If you are applying for the Chinese Government Scholarship at the master’s or PhD level, one document decides more than any other: the acceptance letter from a Chinese university professor. It is technically optional for some tracks. In practice, applicants with a supervisor’s acceptance get prioritized when universities rank their CSC nominees, and applicants without one are betting on luck against people who did the work. In this article, we have explained what the acceptance letter actually is, how to find the right professors, exactly what to send them, how to turn a “yes” into the letter itself, and the timing that makes all of it possible.
First, the vocabulary, because three names float around for the same thing. The acceptance letter, pre-admission letter, and provisional acceptance form all mean a Chinese professor putting in writing that they are willing to supervise you. It is not admission. As the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences puts it on its own CSC call, the provisional acceptance is not the final admission list. What it does is tell the university’s scholarship committee that a real professor wants you, and committees fund students professors want.
Related Guides
- Chinese Government Scholarship (CSC)
- How to Write a Statement of Purpose
- How to Write an Academic CV
- Scholarships Without IELTS
Why the Letter Matters So Much
The CSC system runs on nominations. Under the university track, the university reviews applicants, ranks them, and submits its nominees to the China Scholarship Council, which makes the final call around July. A professor’s acceptance moves you up that ranking, because the university is not guessing whether anyone will take you. Under the embassy track it is not required, but it still strengthens your file the same way, and some universities ask for it regardless.
There is also a quieter reason. Emailing professors forces you to build a real research direction before the deadline, and that work shows in your study plan. The applicants who skip the professor step usually submit the generic study plans that reviewers reject on sight.
Step 1: Find the Right Professors
Start from your field, not from a university’s fame. Open the CSC university directory on the official Campus China portal and shortlist universities that run your program. Then go department by department on each university’s English website, reading faculty profiles until you find professors whose recent papers overlap with what you want to research. Google Scholar helps here: search your topic, note which Chinese universities keep appearing, and follow the author names back to their department pages.
Aim for a list of 15 to 25 professors across several universities. That number is not padding. Professors at well-known Chinese universities receive a heavy flow of scholarship emails; many ignore cold mail entirely, and a response rate of one in ten is a decent outcome. One tactical note on how the quotas work: universities in cities like Hefei, Nanjing, and Wuhan carry the same CSC funding with visibly less competition than Beijing and Shanghai, so put two or three of them on your list.
Step 2: Write an Email Professors Actually Answer
The email that fails is the one that could have been sent to anyone. The email that works proves in the first three lines that you read this specific professor’s work. Keep it under 250 words. A structure that holds up:
- Subject line: “Prospective CSC PhD applicant, [your topic], Fall 2027” — searchable, honest, no exclamation marks.
- Line one: who you are in one sentence: degree, university, field.
- Lines two to four: the hook. Name one of their recent papers and connect it to what you want to do. Not flattery, a connection: “Your 2025 work on X left open the question of Y, which is where my proposal sits.”
- One line on funding: you are applying for the CSC scholarship and asking whether they would consider supervising you.
- Attachments: your academic CV, transcripts, and a research proposal of one to two pages. For the proposal, the CSC’s own study plan requirements are a useful target: at least 800 words for master’s and 1,500 for PhD, and your statement of purpose structure adapts directly.
Then the part nobody enjoys: send each email individually, adjusted to each professor. A mail-merge blast with the wrong professor’s name in it, and it happens constantly, ends the conversation before it starts.
If there is no reply after ten days, send one short follow-up. After a second silence, move on. Silence is an answer.
Step 3: Turn a “Yes” Into the Letter
When a professor replies with interest, expect a real conversation first. Some ask questions about your proposal, some want a video call, and either is a good sign, because a professor investing time is a professor planning to sign. Our interview guide covers handling that call.
Once they agree, ask specifically for the acceptance letter, and check the university’s international admissions page first, because many universities have their own form for exactly this. UCAS, for instance, uses a “Provisional Acceptance Form of International Student by Supervisor” that the professor fills and signs. Where no form exists, a short signed letter on university letterhead stating that Professor [name] of [department] is willing to supervise your proposed research under the CSC program does the job. Ask for a scanned, signed copy, since that is what you upload.
Step 4: Use It in the CSC Application
The letter goes into your online application on the CSC portal, alongside your documents, using the agency number of your chosen university. Two things about that number, because the confusion around it is real. It is simply the university’s official code for the CSC system, published free on the university’s own admission pages: Jiangsu University is 10299, UCAS is 80001, and so on. And it has nothing to do with commercial “agencies.” Paid agents charge $500 to $2,000 for CSC “services,” sometimes submit fraudulent documents that get applicants permanently blacklisted, and the entire official application costs nothing. If anyone sells you an agency number or a guaranteed acceptance letter, walk away.
Mind the deadlines while all this runs. University-track deadlines fall between December and April, top universities close earliest, and embassy-track deadlines cluster from January to March, so the professor hunt belongs in September to December. One calendar trap: Chinese New Year shuts down academic email for roughly three weeks between late January and mid-February. An email sent then dies quietly, so front-load your outreach before the holiday.
Mistakes That Kill Acceptance Letter Requests
- Sending the same email to twenty professors with nothing changed but the name, or worse, the wrong name
- Writing to professors whose field only loosely matches yours, which reads as not having read anything
- Attaching a study plan that names no methods, no questions, and no connection to the professor’s group
- Starting in February for a March deadline, which leaves no time for the conversation a real yes requires
- Paying an agent for a “guaranteed” letter, which risks a fraud blacklist on top of the wasted money
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the acceptance letter mandatory for the CSC scholarship?
Not universally. The embassy track does not require it, and some universities award without one. But universities rank their nominees, professors’ acceptances drive that ranking, and several universities do require their own provisional acceptance form. Treat it as necessary, and you will apply the way successful candidates do.
How many professors should I email?
Fifteen to twenty-five, individually written, across several universities. Response rates are low even for strong candidates, and you only need one genuine yes.
When should I start contacting professors?
September to December for the deadlines that fall between December and April. Three months before your earliest deadline is the practical minimum, and avoid the Chinese New Year weeks in late January and February, when replies stop.
Do I need to speak Chinese to get an acceptance letter?
For English-taught programs, no, and the email exchange runs in English. Many universities also accept an English-proficiency certificate from your previous university instead of IELTS, which we cover in our without IELTS guide.
A professor said yes but the university rejected my scholarship. What happened?
The acceptance letter is a professor’s willingness, not a funding decision. The university can nominate you and CSC can still decline, since final selection happens at the council around July. It stings, but the letter still did its job of getting you into the nomination pool, and it usually carries over into a stronger application the next cycle.
Can I use one acceptance letter for several universities?
No. The letter is tied to one professor at one university. You can hold acceptances from professors at different universities and apply to more than one, with a separate application and the correct agency number for each.
