Studying in China with a scholarship from the Confucius Institute: An interview with Chiara Romano

The beachfront of Qinhuangdao

In today’s interview we’ll be talking with Chiara Romano, who is 22 years old and since last August has lived in Qinhuangdao, where she is studying Chinese thanks to a scholarship from the Confucius Institute.

What is necessary to obtain a scholarship

Chiara, what are the minimum requirements to obtain a scholarship from the Confucius Institute?

Hi Furio! Getting a scholarship from the Confucius Institute (which is actually promoted by Hanban, the “head office” of the Confucius Institutes worldwide) isn’t too difficult. First of all you have to choose what sort of experience you’re looking for: there are various scholarships, offering periods of study between six months and a year, as well as scholarships to graduate both with a three year degree or teaching degree in China, or still other scholarships centered on the teaching of Chinese.

All in all there are a lot of possibilities! To apply for any of these scholarships you must be between the ages of 16 and 35 and must pass the HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, Knowledge of Chinese Language for Foreginers Test) exam and the HSKK (similar to the first one, without having to write Chinese characters).

Each scholarship requires different levels of mastery over the language, but as for the annual scholarship, the one that I received, you must as a minimum pass the HSK3 exam with at least 180 points and the HSKK成绩 (in other words the elementery level) with at least 60 points.

What is the procedure and timing necessary to apply for a scholarship?

To apply for a scholarship all you have to do is sign up at the  Confucius Institute Scholarship site and fill out the form with your personal information. You’ll also need to upload a number of documents:

• A photo of yourself in passport format;
• A copy of your passport;
• A ‘brief’ sample of at least 800 Chinese characters to justify the scholarship request;
• A photocopy of your HSK e HSKK test results;
• A photocopy of the diploma from the highest level of instruction you have;
• A photocopy of two letters of presentation, written in English or Chinese, from Chinese instructors (I believe you can directly ask the Confucius Institute for membership);
• Your written signature.

For this application you’ll also have to indicate two universities you would like to be accepted to, choosing them from a list on the site itself.

The deadline for scholarships is around the first week of May (in 2014, for example, the deadline was May 10th; dated by Beijing’s time zone).

The entrance of Yanshan University

When do you find out the results and when would you leave for China?

Between the closing of the deadline and the release of the results it takes about a month: in 2014 the deadline closed on May 10th and the results came out June 16th. Personally it was the longest month of my life, I was torn between the anxiety of not being accepted by the university and the anxiety of finishing my Italian university exams to graduate in time to leave for China without rushing.
Source: http://www.saporedicina.com/english/studying-in-china-with-a-scholarship-from-the-confucius-institute-an-interview-with-chiara-romano/