ANSO-CAS-TWAS/UNESCO PhD Scholarship

Who can apply

Not a Chinese citizen, and a national of an eligible developing country in the Global South (see TWAS's own country list)
Proficient in English or Chinese
Born on or after 1 January 1991
Hold an MSc or equivalent, and meet the international-student admission criteria of USTC or UCAS
Not already pursuing a doctoral degree at any university or institution in China
Apply directly through the USTC or UCAS admission system (not both simultaneously, which causes automatic disqualification), selecting 'CAS-ANSO Scholarship' first, then separately opting in to the ANSO-CAS-TWAS/UNESCO PhD Scholarship

Up to 40 places, 10 reserved for climate research

Up to 40 PhD places a year, 10 of them specifically reserved for climate-related research, funded jointly by China’s Alliance of International Science Organizations, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and UNESCO-TWAS, for applicants from developing countries in the Global South. Study happens at one of two institutions, the University of Science and Technology of China or the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, for up to four years. Beyond the climate set-aside, TWAS/UNESCO also extends special, non-exclusive consideration to two other target groups: applicants from Least Developed Countries, and women.

A comprehensive package, with one exception for China-based applicants

The funding package is comprehensive: a full tuition waiver, a monthly stipend of either 6,000 or 7,000 CNY depending on whether you’ve passed the university’s qualification test, for up to 48 months, health insurance, an application fee waiver, one international flight from your home country to China, and a one-time visa. If you’re already living in China when you apply, you lose eligibility for that travel allowance specifically, everything else still applies.

A sub-category nested inside a much larger scholarship, launched in 2022

This scholarship isn’t a standalone programme; it’s a sub-category of the much larger CAS-ANSO Scholarship (Degree Program), launched specifically for TWAS/UNESCO in 2022. The wider CAS-ANSO Scholarship itself dates to 2019, originally called the ANSO Scholarship for Young Talents, and supports 100 to 200 Master’s students and 300 PhD students a year across USTC, UCAS, and CAS institutes nationwide, of which this 40-place TWAS/UNESCO category is one narrow slice. ANSO itself, the alliance behind all of it, is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 2018 by CAS together with 36 other scientific institutions, universities, and international organisations.

One application trap TWAS spells out explicitly

The application process has a trap built into it that TWAS spells out explicitly: you must not apply to both USTC and UCAS at the same time, or you are automatically disqualified. Pick one. Within whichever system you choose, you first select “the CAS-ANSO Scholarship” as your general funding category, then separately opt in to the ANSO-CAS-TWAS/UNESCO PhD Scholarship specifically, since it’s a narrower sub-category of the broader CAS-ANSO Scholarship rather than a separate application entirely.

The current call is closed, with no next-round date published yet

As of this check, the call is closed. The most recent round ran from 15 October 2025 to 31 January 2026, and no dates for the next round have been published yet. Based on that pattern, the next call likely opens around October, but confirm directly on TWAS’s own site rather than assuming the date repeats exactly. One TWAS rule applies across its whole portfolio: you can only apply to one TWAS or OWSD programme per calendar year, which matters if you’re also considering the TWAS-CSIR Postgraduate Fellowship Programme, a comparable route hosted in India rather than China.