CSC-UQ Scholarships

The China Scholarship Council (CSC) and The University of Queensland (UQ) are jointly offering scholarships to PhD applicants from the People’s Republic of China. Information provided relates to UQ’s 3.5-4 year PhD program.

Scholarships include

Tuition fee scholarship from UQ
Base stipend scholarship from CSC
A top-up scholarship from your principal supervisor or your enrolling School/Institute to bring the value of the stipend to the UQ rate

Eligibility requirements

Academic requirements

You need one of the following approved degrees to apply for a PhD:

A bachelor’s degree with honours class IIA or higher, in addition to relevant research experience.
A research master’s degree.
A coursework master’s degree with an overall GPA equivalent to or higher than 5.65 on the 7-point UQ scale, which includes relevant research experience.
A postgraduate degree of at least one year full-time equivalent with an overall GPA equivalent to or higher than 5.0 on the 7-point scale, along with demonstrated research experience.
A bachelor’s degree plus at least two years of documented relevant research experience, including 1st author research publications, subject to approval from the UQ Graduate School’s Deputy Dean.

University ranking is not a consideration factor for admission.

English language requirements

	Overall	Listening	Reading	Writing	Speaking
IELTS Academic	6.5	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0
TOEFL iBT (including Paper Edition)	87	19	19	21	19
PTE Academic	64	60	60	60	60

Please note higher requirements might apply if your research will be in a clinical setting.

How to apply

Check CSC-UQ PhD Scholarship round dates
Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) online via StudyLink to a potential supervisor
Once EOI is approved by a supervisor, log into StudyLink to submit the approved application for assessment
Receive an outcome from UQ
Apply to CSC and receive an outcome
If successful, provide the CSC scholarship letter to UQ for an unconditional offer
Confirmation of Enrolment for your visa application will be sent once you accept the unconditional offer

When to apply

CSC-UQ Round 2026

3 November 2025	Expressions of Interest applications open in StudyLink
15 December 2025	Expressions of Interest applications close
31 January 2026	Applications close
2 March 2026	Outcomes sent from this date
March 2026	CSC Application Platform opens

Visiting UQ as a CSC scholar?

For currently enrolled PhD students wishing to visit UQ for up to one year, you will need to contact and confirm a UQ supervisor. Then, your supervisor should contact UQ’s HR department for advice on the process, including visa support. Look up prospective supervisors on UQ Experts.

UQ Experts

CSC-UQ Scholarship FAQs

Should I apply online first or contact potential supervisors first?

Please apply online first with an Expression of Interest . You can find potential supervisor via UQ Experts. We recommend reaching out to the supervisor if you have not received a response in 2 weeks.

Can I reach out to more than one UQ academics as potential supervisors for my PhD study?

You can only submit an Expression of Interest to one principal supervisor at a time. If you don’t hear from your supervisor regarding your EOI or need to make changes, please contact the Graduate School for guidance and assistance.

When do I need to meet the entry requirements, in particular the English requirement?

The latest time to provide a satisfying English language test result is when you request an unconditional offer from UQ, i.e. when you secure a CSC scholarship and provide your CSC scholarship letter to UQ.

However, before that, when UQ issues a letter to inform of your UQ application outcome, the letter will state that you must still meet English requirements, so we recommend taking your test as quickly as possible.

I didn’t complete my undergraduate degree at a top university in China. I’m studying at a 211/985 university for a Master’s degree. Will my undergraduate qualification impact my application?

No, the university ranking is not a consideration factor for application assessment.

Is publication part of the requirement for PhD graduation?

No, UQ doesn’t require PhD candidates to publish papers during their candidature. It is not part of the progression and graduation requirements.

Which scholarship is more competitive? CSC-UQ scholarship or non-CSC scholarship from UQ?

All scholarships at UQ are offered via a competitive process. We can’t advise on which scholarship is more competitive, because it depends on the competitiveness of the applicants for a particular scholarship.

What’s the amount of the CSC scholarship? Will this be sufficient for study at UQ? Can I self-fund my living costs?

CSC’s living allowance for 2025 is $1,900 per month, which falls below UQ’s standard rate. Unfortunately, you can’t self-fund the stipend gap. It needs to be covered by your supervisor or the enrolling School/Institute. This is managed by the academic and UQ’s Grad School as a part of the EOI assessment and not the responsibility for the students.