outlined here.

For Supervisors

The 2025 CSC application procedure for full PhD applicants is slightly different from previous years. The GSMS will issue Letters of Acceptance to a maximum of forty CSC applicants who will be eligible to receive a GSMS-funded Top-Up, should their CSC application be successful. Additional Letters of Acceptance may be issued if hosting departments commit to a self-funding of the top-up and bench fee. You can read more about the internal pre-selection process on the CSC: For UMCG Supervisors page.

For CSC Candidates

Please find more relevant information on our dedicated CSC: Prospective PhD Students webpage.