Support attracts top brains to China
More than 10 percent of visitors studying here are given assistance by government program
Isabella Greene still remembers how she felt when she was told in April that her application for a Chinese Government Scholarship had been successful.
“I was excited when I received the acceptance letter, I was like ‘oh, my gosh’, I can’t believe it,” she said. “I was speechless. I was surprised because I thought other candidates would be stronger.”
Greene, 30, is taking a one-year Chinese language course at the Beijing Language and Culture University thanks to the scholarship.
The program was set up in the 1950s following the signing of educational agreements by China and the governments of other countries, education institutes and international organizations.
It was established by the Ministry of Education to enable non-Chinese citizens to study at higher education institutions in China.
The program covers undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students, as well as visiting students and scholars. It is managed by the China Scholarship Council, working under the ministry.
The number of international students receiving the Chinese Government Scholarship has increased greatly in recent years. Statistics from the ministry show that about 7,000 out of 140,000 international students received the scholarships in 2005. By 2014, the number of recipients had risen to 37,000, more than 10 percent of all international students studying in China.
A ministry spokesman said the Chinese Government Scholarship program has played an irreplaceable role in attracting excellent international students to come to study in China and promoting the ties between China and countries across the world in fields such as education, culture, science and technology, and economy and trade.
There are a number of different programs under the Chinese Government Scholarship banner, including the Bilateral Program, the one Greene applied for.
It was established by the ministry in accordance with educational exchange agreements or memorandums of agreements between China and other countries.
The Bilateral Program includes a full or partial scholarship, and international students apply through Chinese embassies or consulates in their home countries.
Greene applied through the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, a group of 200 educational institutions. Working with the Chinese embassy in Washington, it distributed 20 scholarships to candidates last year.
Applicants have to be undergraduates attending a university that is a member of the association, and must meet a grade point average requirement.
Applicants submit copies of their passports, the highest diploma they have obtained, personal statements, letters of recommendation and Chinese language proficiency reports, if available, to the association’s office in Washington.
Greene said, “There are reviewers who examine the documents, and they decide who will receive a scholarship.”
Mend Amar from Mongolia was awarded a scholarship in 2003. She met a Chinese counselor while working at her country’s national TV station. Her job was to translate Chinese films into Mongolian, and the counselor suggested that she apply for a scholarship to study Chinese in China.
“I submitted the documents and was selected for an interview, which was conducted at the Chinese embassy in Mongolia,” she said. “Soon after that, I was informed that I had been accepted.”
The 38-year-old went on to study Chinese at the Shanghai International Studies University for two years.
Katerina Galajdova from the Czech Republic applied for a scholarship under the European Union Program, which gives support to students from EU member countries.
Galajdova was an undergraduate studying foreign languages at a university in France, and had been learning Chinese for three years. Last year, a French teacher who taught her Chinese explained that she could apply for a Chinese Government Scholarship.
“At the time, I was trying to arrange an internship in China,” she said. “My teacher, who was the head of the Asian studies department at my university, told me, ‘You have