International Relations Bureau

Applying for visiting PhD research stay

CSC scholarship 2026–2027

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This programme will enable up to thirty (30) selected Chinese students per year, who have already registered as doctoral (PhD) students at their home institutions in China, to undertake PhD thesis research at UPC for a period of up to twenty-four (24) months

Candidates whose stay at UPC is at least twenty-four (24) months may be eligible to apply for joint PhD supervision through a separate cotutelle agreement.

Requeriments

  1. Candidates should be citizens of the People’s Republic of Chin and be enrolled in a doctoral programme at a Chinese university.. Overseas Chinese students may be eligible for application subject to CSC policy at the time.
  2. Candidates should hold an unconditional invitation letter from UPC. Therefore, they should fulfil the relevant academic entry requirements set by UPC, including a high level of English language proficiency.
  3. Candidates should satisfy other application criteria set out by CSC.
  4. Successful candidates acknowledge that they should return to China upon completion of their PhD research stay.

Admission Process for a PhD research stay

Students interested in carrying out a PhD research stay at UPC must first find a UPC professor willing to host them.

You can search for research groups and academic staff through FUTUR, the UPC research portal: http://futur.upc.edu/

You must clearly state that you are applying for a CSC–UPC visiting PhD research stay.

Once the host professor accepts to host you during your research stay, he will forward the following to the UPC International Relations Bureau (international@upc.edu):

  • Letter of invitation
  • Your detailed CV (in English)
  • Your email address.

The International Relations Bureau will send you the official invitation letter by e-mail.

Please note that the official invitation letter must always be issued by the International Relations Bureau and must include the bureau’s official stamp, which serves as formal validation of the document.

The deadline to request the official UPC invitation letter is: March 25th, 2026

With your UPC invitation letter, you can then apply to the CSC grants according to their procedures and deadlines.

https://www.csc.edu.cn/

Once your visiting PhD research stay has been approved and you have been selected as a recipient of the CSC–UPC scholarship, you must contact your host professor. He will coordinate with the corresponding department to process the internship agreement.

The agreement must be signed by:

  • You (the student)
  • Your home university in China
  • UPC General Management

Important: Professors cannot sign the agreement themselves.

Cotutelle

If you wish to process a cotutelle agreement, which allows you to obtain two doctoral degrees, one from UPC and one from your home institution in China, you must first obtain approval from your thesis supervisor, with the endorsement of the academic committee of your doctoral programme.

Students applying for a cotutelle must meet the corresponding Cotutelle Requirements as well as respecting the prevailing Academic Regulations for Doctoral Studies