Sichuan Scholarships for International Students

1Provincial scheme

2Universities we cover

1Cities in the province

CNY 1,500–2,600Lowest monthly cost

Schemes

What Sichuan actually offers

Provincial schemes are smaller than the central government scholarship and far less contested. Most are administered by the university after admission, so the application is often a checkbox rather than a separate portal.

Scheme	Levels	What it covers	How it is administered
Sichuan Provincial Scholarship	Bachelor / Master / PhD	Partial tuition plus occasional stipend	Chengdu's lower living costs make a partial award go further.

Coverage varies between schemes and between universities within the same province. Confirm the current terms with the international office before you rely on any of it.

Why it matters

What applying here actually gets you

Sichuan's provincial scholarship provides partial tuition cover with occasional stipend on top, and the reason to pay attention to it is Chengdu's cost base. Chengdu sits near the bottom of our monthly cost table, and the gap between a partial award in Chengdu and the same award in Shanghai is not the size of the award — it is the size of the budget underneath it. A partial tuition waiver plus a low monthly total can leave a student better off in Chengdu than a full tuition waiver in a more expensive city.

The city itself is unusually pleasant to live in for a student: mild, largely English-unfriendly but navigable, with a food culture that international students consistently rate well, and a large international community across the universities we cover. Sichuan University is the anchor here, with its dental school the strongest in the country by a clear margin and strong programmes in materials, polymer science and Chinese literature.

What the scheme is worth

Partial tuition cover with a stipend attached to some awards
Chengdu's low monthly costs mean a partial award leaves a genuinely workable budget
Mild climate year-round, which is unusual for inland Chinese cities
Sichuan University's dental and oral medicine school is the strongest in the country

Process

How the application actually runs

The steps are in the order they happen, because the first one catches most applicants out.

Get admitted to a Sichuan university

As with most provincial schemes, the award attaches to an admission offer rather than replacing it.

Ask whether a stipend is attached to the award

Stipends are occasional rather than standard here, and a stipend changes what a partial award is worth. Ask before you plan around one.

Compare the remaining budget against Chengdu rates

Use the actual monthly figures rather than a provincial average. Chengdu's numbers are what make a partial award work.

Consider the programme strengths over the scheme

For dental and oral medicine, materials and Chinese literature, the department is the stronger argument. The scheme is the enabler, not the reason.

Check the March intake for language programmes

Language programmes at Sichuan University admit in March as well as September, which is worth considering if you are building towards a degree rather than applying for one.

Universities

Where the scheme can reach you in Sichuan

2 institutions we cover in this province, 2 of which can nominate scholarship students directly.

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Sichuan University

Chengdu · est. 1896 · Project 985 · 211 · Double First-Class

Western China's largest comprehensive university, with a very large affiliated hospital system.

Tuition: CNY 20,000–32,000 / yr
Chinese: None for English-taught · HSK 4–5 for Chinese-taught
CSC host: yes — Type B

Full profile →

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University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Chengdu · est. 1956 · Project 985 · 211 · Double First-Class

Electronics, communications and integrated circuits, with the industry's recruiters on campus.

Tuition: CNY 20,000–34,000 / yr
Chinese: None for English-taught · HSK 4–5 for Chinese-taught
CSC host: yes — Type B

Full profile →

Cities

The part the award does not cover

A tuition waiver leaves the monthly budget untouched. These are the figures that decide how far it goes.

City	Dormitory / month	Realistic total / month	Tuition you still pay
Chengdu	500–1,200	1,500–2,600	CNY 300–500 / yr

All figures CNY per month for one student. Full city profiles, including private rent, are on each city's page.

Before you commit

The part that catches people out

The stipend here is occasional rather than standard, so a partial award should be budgeted as partial. Chengdu's low costs make it workable — but workable is not the same as fully funded, and the difference matters over six years of medicine or dentistry.

FAQ

Questions about Sichuan scholarships

On some awards, yes, but it is occasional rather than standard. Ask whether your award carries one rather than planning around the possibility.

Because of the cost base, not the awards. Chengdu's monthly costs are near the bottom of our table, so the leftover budget after tuition is genuinely enough to live on.

Dental and oral medicine at the West China School of Stomatology is the standout — it is the strongest in the country. Materials, polymer science and Chinese literature are the other strengths.

Not sure which scheme you can get?

Tell us your level, field and the universities you are considering. We will tell you which funding routes actually apply to you — and which ones do not.

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