Sino-British Fellowship Trust Doctoral Scholarship on China Studies

The SOAS China Institute (SCI) is pleased to offer a scholarship to current research students at SOAS in the final year for completing the PhD on a subject that is focused on China (broadly defined to include the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan).  

The scholarship is funded by the Sino-British Fellowship Trust, with a value of £10,000. 

To be eligible, you must be registered as a full-time PhD student in the final or writing-up year, with a submission date for the thesis not later than 30 September of the academic year following the year of application. You must have also completed an earlier degree or research post at a university in China (including the Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan).  

The date for the viva is later than the submission date. You cannot be currently supported by another doctoral scholarship. You can be a member of any department in SOAS, in any discipline. Your doctoral research must focus on China, rather than touching on China tangentially. 

To apply, please submit a research plan of up to 1,500 words, which summarises the central research question, the methodology used and the key findings, as well as a timeline for the completion of the thesis. Please also include a CV, and references from two SOAS academic staff familiar with your doctoral research, one of whom must be your first supervisor. The references can be sent directly by the referee or by the applicant to sci@soas.ac.uk.

Applications should be submitted to the SOAS China Institute (sci@soas.ac.uk) by 11:59pm on 25 August 2025. A decision will be made in September in the calendar year of the application, and you will be informed of the result within September.

If you are successfully awarded the scholarship, you should submit a summary of the key findings of your PhD of less than 3,000 words to the SCI by mid-September of the academic year following the year of application, which SCI will pass onto the funder, the SBFT. The PhD thesis should however be made available if a SBFT Trustee specifically requests access. 

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