Grants and scholarships

As an undergraduate or research student you have access to a wide variety of generous funding and scholarship opportunities. Most of our scholarships are managed by the Scholarships Office or by your faculty.

We’ve outlined details of funding opportunities available at the University, in Australia and elsewhere that relate directly to China studies.

• Undergraduate students
• Research students
  • University of Sydney funding
  • National funding schemes
  • International funding opportunities

Undergraduate students

New Colombo Plan Grant –
Suzhou Shanghai Field School

The Suzhou-Shanghai Field School is a three-week intensive program offered by the China Studies Centre. Join other students of various disciplinary and cultural backgrounds to develop your Chinese language skills and gain first-hand understanding of China’s politics, economy and foreign relations. Funding is available to some students through the Australian Government's New Colombo Plan grants of A$3000 to cover some of the costs of the program. Applications for the 2018 field school program have not yet opened. 

For all other undergraduate scholarship opportunities, visit the Scholarships Office website.

Research students

University of Sydney funding

China Studies Centre Graduate Research Students Support Grants  

Graduate research students at the University of Sydney whose research is about China or takes place in China are invited to apply for support grants. The grants support research activity at the University and are intended to integrate with, not to replace, other forms of funding available through different sources. They do not cover fieldwork costs. Students currently enrolled and up to date with their milestones may apply for individual or collective activities they wish to organise at the University. The goal of such activities should be building a multidisciplinary intellectual community and be of interest to the largest possible community of graduate students within the University. 

Postgraduate scholarships

The University has a range of scholarships available to support you in your research and studies, including some that are reserved for international students joining the University.

Faculty research scholarships

Many of our faculties have their own scholarships. Below are two of the China-related scholarships provided by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. 

• The Raymond Hsu Scholarship supports postgraduate research students in Chinese studies, Chinese literature or Chinese linguistics. The scholarship is open to students enrolled in the Department of Chinese Studies at the University of Sydney.
• The Judith Neilson Scholarship in Contemporary Art was established to support the study of contemporary Chinese art in its global contexts. This scholarship provides a stipend allowance for PhD studies to be undertaken through the Department of Art History at the University of Sydney under the supervision of Dr Stephen Whiteman.

Find out more about your faculty's scholarships.

International funding schemes  

The Research Portfolio and the Office of Global Engagement provide international funding and collaboration opportunities for researchers and PhD students. To access the information, you will need to login to the intranet with your Unikey. 

National funding opportunities

National Library of Australia - Asia Study Grants

The library offers annual Asia Study Grants to assist scholars in Australia to undertake research relating to Asia through a four week period of intensive access to their Asian language and Asia-related collections.

Asian Studies Association of Australia

The Asian Studies Association of Austrlia (ASAA) funds the following prizes, awards and grants.

• John Legge Prize for best thesis in Asian Studies (annual)
• ASAA Event Funding Scheme (biennial)
• Wang Gungwu Prize for best Asian Studies Review Article (annual)
• ASAA Postdoctoral Fellowship (biennial)
• Postgraduate Conference Awards (biennial)

International funding opportunities

China Scholarship Council

The objective of the China Scholarship Council is to provide, in accordance with the law, statutes and relevant principles and policies of China, financial assistance to Chinese citizens wishing to study abroad and to foreign citizens wishing to study in China in order to develop the educational, scientific and technological, and cultural exchanges and economic and trade cooperation between China and other countries, to strengthen the friendship and understanding between Chinese people and the people of all other countries.

The scholarships they provide to foreign citizens include:

• Chinese Government Scholarships
• Confucius Institute Scholarships
• Chinese Local Government Scholarships
• Foreign Government Scholarships
• Enterprise Scholarships

Schwarzman Scholars

Schwarzman Scholars is a fully funded year in China for the world’s most promising young leaders. It covers an innovative 11-month professional Master’s Degree in Global Affairs at Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University. The program is open to students and young professionals up to 28 years old of any citizenship who are proficient in English and have obtained an undergraduate degree.