20 Scholarships for Students Traveling to China

This article is part of a three-part series on finding scholarships in China. For more information, check out Finding the Right Scholarship for China Study and Your Guide to Chinese Government Scholarships.

by Austin Groves and Francis Miller

Scholarships for study in China can be challenging to find on your own. Each has its own eligibility requirements, deadlines and essay topics. So how do you know a scholarship is worth it?

Here are twenty scholarships that we think are worth the extra effort. The first ten are scholarships that just about anyone can apply for while the rest have a more specialized focus.

If you want to study in China, we want you to know that not only is it possible but there’s money out there for you to do it. Good luck!

(Scholarships are listed in alphabetical order.)

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program
Award Amount: Up to $5000; an additional $8000 for critical need language
Deadline: March 2014

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State support students who enroll in a study or credit-bearing internship abroad. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and the recipient of a Federal Pell Grant.

Blakemore Freeman Fellowship Language Grants
Award Amount: Full program tuition
Deadline: December 31, 2013

The Blakemore Foundation awards fellowships to individuals who spend a year abroad in a full-time intensive language program. Tuition is provided for the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies at Tsinghua University or the International Chinese Language Program at National Taiwan University. Applicants must be U.S. citizens with an undergraduate degree and have an advanced command of the target language.

Boren Scholarship for International Study
Award Amount: $8000/summer; $10,000/semester; $20,000/academic year
Deadline: February 5, 2014; check with your university’s Boren campus representative

The National Security Education Program funds students to acquire language skills and academic credit in programs and areas that are of critical importance to national security and sustainable development. All applicants must be U.S. citizens enrolled in an undergraduate degree-granting program at a U.S. university and be able and willing to fulfill the NSEP service requirement. A separate competition is available for graduate students.

Chinese Government Scholarships
Award Amount: Full program tuition, room and board, medical expenses, monthly living stipend
Deadline: April 2013

Chinese government scholarships provide an opportunity for students to pursue an undergraduate degree, graduate degree or language acquisition at a Chinese university. These scholarships are merit-based and include tuition, housing and even a monthly living stipend. Programs usually last two or more years, although you do not need to participate in a degree-granting program. The Chinese Scholarship Council oversees many Chinese government scholarships.

Confucius Institute (Hanban) Scholarships
Award Amount: Full program tuition, room and board, basic health insurance, monthly living stipend
Deadline: Varies

The ”Confucius Institute Scholarship” program seeks to promote Chinese language and culture and cultivate qualified Chinese language teachers. This program provides financial aid for students, scholars and Chinese language teachers worldwide to get a master’s degree in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages in Chinese universities. This program is also geared toward students interested in majors like Chinese Language and Literature, Chinese History and Chinese Philosophy.

Critical Language Scholarship Program
Award Amount: Full program tuition, room and board, overseas health benefits, travel expenses, visa fee, cultural activities
Deadline: November 15, 2013

The U.S. Department of State sponsors summer institutes all over the world to provide intensive language training. Chinese programs in Chengdu, Qingdao, Suzhou, and Xiamen offer full-time intensive language instruction and cultural activities. Applicants must be U.S. citizens enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree granting program at an American university.

Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship Program (FLAS)
Award Amount: $7500/summer; $15,000/academic year
Deadline: Varies

The International Education Program Service of the U.S. Department of Education provides grants to universities to support students for either domestic or international language acquisition. Applicants must explain how a FLAS will help them in their future studies or career. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens and apply through a university that has received an allocation of grant money. A separate competition is available for graduate students.

Freeman Awards for Study in Asia
Award Amount: $3000/summer; $5000/semester; $7000/academic year
Deadline: Not available until 2014

The Institute of International Education of the U.S. Department of State oversees students to participate in a credit-awarding study abroad program in Asia. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents enrolled in an undergraduate degree-granting program with demonstrated financial need and have little or no experience in the target Asian region. Participants must complete a service project sharing their experiences upon their return.

Luce Scholars Program
Award Amount: Full program tuition
Deadline: November 1, 2013

The Henry Luce Foundation provides stipends, language training and individualized professional placement in Asia to 15-18 Luce Scholars each year. College seniors, graduate students and young professionals who have had limited exposure to Asia are welcome to apply.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program
Award Amount: Varies
Deadline: October 15, 2013

The U.S. Department of State funds candidates who design projects lasting for 10 months beginning in early September 2014 or early March 2015. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and possess a bachelor’s degree before the beginning of the grant. Candidates should not have spent considerable time in their project region. Applicants can add three to six months of intensive language study to their grant by applying for the Critical Language Enhancement Award.

Americans Promoting Study Abroad
Award Amount: Full program tuition, room and board, travel expenses, visa fee, cultural activities
Deadline: 2014 date not announced yet

High school students with prior Chinese language learning experience are encouraged to apply to this four to six week summer program in Beijing. This trip will include intensive Chinese language study, as well as exposure to Chinese culture and society. The program will also include field trips to cultural sites, participation in a community service project, and exposure to a range of international careers in business, government and other areas.

Foundation for Global Scholars General Scholarships
Award Amount:$1000 – $2500
Deadline: Spring programs: November 22, 2014; summer: April 11, 2014; fall: June 27, 2014

The Foundation for Global Scholars supports the development of future global leaders with over 200 scholarships. Dedicated funding is available for students underrepresented in overseas programs, including students with ethnically diverse backgrounds and disabilities, science/technology/engineering/math (STEM) majors and students from the Rocky Mountain region in the U.S. Applicants must be able to transfer credit from the study abroad program toward their degree.

2013 James Bradley Peace Foundation to China
Award Amount: Full program tuition, room and board, travel expenses, visa fee, cultural activities
Deadline: January 15, 2014

The James Bradley Peace Foundation Scholarship, provides academic year scholarships to China and Vietnam. Open to all U.S. high school students, but students attending specific high schools will have selection priority. Students must have a minimum 3.0 GPA. Only U.S. citizens may apply.

National Security Language Initiative For Youth (NSLI-Y)
Award Amount: Full program tuition, room/board, insurance, travel expenses, cultural activities
Deadline: November 5

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State provides summer and yearlong language learning programs in critical-need regions. Participants will engage in rigorous language training and have the opportunity to participate in cultural immersion activities. Applicants must be U.S. high school students in good academic standing and may not be a dependent of an employee of the U.S. Department of State.

New England—China Scholarship Program
Award Amount: Full program tuition
Deadline: Rolling

The New England—China Scholarship Program provides the opportunity for New England public and private university students and graduates to attend a Chinese institution of higher education. The scholarship covers tuition and fees and is available to undergraduate- and graduate-level students. Individual scholarships will have a duration of up to one year and are renewable upon review. Students must first register on the program website, apply to an eligible university and then apply for the scholarship.

The Academy Scholars Program and The Academy Graduate Fellows Program
Award Amount: Varies significantly
Deadline: October 1

Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs provides stipends to pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellows to conduct research in non-Western areas of the world. This program is very competitive, accepting only 1-2% of applicants. Anyone may apply as long as they are within three years of completing a Ph.D. program or have already received their Ph.D.

The Fund for Education Abroad General Scholarships
Award Amount: Up to $10,000/academic year
Deadline: Applications open in November 2013

The Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) is committed to increasing the opportunities for students to participate in rigorous study abroad programs. Applicants must be U.S. citizens enrolled at undergraduate programs in the U.S. and be committed to supporting education abroad through work with FEA after completion of the program. Special consideration will be given to students who are pursuing a foreign language, studying in a non-traditional study abroad location or are from an underrepresented group.

The Soros Fellowship for New Americans
Award Amount: Up to $45,000/academic year for up to two years
Deadline: November 8, 2013

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree or be a college senior in good standing. Applicants must be naturalized citizens, permanent residents or children of naturalized U.S. citizens and accepted to a graduate institution in the United States. This fellowship is to be used for graduate studies in the U.S. but international study is encouraged.

Thomas R. Pickering Undergraduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship
Award Amount: Up to $40,000/academic year
Deadline: Applications open summer 2014

Funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, this fellowship award supports students who have an interest in joining the Foreign Service. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens in their junior year of undergraduate study or seeking admission to a two-year master’s degree program. Participants must attend a U.S. university degree-granting program but international study is encouraged.

Whitaker International Fellows and Scholars Program
Award Amount: Up to $35,000
Deadline: Varies

The Whitaker International Program sends emerging leaders in U.S. biomedical engineering overseas to undertake a self-designed project that will enhance their careers within the field. The goal of the program is to assist the development of professional leaders who are not only superb scientists, but who also will advance the profession through an international outlook. Special consideration is given to applicants with language capabilities to carry out projects in non-English speaking countries.

Benefits of Experiencing Life in China

Language of Choice

More and more, Americans are learning a second language and Chinese is emerging as a language of choice.

City Terrace Elementary School is within walking distance of the campus of California State University, Los Angeles and educates students from Pre-K to Grade 5. The Mandarin-English Dual Language Program began with full day Kindergarten in 2007-2008 and recently expanded to the 5th grade. Over 90% of the students at City Terrace are Latino and many are bilingual when enrolling at City Terrace allowing for an amazing trilingual educational experience.

Marketus Presswood: On Being Black in China

The author in China (Marketus Presswood). Reposted from The Atlantic.

People of African origin are still uncommon in China, but the infusion of international culture has started to erode traditional bigotries.

In the 1996 China edition of the Lonely Planet’s Guidebook, a text box aside comment from a street interview provided some interesting conversation fodder, “… there is no racism in China because there are no black people,” a Chinese woman was reported to have said. This became a little running joke in my small study abroad circle, since I was the only black student in my program of fifty students. It was 1997, and I was in Beijing studying Chinese. “There is no way you could be experiencing any racism in China,” one classmate sardonically told me, “because you are the only black person here.” We all laughed.

While China is officially home to 55 ethnic minority groups, the Middle Kingdom is far more ethnically homogeneous than the United States. Han Chinese make up 91.59 percent of the population, and the majority of the remaining 8.41 percent are visually indistinguishable from their Han counterparts. In part due to this difference, race and nationality are often conflated in China. A white foreigner is likely to be called laowai, or “old foreigner,” while a black foreigner is more likely to be described as heiren, or “black person.”

White Americans face no barriers to claiming their nationality, but blacks are often assumed to hail from Africa, a place thought to be more backwards and poorer than China, and one more than likely receiving Chinese government economic aid in the form of loans and infrastructure projects. This leads to either resentment or denigration on the part of some Chinese. The Chinese media tends to focus on the generosity of the Chinese government toward Africa — a sore point among Chinese who feel their government is not doing enough for the Chinese themselves — and not on the valuable natural resources gained or access to lucrative growth markets for cheap Chinese goods.

Traditional standards of beauty in China have also shaped perceptions of black foreigners in the country. In China, “whiteness” is seen as a highly desirable trait for women. Stores that sell beauty products without fail have a wide variety of whitening creams. The Chinese and Western models that fill the screen and print ads all fit one standard type of beauty — very white skin, tall, thin with jet-black hair. There is even a Chinese saying: “A girl can be ugly, as long as she has white skin.”

Growing up in the United States, I looked at Chinese and other Asian people as persons of “color” who shared a similar experience with white racism. There was some sliver of solidarity in being a “band of minorities.” For most black people or other people of color in the American cultural context there is some tacit understanding of the mutual experiences of white racism that binds seemingly disparate American ethnic groups together in solidarity. I naively took that assumption with me to China on my first visit. I did not expect that everyone would welcome me with open arms, but I did not expect what I did encounter.

My own experience in China began in the late 90s. While working for a major international language company, I taught English to Chinese people from all socio-economic backgrounds. By all accounts, my supervisors and other teachers respected my skills and knowledge in the classroom. Around 2003, however, I noticed a shift in the market and it became increasingly difficult for me to hold on to assigned classes. There were a number of complaints from students. My supervisor investigated. She clandestinely and randomly listened in on my classes via the company intercom system. After a couple of weeks she called me into her office. She told me I was an excellent teacher and could find little fault in my methods and teaching of the prescribed curriculum. Students just wanted a “different” teacher.

While on break, I overheard students speaking in Chinese about how they were paying so much money and wanted a white instructor. One student went so far as to say, “I don’t want to look at his black face all night.” There was nothing my supervisor could do. The market was demanding white teachers and the company was responding to that demand. Not only did they want white teachers, they wanted attractive ones. I overheard a number of students discussing and comparing the physical attractiveness of one teacher over another. Students were even willing to accept a white, non-native English speaker over a black, native English speaker. This was a far cry from my first days of teaching English in China in 1999, when students were just happy to have an English speaker in the room.

In the first half of the 20^th century, Chinese and black American intellectuals frequently collaborated. Langston Hughes, the world-renowned black American writer and poet, met Lu Xun, the father of modern Chinese literature, in Shanghai in the 1930s to work on theories and language for a universal, pluralistic, transnational form of cooperative nationalism. Paul Robeson, a professional actor/singer and social activist, was also a staunch ally of China’s. He actively fundraised for the Chinese Defense League, the precursor of the China Welfare Institute founded by Soong Ching-ling, the wife of Sun Yat-sen, a Chinese revolutionary considered to be the founder of the Republic of China (ROC). He also popularized the current Chinese National Anthem, the March of Volunteers, to a global audience by singing the song in Mandarin Chinese for audiences around the world. A number of other black scholars visited China during the first half of the 20^th century, including W.E.B. Dubois, one of the founders of the NAACP, and Rayford Logan, a Howard University history professor.

While in exile in Cuba in the early 60s, black internationalist Robert F. Williams corresponded with Mao Zedong to support the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. Mao wrote his, Statement Supporting the Afro-American in Their Just Struggle Against Racial Discrimination by U.S. Imperialism on August 8, 1963. He declared:

I call on the workers, peasants, revolutionary intellectuals … whether white, black, yellow, or brown, to unite to oppose the racial discrimination practiced by U.S. imperialism and support the black people in their struggle against racial discrimination.

Mao issued another statement of support in April 1968 after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But despite these expressions of support, there is scant evidence to prove Mao or any other Chinese political leader at the time would have been willing to align themselves actively with the Civil Rights Movement. In fact, Chinese foreign policy in the 1960s mirrored much of that of the West, due in part to the Sino-Soviet split and the coming détente with the U.S.

After the deaths of Mao and Zhou Enlai, the era of alignment with the developing world and oppressed peoples gave way to Deng Xiaoping’s pragmatic plan for economic development epitomized by his statement, “To get rich is glorious.” From the 80s to the present, this new mantra has fueled a single-minded devotion to the pursuit of wealth, leaving little room for concern with past ideals. The isolation of China in the decades before its economic coming of age also limited the exposure most Chinese had to people of other ethnic origins, creating a vacuum of knowledge, drawing in stereotypes and prejudice.

Unlike their parents and grandparents, China’s youth have grown up with access to information, entertainment, and art from all over the world. Many have consequently come to reconsider stereotypes of black people, and they are in turn influencing the opinions of their older, more “traditional” relatives. The popularity of American popular culture in China, particularly the NBA, which as of 2011 was made up of 78 percent black players, is an example of this. The NBA has over 41 million combined followers on Sina and Tencent micro-blogs, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. The Chinese Basketball Association estimates that there are 300 million people in China who play basketball. NBA stars flock to China on multi-city tours every summer to greet crowds of adoring fans.

My Chinese wife recounted a story of her younger cousin, who became a huge Allen Iverson fan to the dismay of her mother. During every game, she would don a Philadelphia 76ers jersey and plop down in front of the TV to cheer on her favorite basketball player. In order to spend more quality time with her daughter and understand her better, the girl’s mother began watching games with her child, and in no time became an avid Sixers fan as well.

Another friend related a story of about his uncle in Beijing, who sent his high school daughter to America for a summer camp. At the end of the camp, during the parent pick-up, his daughter burst into tears as she said goodbye to her summer camp roommate, who just happened to be black. The Chinese father recalled thinking, as he surveyed the scene of his emotionally distraught daughter, “I never thought my daughter could have such an emotional connection with a black person. Maybe I need to rethink my biases.”

Many black people from around the globe are living, working and traveling in China now. Some of us are American, European, Latin American and African, with a wide range of cultures, languages, religions and professions that defy neat categorization. While different histories have been a source of racist ideas and assumptions, perhaps our shared present and future will give Chinese a reason to reflect and reconsider.

Exploring the Great Wall

I have to say that visiting the Great Wall of China was by far the most amazing experience of the trip. We had spent four beautiful days in Guang Dong where the weather was 84 degrees and arrived in Beijing to be met with snow. I had to run to Sports Authority at the mall near our hotel to prepare for the excursion and it was well worth it.

Quick History Lesson:

The Great Wall of China was built along the northern borders of China to protect the Chinese Empire from invaders. By the 7th Century BC several walls were being built and that were later joined together and collectively referred to as the Great Wall. Over time parts of the Great Wall have been rebuilt, maintained and enhanced with a significant reconstruction period during the Ming Dynasty.

From its origins under the first emperor in the third century B.C., the Great Wall has never been a single barrier. Rather, it was an overlapping maze of ramparts and towers that was unified during the Ming dynasty, beginning in the late 1300s. Archeologists suggest that the wall may be as long as 13,000 miles (this includes natural barriers like rivers, hills, etc).

Walking the wall was amazing. I could only wish for more time. Standing on a monument rich with so much history was absolutely amazing. AMAZING is the best way for me to summarize my trip and all of my experiences while in China – Absolutely Amazing.

2012 Chinese Bridge Delegation

I recently returned from what has been an absolutely amazing experience. I, along with more than 400 school administrators and educators, participated in the 2012 Chinese Bridge Delegation. This event is hosted by the Hanban (Chinese Ministry of Education) and CollegeBoard. The Delegates were separated into 10 groups and traveled to various provinces throughout China.

I was paired with a group of approximately 45 Principals, Superintendents, District Representatives and two Stanford representatives – all from the state of California. They were an incredible group and it was an honor to have been linked with such a great group of committed and hard working school administrators.

Two of the administrators in our group presently oversee Mandarin Immersion school programs. Mr. Edward Park is the Principal of Barnard Elementary School in San Diego, CA. Mr. Parks consistently represented himself as a true advocate for his students. While there was a lot of very thoughtful conversation about the importance and the sometimes misguided influence of test scores, Mr. Parks is an administrator that has ushered a significant amount of change in his school over the last five years. According to Movoto School Rankings, the API scores at Barnard have increased almost 100 points with students achieving an average score of 838. Barnard is a Title I school with an incredibly diverse student body that is approximately 40% Latino, 20% African American and 30% White. I challenge others to help me find a Chinese Immersion program that is primarily Latino / African American. What I have seen more often are Chinese Immersion programs with large General Education programs with a large African American / Latino population. We will continue to highlight tremendous things as Mr. Park and Barnard continue to excel in their program.

Mr. Peter Moore is the Head of the Lower School at the Chinese American International School (CAIS) located in San Francisco, CA. According to the Mandarin Immersion Parents Council, CAIS is the oldest Mandarin Immersion school in the United States, a private K-8 founded in 1981. The second U.S. Mandarin Immersion is Potomac Elementary School in Potomac, Maryland, that was founded in 1986. Mr. Moore is entering his second year as the Lower School Director at CAIS. Prior to that he has taught second, fourth, fifth and sixth grade, as well as, technology to kinder through sixth grade. Mr. Moore brings a high level of excitement, passion and commitment to providing his students with consistency across the curriculum as well as a stimulating classroom environment. (As a disclaimer I have to add that I was first impressed with Mr. Moore when we toured CAIS prior to enrolling our children. From our first meeting he has impressed me with his commitment to provide his students with the best opportunities to reach their full potential. His desire to support students and faculty is one of the many reasons we selected CAIS for our children.)

Two of the schools present at the Delegation currently provide supplemental Chinese language programs – Windmere Ranch Middle School in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District and Killian Elementary School in the Rowland Unified School District. We intend to highlight more from the Chinese Bridge Delegation in later posts.

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