In order to support development of Confucius Institutes, make foreign students experience Chinese family life and Chinese culture, facilitate Chinese language promotion and Chinese cultural transmission worldwide, and cultivate qualified Chinese language teachers and talented students of Chinese language, Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) (hereinafter referred to as Hanban) launches the “Confucius Institute Scholarships” program, and allies with 42 Chinese universities to establish the “424 Union”. The scholarship is provided to students from the Confucius Institutes (Classrooms) which cooperate with the 42 Chinese universities respectively to have a four-week study as well as home stay /home visit experience in China.

I. Scope &Eligibility

1. Application is open to applicant who owns a non-Chinese citizenship, aged between 18 and 35, in good health condition.

2. Application is open to students from Confucius Institutes (Classrooms) which cooperate with the 42 Chinese universities and excellent performers in HSK/BCT test. Applicants should submit a HSK or BCT score report.

3. Applicant should have no prior experience of studying in China.

4. Applicant should be willing to experience home stay/ home visit in Chinese families.

II. Scholarship Coverage

This Program provides a scholarship for 4-week study which focuses on Chinese language study as well as Chinese culture and Chinese family experience, covering tuition fee, accommodation fee, and comprehensive medical insurance expenses.

III. Host Institution Information

25 universities from the 42 universities are designated as the first batch of host institutions. The information of host institutions including university name, program schedule, program subject and planned enrollment is shown in Appendix I. Applicants can choose any host institution and program.

IV. Admission Procedure

1. From the issue date of the application procedures, Confucius Institutes (Classrooms) which cooperate with the 42 Chinese universities are entrusted by Hanban as recommending institutions to engage in applicant selection, recommendation and organization. The Confucius Institutes (Classrooms) should guide applicants to fill in the Pre-application Form of Confucius Institute Scholarship for Home Stay/ Home Visit Four-Week Study Program (Appendix II) and send them to the secretariat of “424union”(Tianjin University, E-mail: tju_homestay@tju.edu.cn). The deadline of pre-application is 30 days prior to each four-week program.

2. The secretariat of “424union” conducts an overall review and allocation of all applications, and provides feedback to host institutions, recommending institutions and Hanban.

3. Confucius Institutes (Classrooms) organize students to make application online after receiving the feedback from the secretariat. Applicants should log on to the Confucius Institute Scholarships website (http://cis.chinese.cn)to register, complete the Confucius Institute Scholarships Application Form online, and upload the scanned copies of relevant supporting documents.

4. Hanban will conduct an overall assessment of all applications, admit applicants on the basis of competitive selection and announce the admission results. All the host institutions, recommending institutions and applicants can find the scholarship recruitment results from the Confucius Institute Scholarships website.

5. After confirming with the successful applicants, host institutions are required to post “Letter of Admission” and other relevant documents to the recommending institutions within 10 working days.

V. Application Documents

Pre-application:

Applicants should complete Pre-application Form of Confucius Institute Scholarship for Home Stay/Home Visit Four-Week Study Program (Appendix II).

Online Application:

Applicants should log on to the Confucius Institute Scholarship website athttp://cis.chinese.cn, fill out the Confucius Institute Scholarship Application Form online, and upload the scanned copies of the following documents. If the following documents are not in Chinese or English version, notarization documents should be provided.

1. A scanned copy of the passport photo page.

2. Score reports of the HSK, HSKK or BCT, BCT (Speaking).

3. Certification of the highest education diploma (or proof of expected graduation) and an official transcript.

4. Recommendation letter signed by the head of the recommending institutions. (please provide objective comments on the applicant, including whether the applicant is a student of Confucius Institute or other identity.)

VI. Disclaimer

1. Incomplete or unqualified applications will not be processed.

2. Applicants will be disqualified from application in case of fraudulent application materials or application materials are completed and submitted by someone else.

3. Scholarship winners who cannot register with the host institutions on time should inform the host institution about the reasons in written form within 15 days before the admission date. For those who do not register as requested without reason, the scholarship will be canceled.

4. Scholarship will be canceled for those who drop out, or take schooling suspension during the study.