1. Introduction
The programs enroll international students from all over the world to pursue master’s or PhD education at Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICCAS). The basic study period is commonly 3 years for master’s degree students and 4 years for doctoral students. 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 2026 List of Supervisors and Majors for ICCAS English-instructed Graduate Programs (Real-time 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) Being of good character and in good health without any infectious diseases or physical/mental disease that may affect the normal study.
(3) Applicants for master’s programs must have attained a degree or academic qualification equivalent to a Chinese bachelor’s degree; applicants for doctoral programs must have attained a degree or academic qualification equivalent to a Chinese master’s degree. Due to differences in educational systems between some countries and China, please refer to Attachment 1 for specific degree requirements for applicants from certain countries.
(4) For English-taught programs, applicants' English proficiency shall reach at least TOEFL iBT 100 or GRE 315 (except those whose mother tongue is English). For Chinese-instructed programs, the applicant’s Chinese proficiency shall reach at least HSK Level 5 with no less than 180 scores.
(5) The applicants' university for master's degree or its equivalent should rank within the top 500 in the 2025 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 Deadline
From now–April 15th, 2026. For those who apply to UCAS for scholarship, please submit application before 31st January 2026 (Beijing Time).
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 authentic, complete and valid. For those who have not yet enrolled, failure to meet these requirements will result in the revocation of application eligibility or admission offer. For those who have already enrolled, their student status will be terminated. Applications with incomplete materials or those that do not meet the requirements may not be processed.
All certificates and 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 copies of all certificates and documents. 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) Scanned Copies of Passport Information Page
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) Two-inch Recent Bareheaded Photo
The uploaded photo shall be the same as that used for your passport.
(3) Complete CV with Detail Education and Research Experiences (must include complete educational experience from university onwards)
For currently employed applicants, a certificate of employment must be attached.
(4) Scanned Copies of Original Degree Certificates
Master’s program applicants must submit bachelor’s degree certificate, while PhD program applicants must submit both master’s and bachelor’s degree certificates.
For those who are expected to graduate before September 2026, they shall provide a pre-graduation certificate from the student department of their current university stating their expected graduation date. Their scanned copies of bachelor’s or Master’s degree certificate must be submitted before registration if they get admitted at UCAS.
(5) Scanned Copies of Original Academic Transcripts
Applicants for master’s programs must submit scanned copies of complete original transcripts from their undergraduate studies, while applicants for doctoral programs must submit scanned copies of complete original transcripts from both their master’s and bachelor’s studies.
For those who are expected to graduate before September 2026, they can provide official transcripts up to the present. Their final complete transcripts must be submitted before registration if they get admitted at UCAS.
(6) Scanned Copies of Original English or Chinese Proficiency Certificates
Applicants must provide the scanned copy of valid TOEFL iBT 100 (or above) or GRE 315 (or above) result or other proof of their English proficiency (not necessary for those whose mother tongue is English).
Applicants for programs instructed in Chinese must provide the photocopy of HSK certificate (at least level 5 with no less than 180 scores) or other proof of their Chinese language proficiency.
(7) First Page and Abstract of Published Academic Papers (if available)
Submit up to 5 representative published papers. Please DO NOT provide any unpublished academic papers, neither nor non-academic papers.
(8) Motivation Letter with Detailed Research Proposal
The motivation letter should include purpose of studying in China, academic background, reasons for applying, study plan, research proposal and career goals, etc. PhD program applicants should also introduce their and research experiences.
(9) Two Reference Letters from Professors or Associate Professors
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) Supervisor’s Acceptance Form (If available)
Applicants shall make informal contact with potential supervisors prior to making an application. Click here for the 2026 list of supervisors and majors for ICCAS English-instructed graduate 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 master’s/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 (original or notarized copy); (c) are applying for UCAS Partial Scholarship to get tuition waiver, please complete its online application procedure.
(12) Bank Receipt of Application Fee
Applicants of CAS-ANSO Scholarship, Chinese Government Scholarship and UCAS Scholarship for International Students are not required to pay for this fee. Application 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 your 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 application information is very important for the university to make UCAS Admission Letter, Visa Application for Study in China and others. Applicants must ensure that the information provided is accurate, as any errors may affect the admission process.
(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 enrols 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 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 (https://is.ucas.ac.cn/).
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 ICCAS 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 Fees:
(1) Application Fee: RMB 600 (Non-refundable regardless of admission outcome);
(2) Tuition Fee:
Master’s programs: RMB 30,000
PhD programs: RMB 40,000/year per person (Science and Engineering); RMB 34,000/year per person (Liberal Arts).
Students awarded Chinese Government Scholarship, CAS-ANSO Scholarship, or UCAS International Student Scholarship are exempt from tuition fees.
(3) Accommodation Fee:
For two or three students shared rooms, RMB 30/day for one student;
For single room, RMB 60/day for one student.
(4) OtherFees
Medical fee is covered by insurance according to the medical insurance plan. Board expenses, travel expenses and other costs of experiments, meetings and 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
Bank: Construction Bank of China
Beijing Municipal Dongfangguangchang Branch
Account number: 11001059200053002790
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
(1) 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 check the Call for Chinese Government Scholarship to Study UCAS for more information of UCAS for more information (see here).
(2) 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 check the Call for CAS-ANSO Scholarship of UCAS for more information (see here).
(3) 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 check the Call for UCAS Scholarship of UCAS for more information (see here).
10. Contact Information
ICCAS Coordinator: Miss. Duan
Education Office
Institute of Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences
No.2 Zhongguancun North First Stree, Haidian District, Beijing, 100190, China
Email: duanzh@iccas.ac.cn
Website: http://www.ic.cas.cn/jyc/is/admission/
UCAS International Students Office
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
No.80 Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100190, China
Email: master@ucas.ac.cn (Master’s program)
phd@ucas.ac.cn (PhD program)
Website: http://english.ucas.ac.cn
