1. Introduction
The program is recruiting international students from all over the world to pursue PhD education at Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICCAS). Doctoral programs commonly last for 4 years. Certificates of graduation and degrees will be awarded to those who have met the requirements of graduation and degree conferment.
2. Supervisors
See here for 2025 list of supervisors and majors for ICCAS English-instructed doctoral programs (continuous updating).
3. General Conditions for Applicants
(1) Non-Chinese citizens who abide by China's laws and decrees, as well as University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS)/ ICCAS's rules and regulations.
(2) Be of good character and in good health without any physical or mental diseases that may affect the normal study.
(3) Holding a master's degree or its equivalent. As some countries' higher education systems are very different from the Chinese system, applicants from different education systems should see Attachment 1 for reference. If applicants are currently pursuing a doctoral degree at any university/institution in China, they are NOT eligible for this program (except those who are graduating before September 2025).
(4) For English-taught programs, applicants' English proficiency shall reach at least IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 90 (except those whose mother tongue is English). For Chinese-taught programs, the applicants' Chinese proficiency shall reach at least HSK level 5.
(5) The applicants' university for master's degree or its equivalent should rank within the top 500 in the 2024 world university rankings (released by Times Higher Education/Quacquarelli Symonds/US News & World Report/ShanghaiRanking) or belong to the double-first class universities in China.
4. Application Time
From now - May 15th, 2025. For those who apply to UCAS for scholarship, please submit application before February 15th, 2025.
5. Application Materials
Applicants shall carefully prepare the application materials in strict accordance with the following requirements, and must ensure that the submitted materials are true and valid. Otherwise, they will be disqualified from application or admission. If the application materials are incomplete or do not meet the requirements, they will be rejected.
All documents must be in English or Chinese. Otherwise, scanned copy of the original and its English or Chinese translation are required to combine into one PDF file. Please use color scanner to scan the original documents of certificates and others. Documents taken by mobile phone or camera are unacceptable. In the process of reviewing the application materials, ICCAS and UCAS may require some applicants to provide the original version of the application materials, the verification documents issued by the designated authority and others for further examination.
(1) ID Page of Valid Passport
Passport type must be ordinary. It shall have at least 1-year validity. Applicants who have given up their original Chinese citizenship and become foreign citizens shall provide the documents certifying the cancellation of Chinese nationality, according to the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China.
(2) Full-Face Bust Photo with 2-Inch
The uploaded photo shall be the same as that used for the applicants' passport.
(3) Complete CV with Detail Education and Research Experience
Current employees shall attach employment certificates to their resumes.
(4) Original Certificates of Master's and Bachelor's Degree
Applicants who have graduated must submit scanned copies of the original Master's degree certificate and bachelor's degree certificate. For those who are expected to graduate before September 2025 they shall provide a pre-graduation certificate from the student department of current university stating their expected graduation date. Their scanned copies of master's degree certificate must be submitted before registration if they get admitted.
(5) Original Transcripts of Master's and Bachelor's Study
Applicants who have graduated must submit scanned copies of their complete transcripts during master's and bachelor's studies. For those who are expected to graduate before September 2025, they can provide official transcripts up to the present. Their final complete transcripts must be submitted before registration if they get admitted.
(6) Proof of knowledge of English/Chinese
Applicants for programs instructed in English must provide the scanned copy of valid IELTS 6.5 (or above) or TOEFL 90 (or above) result or other proof of their English proficiency (except those whose mother tongue is English).
Applicants for programs instructed in Chinese must provide the scanned copy of HSK certificate (at least level 5 with no less than 180 scores) or other proof of their Chinese language proficiency.
(7) Published Academic Papers (if available);
Please DO NOT provide any unpublished academic papers, neither nor non-academic papers.
(8) Motivation Letter with Detailed Research Proposal;
The content of motivation letter should include the purpose of studying in China, academic background, research experience, the reasons of application for the program, study plan and research proposal, and employment objectives after graduation, etc.
(9) Two Recommendation Letters
The referees shall be professors or associate professors (or equivalent professionals with relevant academic title), not to be the host supervisor, and be familiar with the applicants and their research work. The letters should be signed, dated on official headed paper with contact phone number and email address of the referees. Recommendation letters in the body of e-mails will NOT be accepted!
(10) Provisional Acceptance Form (If have) (Attachment 2)
Applicants shall make informal contact with potential supervisors prior to making an application. Click here for the 2025 list of supervisors and majors for ICCAS English-instructed doctoral programs. Send an explanatory e-mail together with CV, transcripts, motivation letter with detailed research proposal and other documents to him/her, and clearly state the applicants’ wish to apply for the doctoral program of ICCAS.
This form is a supplementary part of application materials. ICCAS will organize qualification review and admission interview for applicants. If the applicants passed the above evaluation, they shall contact and ask the supervisor to submit supervisor-signed Provisional Acceptance Form (Attachment 2) to Education Office of ICCAS.
(11) Certificate of Financial Support
For those who (a.) have already got financial support, please attach the certificate of financial support; (b.) are applying to study by self-support, please attach the affidavit of support from guarantors and a bank statement; (c.) are applying for UCAS Partial Scholarship to get tuition waiver, please complete its online application procedure.
(12) Bank Receipt of Application Processing Fee
Applicants of ANSO Scholarship, Chinese Government Scholarship and UCAS Scholarship for International Students are not required to pay for this fee. Processing fee is non-refundable in any case.
6. Online Application
Applicants are required to submit their application via the online application system (https://is.ucas.ac.cn/) within the application time. Please finish online application as early as possible. Please also note that:
(1) The potential supervisor's willingness to accept is a prerequisite for admission. It is mandatory for an applicant to find a supervisor in ICCAS and fill in the application system prior to submit an online application.
(2) The information filled in is very important for UCAS to make Admission Notice, Visa Application Form and others. Applicants must ensure that the information filled in is accurate, to avoid any impact on the subsequent related matters.
(3) Please DO NOT create two or more accounts and submit multiple applications to us. ICCAS will check the duplicates. Once verified, they will be disqualified from application or admission.
7. Evaluation and Admission
ICCAS enrolls international students based on evaluation of application documents together with an entrance examination. The admission committee of ICCAS will review the application documents and select applicants for entrance examination. The entrance examination will be mainly taken on interview. The interviews shall be hold by the supervisor applied for and notified to the applicants who have passed the evaluation of application documents.
Admission is determined at ICCAS level with oversight by UCAS according to the result of the document review, the interview, and other factors. Admission Notices, Visa Application Forms and some other documents will be sent to the admitted students after the final admission result is released. Prior to this, applicants may check their admission status via the Online Application System for International Students of UCAS.
8. Visa Application and Registration
The admitted student should take his personal passport that is used for admission application, Admission Notice, Visa Application Form (JW202/JW201), and original Form of Physical Examination Record for Foreigners as well as other original documents of physical examination to the Embassy or Consulate of the People's Republic of China, and apply for a student visa (X1/X2 visa). Please do not enter China visa-free or with other types of visas other than X visa. Please keep the original Admission Notice and Visa Application Form (JW202/JW201) which are needed for registration and residence permit application.
The admitted student should register at the place indicated in the Admission Notice, and should register on the assigned date. Otherwise, they should get the approval of ICCAS and supervisor in advance.
9. Fees and Scholarships
9.1 Application Processing Fee, Tuition, and Other Costs
(1) Application processing fee: RMB 600 (Non-refundable);
(2) Tuition: RMB 40,000/year;
(3) Accommodation fee: For two or three students shared rooms, RMB 30/day for one student.
(4) Other fee: Medical expenses are paid according to the medical insurance from insurance company. Board expenses, travel expenses and other cost of experiments, meetings or trainings beyond the program curriculum are at the student's own expense.
Please note:
(1) Currencies other than RMB, USD and EUR are unacceptable.
(2) UCAS bank account information:
Beneficiary: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Account number: 11001059200053002790
Bank: Construction Bank of China
Beijing Municipal Dongfangguangchang Branch
SWIFTCODE：PCBCCNBJBJX
(3) Please specify the purpose of the remittance and the student's name, nationality and passport number.
(4) Due to the limitation of dormitory capacity, those who fail to make reservation need to find the accommodation off campus by themselves.
9.2 Scholarships
Chinese Government Scholarship
The Chinese Government Scholarship includes Bilateral Program, China-EU Student Exchange Program, China-ASEAN University Network Scholarship Program, and other programs supporting international students to pursue graduate degrees in China. The scholarship covers tuition fees, application fees, living allowance, basic on-campus accommodation, and medical insurance. For detailed information, please visit the China Scholarship Council website (http://www.csc.edu.cn/Laihua/). UCAS is a designated Chinese Government Scholarship university.
Eligible applicants can apply for these programs through relevant departments in their home countries and Chinese Embassies/Consulates. The application period usually starts in November and ends in the following April. Application deadlines vary by country, so please check in advance. If a pre-admission letter from UCAS is required for the application, please contact UCAS International Students Office in advance. Applicants may also submit application to apply for Chinese University Program and Silk-Road program through UCAS recommendation.
Please refer to Attachment 3 or click the website (here) of UCAS for detailed information and application procedure.
CAS-ANSO Scholarship for Young Talents
The CAS-ANSO Scholarship for Young Talents program offers full scholarship for outstanding students from all over the world to pursue postgraduate education at UCAS. It covers tuition fee, application fee, living allowance, and medical insurance. UCAS is one of the sponsoring institutions of this program. Eligible applicants may submit relevant materials according to the application procedures.
Please refer to Attachment 4 or click the website (here) of UCAS for detailed information and application procedure.
UCAS Scholarship for International Students
The UCAS Scholarship for International Students program offers full scholarship for international students to pursue postgraduate education at UCAS. Full scholarship covers tuition fee, basic accommodation, living allowance, and medical insurance. Eligible applicants may apply according to the application procedures.
Please refer to Attachment 5 or click the website (here) of UCAS for detailed information and application procedure.
10. Contact Information
ICCAS Coordinator: Ms. Qi
Education Office
Institute of Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences
No.2 Zhongguancun North First Stree, Haidian District, Beijing, 100190, China
Email: qihaoying@iccas.ac.cn
Website: http://www.ic.cas.cn/jyc/is/admission/
UCAS Coordinator: Ms. Hu
International Students Office
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
No.80 Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100190, China
Email: phd@ucas.ac.cn
Website: http://english.ucas.ac.cn
