This CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme provides students/scholars from developing countries (other than China) an opportunity to pursue PhD degrees 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 new 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). Visa fee will also be covered (once only per student/scholar).

Thanks to generous contribution of CAS, fellowship awardees will receive a monthly stipend (including 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 waivers.

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

• Termination of his/her fellowship;

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

• lBeing conferred a diploma of completion instead of a PhD degree; 

cedures will adhere to UCAS/USTC regulations and rules. The funding duration of the fellowship is 4 years, divided into: 

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

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

Applicants must:

• Be maximum age of 35 years on 31 December 2014;

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

• Be a citizen of a developing country other than China;

• Not hold any visa for temporary or permanent residency in China or in any developed country;

• Be financially responsible for any accompanying family member.

Applicants for PhD study should also:

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

• Hold a master degree before the beginning of the fall semester: September, 2014. 

• Provide evidence that s/he will return to their home country on completion of their studies in China according to CAS-TWAS agreement. 

• Provide proof of knowledge of English or Chinese language.

Note: Applicants currently pursuing PhD degrees at any university/institution in China are ineligible for this fellowship.

It is important to note that applicants currently pursuing PhD degrees at any university/institution in China cannot apply for the CAS-TWAS President’s fellowship.   In order to successfully apply for the CAS-TWAS President’s fellowship each applicant is 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, nationality etc) See page 2. 

2. FIND AN ELIGIBLE HOST SUPERVISOR AFFILIATED WITH UCAS/USTC UNIVERSITIES, SCHOOLS OR CAS INSTITUTES. See here for a list of eligible centres and supervisors.   UCAS:http://english.ucas.ac.cn/Admissions/Pages/discipline.aspx (for more details about UCAS and CAS institutes as well as the supervisors affiliated, please see here:http://english.ucas.ac.cn/Admissions/Pages/CASInstitutesforInternationalPrograms.aspx)or   USTC: http://en.ustc.edu.cn/faculty/
Once you have found the host supervisor, you must contact him/her via e-mail and inform that you wish to apply for the CAS-TWAS President’s fellowship. Please send him/her an explanatory e-mail together with your CV and research proposal.   

3. IN THE MEANTIME, PREPARE YOUR APPLICATION PACKAGE:   A.      Download and fill in the “Admission Application Form for International Students”(attachment 1) ;   B.      Download and fill in the “Application Form for CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme” (attachment 2);  C.     REFERENCE LETTERS: You must ask two referees (Preferably TWAS members, but not a mandatory requirement) familiar with you and your work toprovide their scanned reference letters (signed, dated and on official headed paper). Reference letters in the body of e-mails will NOT be accepted! Please include the reference letters in your application package.  D.     Other documents:  The following documents are also required:  a)      Notarized photocopy of the certificate of highest university degree held (graduates having just completed their degree can provide a pre-graduation certificate);  b)      Proof of knowledge of English and/or Chinese;  c)      Notarized photocopy of transcripts of previous higher education;  d)      Complete CV;  e)      Detailed research proposal;  f)       Copy of your passport (only pages showing personal and validity details);  g)      Photocopies of all the title pages and abstracts of any published academic papers;  h)      Foreigner Physical Examination Form (Attachment 3);   Note: 1. All the above materials in your application package should be in English or Chinese.  2. If you are awarded, you must submit originals your university certificates AND transcripts to the UCAS or USTC office upon your arrival in China. 

4. ONCE YOU HAVE PREPARED YOUR APPLICATION PACKAGE, AND HAVE FOUND A HOST SUPERVISOR THAT AGREES TO ACCEPT YOU:
You must send him/her an electronic copy of your WHOLE application package in one zipped file and ask him/her to fill in the comment pages in “Application Form for CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme” and the “Admission Application Form for International Students”. Your supervisor will then send your whole application package including his/her comment pages to UCAS Fellowship office or USTC Fellowship office. Please Do NOT send your application package directly to UCAS or USTC Fellowship office. 

5. WHERE TO DELIVER MY ENQUIRIES ABOUT MY APPLICATION   Please be free to send your enquiries about your application to:

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

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

19A Yuquanlu, Beijing, 100049, China

Tel: +86 10 88256424/6206

Fax: +86 10 88256207

Email: president-fellowship@ucas.ac.cn

Or 

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 63607981

Fax: +86 551 63607982

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 process of the application.