Introduction

According to a new agreement between the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) for the advancement of science in developing countries, up to 200 students/scholars from all over the world, including 60 from developed countries, will be sponsored to travel to China for PhD studies for up to four years.

This CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme provides students/scholars that are non-Chinese citizens an opportunity to pursue PhD degree studies at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) or Institutes of CAS around China.

Under the terms of the CAS-TWAS agreement, travel from their home countries to China will be provided to the fellowship awardees in order to begin the fellowship in China (one trip only per student/scholar). TWAS will select 80 awardees from developing countries to support their international travel, while CAS will support the other 120 including 60 from developed countries. Any awardee on site in China, the host country, at the time of application will NOT be eligible for any travel reimbursement. Visa fee will also be covered (once only per student/scholar).

Thanks to generous contribution of CAS, fellowship awardees will receive a monthly stipend (to cover accommodation and other living expenses, local travel expenses and health insurance) of RMB 7,000 or RMB 8,000 from CAS through UCAS/USTC, depending on whether he/she has passed the qualification test arranged by UCAS/USTC for all PhD candidates after admission. All awardees will also be provided tuition and admission fee waivers.

Any fellowship awardee who fails the qualification test twice will face the consequences including:

l Termination of his/her fellowship;

l Discontinuity of his/her PhD study at CAS institutions;

l Being conferred a diploma of completion instead of a PhD degree;

All the procedures will adhere to UCAS/USTC regulations and rules.

The funding duration of the fellowship is 4 years, divided into:

l Maximum 1 year study of courses and participation in centralized training at UCAS/USTC, including 4 months compulsory courses in Chinese Language and Culture.

l Practical research and completion of degree thesis at colleges and schools of UCAS/USTC or CAS institutes.

General conditions for applicants:

Applicants must:

l Be maximum age of 35 years on 31 December 2015;

l Not take up other assignments during the period of his/her fellowship;

l Not hold Chinese citizenship;

Applicants for PhD study should also:

l Meet the admission criteria for international students of UCAS/USTC (http://english.ucas.ac.cn/Admissions/Pages/Article.aspx?ID=78 or http://en.ustc.edu.cn/admissions/international_students/).

l Hold a master degree before the beginning of the fall semester: 1 September, 2015. Provide evidence that s/he will return to their home country on completion of their studies in China according to CAS-TWAS agreement.

l Provide proof of knowledge of English or Chinese language.

Note: Applicants currently pursuing PhD degrees at any university/institution in China are NOT eligible for this fellowship. Applicants CAN NOT apply for both UCAS and USTC simultaneously.

STEP BY STEP GUIDELINE

In order to successfully apply for the CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship, applicants are requested to follow a few key steps that are indicated below:

1. CHECK ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

You should verify that you are eligible and meet ALL the eligibility criteria specified in the “General Conditions for applicants” section of this call (e.g. age, master degree, etc) See page 2.

2. FIND AN ELIGIBLE HOST SUPERVISOR AFFILIATED WITH COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS OF UCAS/USTC, OR CAS INSTITUTES THAT AGREES TO ACCEPT YOU. See here for a list of eligible schools/institutes and supervisors.

UCAS: http://english.ucas.ac.cn/Admissions/Pages/discipline.aspx or

USTC:http://en.ustc.edu.cn/faculty/201105/t20110530_112483.html

Once you have found a host supervisor, you must contact him/her and indicate that you wish to apply for the CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship. Please send him/her an explanatory e-mail together with your CV, research proposal or other documents. 

3. FILE YOUR APPLICATION FORM VIA THE ONLINE APPLICATION SYSTEM. Visit our official website for the online application system.

Each applicant should create his/her own account, and follow the instructions to finish the online application form.

4. IN THE MEANTIME, PREPARE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATIONS FOR YOUR APPLICATION:

A.      Admission Application Form for International Students (Attachment 1-1 for UCAS/ Attachment 1-2 for USTC): Download and fill in the form with 2-inch photo and your signature.

B.      SUPERVISOR’S COMMENT PAGE: You should remind your supervisor to fill in and upload the stamped comment page into our online application system.

C.      REFERENCE LETTERS: You must ask two referees (Preferably TWAS members, but not a mandatory requirement) familiar with you and your work to upload their scanned reference letters (signed, dated and on official headed paper with contact phone number and email address) into our online application system and send the original hard copies to the UCAS/USTC fellowship office. Reference letters in the body of e-mails will NOT be accepted! TWAS will not provide any information e.g. e-mail addresses of TWAS members or liaise with TWAS members on behalf of applicants.

D.     Other documents:

The following documents are also required:

a)      Notarized photocopy of the certificate of university degrees held (both undergraduate and postgraduate; graduates having just completed or about to complete their degree should provide an official pre-graduation certificate showing their student status and stating the expected graduation date);

b)      Proof of knowledge of English and/or Chinese;

c)      Notarized photocopy of transcripts of both undergraduate and post-graduate education;

d)      Complete CV with a brief introduction of research experience;

e)      Detailed research proposal;

f)       Photocopy of your passport which has at least 2 years validity (only pages showing personal and validity details);

g)      Photocopies of all the title pages and abstracts of maximum 5 published academic papers;

h)      Foreigner Physical Examination Form (Attachment 2)

Note:     1. All the above supporting documentations should be in English or Chinese, otherwise notarial translations in English or Chinese are required.

2. Make sure the electronic version of supporting documentations is in the right format as requested for our online application system.

3. If you are awarded, you must submit the originals of your university certificates AND transcripts to UCAS/USTC fellowship office upon your arrival in China.

5. ONCE YOU HAVE FOUND A HOST SUPERVISOR THAT AGREES TO ACCEPT YOU, AND HAVE PREPARED YOUR SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATIONS:

You must:

1. Upload all supporting documentations of your application via the online application system.

2. Send your supervisor an electronic copy of ALL your supporting documentations as well as the PDF file of “Application Form for CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme” which is generated by our online application system in ONE zipped file. Please DO NOT send any of your supporting documentation directly to UCAS/USTC fellowship office.  

3. Remind your supervisor to print your documentations out, get them stamped where necessary and send them together with the signed and stamped hard copy of the “Supervisor’s Comment Page” to UCAS /USTC fellowship office before deadline.

4. Remind your referees to send the original hard copies of their reference letters to UCAS/USTC fellowship office before deadline.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING ALL MATERIAL AND APPLICATIONS:

31 MARCH 2015

6. WHERE TO ENQUIRE AND SUBMIT APPLICATION

1) Applicants for UCAS, please contact:

CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme UCAS Office (UCAS)

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

80 Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing, 100190, China

Tel: +86 10 82672900

Fax: +86 10 82672900

Email: president-fellowship@ucas.ac.cn

2) Applicants for USTC, please contact:

CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme USTC Office (USTC)

University of Science and Technology of China

96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230026 China

Tel: +86 551 63600279/7981

Fax: +86 551 63632579

Email: presidentfellow@ustc.edu.cn

Note: It is important to remember that your supervisor can be helpful in providing answers to your enquiries. Please keep in close touch with your supervisor in the whole process of your application.

Relevant Information

CAS is a national academic institution in China consisting of a comprehensive research and development network, a merit-based learned society and a system of higher education, focusing on natural sciences, technological sciences and high-tech innovation in China. It has 12 branches, 2 universities and more than 100 institutes with around 60,000 staff and 50,000 postgraduate students. It hosts 89 national key labs, 172 CAS key labs, 30 national engineering research centers and about 1,000 field stations throughout China. As a merit-based society, it has five academic divisions. CAS is dedicated to addressing fundamental, strategic and farsighted challenges related to the overall and long-term development of China. CAS and TWAS have had a close and productive relationship for many years, often involving TWAS's Regional Office for East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific (http://www.twas.org.cn/twas/index.asp).

Read more about CAS: http://english.www.cas.cn/

UCAS is a research-intensive university with over 40,000 postgraduate students, supported by more than 100 institutes (research centers, laboratories) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), which are located in 25 cities throughout China. Founded in 1978, it was originally named the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the first graduate school in China with the ratification of the State Council. UCAS is headquartered in Beijing with 4 campuses and is authorized to grant doctorate degrees in 39 primary academic disciplines, offering degree programs in ten major academic fields, including science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, education, management science and more. UCAS is responsible for the enrollment and management of the PhD candidates of the CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme admitted by UCAS.

Read more about UCAS: http://www.ucas.ac.cn/

USTC is the first university established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1958. It is a comprehensive university including science, engineering, management and humanity science, oriented to frontier science and high technology. USTC took the lead in launching Graduate School, the School of Gifted Young, large national scientific projects, etc. It is now a prominent Chinese university and enjoys high reputation worldwide, and therefore is the member of the China 9 Consortium consisting of the top 9 universities in China (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C9_League). USTC is one of the most important innovation centers in China, and is regarded as “the Cradle of Scientific Elites”. USTC provides both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. There are 14 faculties, 27 departments, graduate school and software school on campus. According to the world acclaimed university rankings, USTC has always been ranked among the best universities in China. USTC is responsible for the enrollment and management of the PhD candidates of the CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme admitted by USTC.

Read more about USTC: http://en.ustc.edu.cn/

TWAS is an autonomous international organization, founded in 1983 in Trieste, Italy, by a distinguished group of scientists from the South to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable development in the South. In 1991, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) assumed responsibility for administering TWAS funds and personnel on the basis of an agreement signed by TWAS and UNESCO. In 2004, the Government of Italy passed a law that ensures a continuous financial contribution to the Academy's operation. Read more about TWAS: http://twas.ictp.it/