1 Overview of the Program
The International Postgraduate Program/Fellowship of “Disaster Risk Reduction” along “The Belt and Road” is given by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the research institutes in those countries along the “belt and road”. It focuses on the research of natural hazards (e.g, earthquake, geohazards, drought and floods, ocean disaster, meteorological disaster, desertification etc.) distribution, characteristics, monitoring and early warning, risk analysis, mitigation, and coordination. The fellowship aims to cultivate high level talents of Disaster Risk Reduction.
2 Application Guidance
2.1 Majors and Research Areas
Research Areas in“The Belt and Road Initiative” Disaster Risk Reduction; Majors of Civil Engineering, Geography, Ecology，Geology, Hydrology, Marine Science and Atmospheric Sciences etc.
2.2 Qualification of Applicants
(1) Non-Chinese citizens;
(2) Being healthy and willing to abide by the Chinese laws and decrees;
(3) Holding a master’s degree or its equivalent in Geotechnical Engineering, Physical Geography, Atmospheric Physics and Atmospheric Environment, Structural Geology, Environmental Science or related field with satisfactory performance;
(4) With good academic performance and research ability;
(5) Language skills requirements for those who take English as a second language:
● major graduate and undergraduate courses are taught in English (marked in transcripts)
Or
● TOEFL-over 90/IELTS-over 6.5.
2.3 Documents for Application (Bound and Placed in the Following Order)
(1) ADMISSION APPLICATION FORM FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS WITH A 2-INCH PHOTO AND APPLICANT’S SIGNATURE
Applicants shall fill in and submit the application information via the Online Application System for International Students at UCAS (http://adis.ucas.ac.cn), and then print the admission application form (Net Version) produced by the system. The previous version of admission application form (Download) can be used but the applicants shall also complete online application procedure. The second part of the application form should be filled in by the applicant’s supervisor and institute. The applicant cannot apply to more than one supervisor or institute.
(2) CERTIFICATE OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT OR SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION FORM
For those who a. have already got financial support, please attach the certificate of financial support; b. are applying for scholarship program(s) to UCAS, please attach separate scholarship application form(s); c. are applying to study by self-support, please attach the affidavit of support from guarantors and a bank statement (original document or notarized copy).
(3) PHOTOCOPY OF REGULAR PASSPORT PERSONAL INFORMATION PAGE
Regular passport should have at least 2 years validity.
(4) ORIGINAL NOTARIZED PHOTOCOPIES OF MASTER’S AND BACHELOR’S DEGREE CERTIFICATES
Those who have not graduated yet shall provide original pre-graduation certificates showing their student status and expected graduation time at their current academic institutions.
(5) ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPTS OR ORIGINAL NOTARIZED PHOTOCOPIES OF GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE TRANSCRIPTS
(6) TWO ACADEMIC RECOMMENDATION LETTERS
The referees shall work in the relevant research field with the applicant, and should not be the expected supervisor. The letter must be on the letterhead paper, with the referee’s signature and date, and be sealed.
(7) CV & RESEARCH PROPOSAL
(8) PHOTOCOPIES OF ALL THE TITLE PAGES AND ABSTRACTS OF MAXIMUM 5 REPRESENTATIVE PUBLISHED PAPERS (IF ANY)
Please do not submit the photocopies of unpublished papers.
(9) BANK RECEIPT OF APPLICATION PROCESSING FEE
The application processing fee is RMB 600 or USD/EUR equivalent. For applicants outside mainland China, payments shall be made in US dollars or Euros in the form of a personal check or money order or traveler’s check attached to the admission application form, payable to UCAS. For applicants currently in mainland China, payments shall be made in Chinese currency by remitting money directly to the following bank account (Please specify that the remittance is for the application processing fee):
Beneficiary: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Account number: 11001059200053002790
Bank: Construction Bank of China
Beijing Municipal Dongfang Guangchang Branch
SWIFT CODE：PCBCCNBJBJX
Or
Applicants may also submit the admission fee to UCAS Financial Department.
2.4 Admission Process
(1) Find an Eligible Host Supervisor Affiliated with CAS Institutes
Applicant who meets all the eligibility criteria above may contact an eligible supervisor of CAS institutes and send the hard/soft copies of his application documents to the supervisor. See here(http://english.ucas.ac.cn/) for information of supervisors.
(2) Get a Host Supervisor’s Acceptance
The supervisor checks and evaluates the applicant’s academic ability according to the admission regulations of UCAS and/or the institute. Two or three experts might be invited to conduct a video/telephone interview with the applicant. Written examination can be taken if necessary. The supervisor then makes a decision as whether to accept the student by making comments and signing on the supervisor’s comment page of the admission application form and submits all the necessary documents to the institute if to accept him (The supervisor’s comment is also needed in the scholarship application form).
(3) Gain Institute Approval
The application will be reviewed by the institute to decide whether to accept the applicant. If to accept, the institute should complete the comment page of the admission application form and send the stamped application form along with all other application documents to UCAS International Students Office.
(4) UCAS Makes the Final Review and Prepares Admission Documents
UCAS prepares admission and visa application documents for eligible applicants after final review. The final results of evaluation meetings of scholarship applications would be announced once the expert panel has made decisions.
● Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, CAS
Coordinator: Miss ZHANG Yu &Miss YAO Caiyun
Tel: 86-02885242396
Email: yzb@imde.ac.cn
Website: http://www.imde.ac.cn
Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources , CAS
Coordinator: Miss CAI Ying &Miss CHEN Hui
Tel: 86-09314967630，86-09314967618
Email: caiy@lzb.ac.cn，chenhui@lzb.ac.cn
Website: http://www.nieer.cas.cn
Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography , CAS
Coordinator: Miss ZHOU Bin &Miss ZOU Ting
Tel: 86-09917885476
Email: zhoubin@ms.xjb.ac.cn；zouting@ms.xjb.ac.cn
Website: http://www.egi.ac.cn
2.5 Application Time
Program for 2017 fall semester: December 1, 2016–May 30, 2017. For those who apply to UCAS for scholarship, please submit the above admission application documents along with scholarship application form before the scholarship application deadline.
2.6 Supervisor Information
Please consult with relevant institutes.
2.7 Visa Application and Admission Registration
UCAS will send Admission Notices, Visa Application Forms and some other documents to the admitted students.
The admitted student should take his personal passport, Admission Notice, Visa Application Form (JW202/JW201), and original Form of Physical Examination Record for Foreigners as well as other original documents of physical examination to the Embassy or Consulate of the People's Republic of China, and apply for a student visa (X1/X2 visa). Please do not enter China visa-free or with other types of visas other than X visa. Please keep the original Admission Notice and Visa Application Form (JW202/ JW201) which are needed for registration and residence permit application.
The admitted student should register at the place indicated in the Admission Notice, and should register on the assigned date. Otherwise, students should apply to UCAS for registration extension.
2.8 Professional Courses
All students must achieve required credits of the basic courses at the 1st semester in the International College of Chinese Academy of Sciences University or Sichuan University and required credits of the professional courses at the 2nd semester in relevant institute. All professional courses have been set in accordance with the training program for students and are taught in English.
2. 9 Campus Life
Student apartment, two persons share one room (two beds).
2.10 Thesis and Degree Offered
Students are required to conduct an independent research project supervised by a faculty member with an interest in the particular topic of their own research. A Qualification Examination including documents (e.g., research proposals) and a formal oral presentation are required in the third term. A mid-exam proposal and a formal oral presentation are required in the fifth term. Students are required to submit a English thesis with an executive Chinese abstract and the final oral thesis defense is required.
This program commonly last for 3 years. Students must complete the course of study to meet the credits requirement, publish academic papers and pass thesis defense. Degree offered: Doctor of Science in Geotechnical Engineering, Physical Geography , and Environmental Science.
2.11 Fees and Costs
(1) Application processing fee: RMB 600 or USD/EUR equivalent (Non-refundable);
(2) Tuition: None;
(3) Accidental Injury and Hospitalization Insurance premium:
RMB 800/year, RMB 400/half year;
(4) Accommodation (shared rooms): RMB 900/month for one student
(5) Outpatient service fee is paid according to the insurance scheme from insurance company.
Board expenses, travel expenses and other costs of experiments, meetings or trainings beyond the program curriculum are at the student’s own expense.
3 Scholarships
The applicants may apply for CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme Scholarship，Chinese Government Scholarship, UCAS Scholarship for International Students or Scholarship of relevant Institute for International Students.
● CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme
The program offers full scholarship for 200 international students from all over the world. It provides tuition and application processing fee waivers and living allowance to cover health insurance, accommodation fee, transportation fee, etc. Please refer to the UCAS website at http://english.ucas.ac.cn/ for detailed information and application procedure.
● Chinese Government Scholarship
The Chinese Government Scholarship covers many programs, including Bilateral Program, EU Program, AUN Program, PIF Program, etc., to sponsor international students and scholars to study and research in Chinese universities. The scholarship offers a fee waiver of registration, tuition, health insurance, on-campus dormitory accommodation, etc. Please refer to the website of the China Scholarship Council (http://www.csc.edu.cn/Laihua/) for detailed introduction, qualifications of applicants and application procedure.
UCAS is one of the Chinese Government Scholarship universities. Eligible applicants may apply to the China Scholarship Council by recommendation of the related national official departments and Embassy or Consulate of the People's Republic of China. The scholarship usually starts in November and finishes the following April, but please be noted of deadline variations for different countries. The International Students Office of UCAS will offer pre-admission notice if needed.
Applicants may also apply with UCAS recommendation (see http://english.ucas.ac.cn/). But this is only for a small number of excellent international students who are not currently studying in China.
● UCAS Scholarship for International Students
The UCAS Scholarship for International Students offers full scholarship for international students to pursue doctoral degrees at UCAS. It provides tuition fee waiver, health insurance, living allowance and on-campus accommodation. Please refer to the UCAS website at http://english.ucas.ac.cn/ for more information.
● Scholarship of relevant Institute for International Students
The Scholarship of relevant Institute for International Students offers full scholarship for international students to pursue doctor degree at UCAS. It provides tuition fee waiver, health insurance, living allowance and on-campus dormitory accommodation. Please refer to the website of relevant institute for more information.
4 Very Important Note
(1) The applicant cannot apply to more than one institute or more than one supervisor.
(2) Please choose the discipline and research field cautiously and submit your application after a careful discussion with the expected supervisor. Once admitted, any application of yours will not be accepted for the change of discipline or supervisor due to a previous lack of consideration.
(3) All the above supporting documentation should be in English or Chinese, or otherwise notarial translations in English or Chinese are required.
(4) A lack of application documents or unsatisfactory documents will not be accepted and none of the documents will be returned regardless of the application status.
(5) Please DO NOT send any of your application documents directly to the International Students Office of UCAS.
(6) Please be noted the deadlines for scholarship programs and that for admission application are different. The former is usually earlier than the later one.
(7) One can apply for more than one scholarship programs but once awarded by one of the programs, he will lose the qualification for other programs successively.
(8) CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme and Chinese Government Scholarship do not request for application processing fee, while UCAS Scholarship for International Students Programs requests for it. Application processing fee is non-refundable.
5 Contact Information
Coordinator: Ms. TIAN Yanqiong
International Students Office
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
No. 80 Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100190, China
Email: iso@ucas.ac.cn
Tel/Fax: +86-10-82672900
Website: http://english.ucas.ac.cn