China Scholarship Council

Up to 30 scholarships will be available for students starting PhD studies from October 2026. Full tuition fee scholarships will be awarded on a competitive basis to students who are in receipt of China Scholarship Council (CSC) funding.

You can apply for any academic discipline at Loughborough.

Eligibility

• you must be applying to start a new full-time PhD,
• you must be a Chinese national and ordinarily resident in mainland China. Overseas Chinese students may be eligible, subject to CSC policy at the time,
• overseas Chinese students in the UK must be in their final year of master's study in a UK university or in their first year of PhD study at Loughborough University,
• you should intend to return to China following completion of PhD studies at Loughborough,
• you will need to meet the University’s academic and English language requirements for PhD study by 31 January 2026,
• you will need to meet any other requirements set by the CSC on their website.

Please follow the links to see further information regarding our entry requirements and English language requirements.

Value and duration

CSC provides a living allowance and covers air fare to/from the UK and UK visa application fees.

Loughborough will cover 100% of the tuition fees for the standard duration of PhD studies.

Application process

• you need to apply for a PhD at Loughborough University (in the funding section of the application form you need to advise that you are applying for an advertised studentship and add the reference ‘CSC 26’)
• students may receive an offer of a PhD place from Loughborough irrespective of their application to the CSC scholarship. Students who secure a nomination to CSC for the scholarship award will receive confirmation of this by email in early March.
• you also need to apply to the China Scholarship Council online (see also the CSC partnerships page)
• if you are already in the UK, you must submit your online CSC application as well as a hard copy of completed application documents to the Education Section of the Chinese Embassy in the UK before the set deadline. More information will be released via its official webpage.

Deadline

To allow sufficient time to process your PhD application, please ensure you submit your PhD application to Loughborough University by 2 January 2026. In order to apply for the CSC scholarship you will require an unconditional offer from Loughborough University.

If you receive an unconditional offer and CSC letter from us you then need to apply for the CSC scholarship through the CSC-Loughborough scheme, please see the CSC partnerships webpage. Please note that there will be a deadline to apply for CSC funding and therefore you are advised to check the CSC website.

Current Loughborough students

Chinese nationals who are currently self-funding their studies at Loughborough may be eligible to apply for CSC funding during their first year of study. If you intend to apply for CSC funding and wish to be considered for a tuition fee waiver from Loughborough, please contact the PGR administrator in your school (see contact details below) by 2 January 2026. 

Please note that we receive a large number of applications and priority will be given to new students in the first instance.