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Auslandsrepräsentanz China - China Office

The Göttingen Campus and its Cooperation with China

The China Office of the University of Göttingen was established in 2008 at Nanjing University, a strategic partner since 1984. It serves as a contact point for cooperation with universities, research institutions and organisations all over China. It provides up-to-date information about opportunities at the University of Göttingen and funding of German-Chinese collaborations. Furthermore, it promotes and supports academic exchange of students, scientists and staff between the University of Göttingen and its Chinese partner institutions. Another objective is to initiate and facilitate collaborations in research and study programmes, organise events and support the alumni network.

Through counselling services, marketing and promotion activities, as well as organisation and support of academic conferences, lectures, workshops, delegation visits in both directions and of alumni activities, the exchange of information and experiences as well as scientific and educational collaborations are fostered. The China Office is also involved in selection processes for study programmes and the management of scholarship programmes.

… and in addition (mostly faculty-level or institute-level) cooperation agreements with numerous other universities and research institutions.

Alumni Göttingen

Alumni Göttingen connects more than 30,000 alumni with those people who study, research and work at the University of Göttingen today. Whether you want to keep in touch with old friends and acquaintances from your student days or contribute your talents, ideas or resources – every kind of commitment makes our network livelier!

Chinesische Alumni-Vereinigung der Universität Göttingen / Chinese Alumni Association of the University of Göttingen

Famous Alumni

  • Ji Xianlin (6 August 1911 – 11 July 2009) studied and researched at the University of Göttingen 1935–1945 and received his PhD in 1941. Ji Xianlin: Zehn Jahre in Deutschland
  • Zhu De (1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) studied at the University of Göttingen 1923–1924.

PhD Scholarship Programme between University of Göttingen and China Scholarship Council

The joint doctoral scholarship scheme of the University of Göttingen (UGOE) and the China Scholarship Council (CSC), the “UGOE-CSC PhD Scholarship Programme”, aims at supporting PhD studies of outstanding Chinese students in all scientific areas offered at UGOE, i.e., at all UGOE faculties, which are Agricultural Sciences, Biology and Psychology, Chemistry, Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, Geoscience and Geography, Mathematics and Computer Science, Physics, Medicine, Law, Social Sciences, Business and Economics, Humanities, Theology. Every year in March, the UGOE proposes a compiled list of suitable candidates to the CSC, from which the CSC selects students who will receive scholarships. The Chinese doctoral students receive a CSC scholarship for a period of up to 48 months, including a living stipend (incl. medical insurance) as prescribed from time to time by the Chinese Government, an international roundtrip airfare of economy class between China and Germany, and one-off visa application fee reimbursement. If the selected full time PhD students successfully complete the requirements of the designated PhD programme and defend their dissertation, they will be conferred PhD degrees by UGOE.

In order to apply for the “UGOE-CSC PhD Scholarship Programme”, candidates have to submit the following documents to the UGOE China Office by email (chinaoffice@uni-goettingen.de) no later than March 8 every year; in English language, files/scans in PDF format:

  • Admission to UGOE as PhD student*
  • Curriculum vitae (CV) (length of max. two pages A4)
  • If required, further documents

Please note the special offer for applications in spring 2025 described below.

Apart from the above-mentioned, the applicants have to do a normal online-application to CSC (http://www.csc.edu.cn). In this application to CSC, they should clearly state that they plan their doctoral studies at the University of Göttingen under the „UGOE-CSC PhD Scholarship Programme“.

Chinese students who presently are already studying in Germany and fulfil the CSC requirements may also apply for CSC doctoral scholarships within this programme.

Entry criteria

  1. Candidates should be citizens of the People’s Republic of China, including overseas Chinese students who may be eligible for application subject to CSC policy at the time.
  2. Candidates must meet the entry requirements for their chosen PhD programme at UGOE.
  3. In order to apply for the UGOE-CSC PhD Scholarship Programme, candidates need the admission as PhD students issued by the respective UGOE faculty.
  4. Candidates should satisfy other application criteria set out by CSC.
  5. Successful candidates acknowledge that they should return to China upon completion of their studies through the programme.

Application and selection process

  1. The candidates contact potential PhD supervisors at UGOE directly and in good time well in advance.** The UGOE supervisors have the right to decide independently whether to accept a candidate and her/ his research plan. All travel and accommodation costs, as well as all living expenses and any incidental costs during the study stay in Göttingen are to be borne by the PhD students themselves, by a CSC scholarship, private means or other funding sources.
  2. After having been accepted by a UGOE supervisor as prospective PhD student, the candidates apply to the responsible faculty or PhD programme, respectively, for admission as PhD students. The decision on admission lies with the respective UGOE faculty.
  3. The candidates receive the official admission as PhD student from the respective UGOE faculty.
  4. The candidates apply at the UGOE International Office for the UGOE-CSC PhD Scholarship Programme not later than the application deadline set by UGOE, by submitting:
    • Official admission to UGOE as PhD student*;
    • Curriculum vitae (CV);
    • If required, further documents.

    The UGOE International Office also provides counselling about the joint scholarship programme.

  5. The UGOE International Office nominates the candidates for the UGOE-CSC PhD Scholarship Programme by providing CSC with a shortlist before the opening of the CSC application (normally between March and April each year). Normally, the UGOE International Office will submit this list on March 10 each year.
  6. The nominated candidates apply to CSC for the scholarship by completing the CSC application as required. Application guidance will be published on the CSC official website. In the application, the candidates choose the joint “UGOE-CSC PhD Scholarship Programme”. The application deadline is scheduled by CSC.
  7. CSC evaluates the nominated candidates according to CSC requirements and priorities, and decides about the scholarships. After the funding decision, CSC informs the successful candidates.
  8. The candidates enrol as PhD students in the respective faculty of UGOE.

Funding model

  1. CSC will provide each scholarship recipient with a living stipend (incl. medical insurance) as prescribed from time to time by the Chinese Government, an international roundtrip airfare of economy class between China and Germany, and one-off visa application fee reimbursement.
  2. UGOE will provide each scholarship recipient with a tuition fee waiver. The obligation to pay other public dues or duties, such as the “Semester Fee” (including administration fee, student body fee, railway ticket, bus ticket, culture ticket, Studentenwerk fee), remains unaffected. Furthermore, scholarship recipients are entitled to the following services for international students at UGOE:
    • Administrative support (before and upon arrival, and during the stay);
    • Assistance in finding suitable accommodation;
    • Buddy service for international degree seeking students (including PhD students);
    • Cultural activities programme;
    • Free of charge language courses (German, English and other languages) to the extent available;
    • Guidance service appointments in mentoring and qualification programmes for PhD students at the graduate schools and the Career Service.

    Financial support for the participation in scientific conferences etc. depends on the availability of project funds in the respective research group.

  3. The above joint funding for each scholarship recipient will be up to 48 months.

Further notes

The invitation letter issued by the UGOE supervisor is not sufficient to apply for the UGOE-CSC PhD Scholarship Programme. It is not the admission. The admission (letter) is issued by the respective faculty or graduate school.

* We accept the following official documents issued by the responsible UGOE faculty or graduate school:

  • Admission / admission letter (Zulassung / Zulassungsschreiben)
  • Conditional admission (Bedingte Zulassung) (With conditional admission, the doctoral student can enrol. However, failure to meet the requirements within two semesters will result in revocation of admission.)
  • Letter of admissibility (Schreiben über die Zulassungsfähigkeit) (Professional qualification, language certificate etc. have already been accepted. The only condition for the subsequent issuance of the admission letter is the receipt of the scholarship. The letter of admissibility does not entitle the student to enrol.)
  • Candidates who are already pursuing doctoral studies at the UGOE submit the current “Certificate of Periods of University Education”.

** We strongly recommend that you start looking for a supervisor in the fall of the previous year to ensure that you are admitted in time for the application deadline.



Special offer for applications in spring 2025

The admission letter (or one of the mentioned alternative documents) is the best way to be nominated in the UGOE-CSC PhD Scholarship Programme.

However, this year (2025), CSC has agreed to an alternative option for the registration: If the faculty or graduate school does not agree to provide the admission letter (or equivalent certification) because the candidate has not yet finished the Master studies, the candidate can submit the following documents:

  • • Invitation letter issued by the Göttingen supervisor
  • • Bachelor degree certificate
  • • Some kind of documentation certifying that the candidate will receive the Master degree until this year’s summer
  • • Curriculum vitae (CV)
  • • English language certificate (official certificate, e.g., IELTS, TOEFL)
We will check these documents and accept the candidate for nomination to CSC in the joint programme, if we are of the opinion that the candidate is likely to successfully apply for admission after receiving the Master degree. In the nomination list, this will be explained to CSC.



Contact

China Office, University of Göttingen:
Dr. Frank Stiller (Mr)
Email: frank.stiller@zvw.uni-goettingen.de
Email: chinaoffice@uni-goettingen.de

China Scholarship Council (CSC):
LI Mei (Ms)
Tel.: +86-10-6609 3932
Fax: +86-10-6609 3929
E-Mail: ouyafei3@csc.edu.cn
Address: Chegongzhuangdajie 9, Building A3, 13th floor, 100044 Beijing

Related Links

Contact:

Dr. Frank Stiller (Mr)
Director, China Office

Email: frank.stiller@zvw.uni-goettingen.de
Email: chinaoffice@uni-goettingen.de