Yenching Academy Scholarship

Only SOAS students or recent SOAS graduates are eligible to apply via the SOAS China Institute. Applicants should have:

• A minimum of a bachelors degree in any field or currently enrolled on a degree programme awarded no later than 31 August of the year in which they wish to enrol.
• An outstanding academic record.
• Strong interest in interdisciplinary study of China.
• A record of extracurricular achievement, community engagement, social responsibility, and leadership potential.
• English proficiency.

The Yenching Academy does not have a strict age cutoff for applicants, but to date, no person over the age of 29 has been admitted to the programme. The average age of students entering the program is 23.

Yenching Academy also welcomes candidates who already have another masters degree, in addition to those holding just bachelors degrees or are currently enrolled in their final year of their bachlors degree.

SOAS students and alumni must apply through SOAS. To apply, fill out the following application form and email it to sci@soas.ac.uk before the deadline together with the necessary application components. The references can be sent directly by the referee or by the applicant to sci@soas.ac.uk.

The deadline for applications is 9:00am (UK time), Thursday 27 November 2025.

If you are from Mainland China or the Chinese Regions of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan (HMT), there is a different application process.

Applicants from Chinese Regions of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan (HMT)

Applicants holding the following identity documents issued to residents from HMT regions must apply as an HMT applicant:

• For residents from the HKSAR and Macao SAR: ① 香港或澳门永久性居民身份证和  ②《港澳居民来往内地通行证》或《港澳居民居住证》
• For residents from the Taiwan region: ① 在台湾居住的有效身份证明和 ②《台湾居民来往大陆通行证》或《台湾居民居住证》

Applicants from these regions must mail hardcopies of the application material to the Yenching Academy admissions office before 15 January 2026. They must also submit both of the following online applications:

• Yenching Academy admissions portal: application for 2026 enrolment is open from 10 September to 9:00am on 1 December 2025 (Beijing time).
• Peking University Graduate Admissions Application: specific application timeline will become available around October on this Peking University admissions webpage.

Failure to complete the online Peking University Graduate Admissions Application and submit hardcopies of the application materials will result in incomplete and unsuccessful application to the Yenching Academy.

You can find detailed instructions for HMT applicants on the Peking University website, as well as information on the Yenching Academy admissions portal. 

Applicants from mainland China

Mainland Chinese applicants apply through a different process. Yenching Academy is only able to accept applications from mainland Chinese students (i.e., PRC passport holders) enrolled as undergraduates in a mainland Chinese university. This requirement does not apply to students from the HMT regions. For more information, please refer to the Peking University Graduate Admissions website.

Applicants are required to submit the following components together with their completed application form to the SOAS China Institute at sci@soas.ac.uk:

• Personal statement (750 words or less).
• Statement of research interest (maximum 1500 words, excluding citations):
  • Should include key research question(s), background to study and/or summary of literature, and study design that could reflect your academic training. You do not have to make this proposed project your masters thesis topic. The Admissions Committee just wants to judge how you formulate and write about academic topics.
• CV (maximum two pages).
• Official transcript(s).
• Diploma(s) or Certificate(s) of Enrolment.
• Two letters of recommendation using the Recommendation form: Peking University will only accept recommendation letters written by full professors or associate professors (or equivalent titles, so Senior Lecturer and above). The references can be sent directly by the referee or by the applicant to sci@soas.ac.uk.
• English proficiency demonstrated through one of the following scores:
  • IELTS (Academic): overall 7.0
  • TOEFL (iBT): overall 100
  • Cambridge English Scale (Advanced): overall 185

Students whose native language is English, or who have graduated from an English-taught degree programme (undergraduate or above), are not required to provide an English proficiency test report.

Submission of English scores

For IELTS, TOEFL, and Cambridge tests, we will only accept scores sent directly to us from these organisations. Please choose 'Yenching Academy of Peking University' as the designated recipient of the scores. For TOEFL, use the institution code: C488.

TOEFL and IELTS English proficiency tests must be taken after September 1, 2022. Currently, we do not accept TOEFL MyBest Scores, TOEFL iBT Home Edition, IELTS Indicator test, or IELTS Online.

Non-English or Chinese university documents

Candidates whose official university documents are in languages other than English or Chinese must submit copies of both the original documents and certified English translations. This requirement also applies to diplomas issued in Latin. Please ensure that the translation indicates the degree type (e.g., bachelors or masters degree).

Applicants that are successfully nominated by the SOAS China Institute to Yenching Academy will be notified by email on Thursday 4 December 2025 and will then be required to submit their applications through the Yenching Academy online portal by midnight (UK time) on Sunday 7 December 2025.

Yenching Academy will consider the nominated candidates for finalist interviews and will contact them directly to schedule an online interview from December 2025 to March 2026 if they are successfully shortlisted. Offers of a scholarship will be made by around April 2026.