The ANSO Scholarship for Young Talents 2020 Call for Applications : Deadline for submitting all material and applications: 31 MARCH 2020

	The ANSO Scholarship for Young Talents 2020 Call for Applications
	Introduction Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO) was initiated and established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and other 36 scientific institutes as well as international organizations worldwide. ANSO was founded to improve regional and global capacity in science and technology, human livelihoods and wellbeing, and to promote broader S&T cooperation and communication. According to the ANSO Strategic Plan, the ANSO Scholarship for Young Talents (hereinafter referred to as the ANSO Scholarship) is launched for the training and cultivation of young scientists from all over the world.      The ANSO Scholarship provides young students/scholars who are non-Chinese citizens an opportunity to pursue postgraduate education at the colleges or schools of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) or institutes of CAS around China. It consists of 2 programs: the master program and the PhD program. Every year, up to 200 master students and 300 PhD students from all over the world will be sponsored to study in CAS.      Awardees will receive a monthly stipend from CAS through USTC/UCAS. Specifically, master awardees will receive a monthly stipend of RMB 3000, while PhD awardees will receive a monthly stipend of RMB 6000 or RMB 7000 depending on whether he/she has passed the qualification test arranged by USTC/UCAS for all doctoral candidates after admission. All the awardees will also be provided with health insurance as well as tuition and application fee waivers. A certain amount of travel subsidy from their home countries to China will be provided to the awardees in order to begin the scholarship in China (one trip only per person). Any scholarship awardee on site in China, the host country, at the time of application will NOT be eligible for any travel subsidy.      Any master awardee who fails annual assessments will face the consequence including: •     Termination of his/her scholarship; •     Discontinuity of his/her master study.      Any PhD awardee who fails the qualification test or annual assessments will face the consequences including: •     Termination of his/her scholarship; •     Discontinuity of his/her doctoral study; •     Being provided with a certificate of attendance for the period of study undertaken in China but not a formal doctoral degree.      All the procedures will adhere to USTC/UCAS regulations and rules.      The funding duration for master awardees is up to 36 months, while for PhD awardees is up to 48 months, both with NO EXTENSION. Awardees have to finish centralized training in Chinese language, Chinese culture and all required credits as well as practical research and completion of degree thesis at colleges and schools of USTC/UCAS or CAS institutes. General conditions for applicants: Applicants must: ·  Not hold Chinese citizenship; ·  Provide proof of proficiency of English or Chinese language; ·  For master program applicants: be maximum age of 30 years on 31 December 2020; For PhD program applicants: be maximum age of 35 years on 31 December 2020; ·  Meet the admission criteria for international students of USTC/UCAS; ·  Not take up other assignments during the period of his/her scholarship. Please note: ·  Applicants currently pursuing master degrees at any university/institution in China are NOT eligible for the master program of this scholarship. Applicants currently pursuing doctoral degrees at any university/institution in China are NOT eligible for the PhD program of this scholarship. ·  Applicants CANNOT apply for both UCAS and USTC simultaneously. ·  Applicants can ONLY apply to ONE supervisor from ONE institute/school at either UCAS or USTC.      Step by Step Guideline In order to successfully apply for the ANSO Scholarship, applicants are requested to follow a few key steps that are indicated below:      1.      CHECK ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: You should verify that you are eligible and meet ALL the eligibility criteria specified in the “General conditions for applicants” section of this call.      2. FIND AN ELIGIBLE HOST SUPERVISOR AFFILIATED WITH COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS OF USTC/UCAS, OR CAS INSTITUTES THAT AGREES TO ACCEPT YOU. See here for a list of eligible schools/institutes and supervisors of UCAS and here of USTC. Once you find an eligible professor of your interest, you must contact him/her, send an explanatory e-mail together with your CV, research proposal and any other required documents to him/her, and indicate that you wish to apply for the master/PhD program of the ANSO Scholarship.      3. FILE YOUR SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION AND ADMISSION APPLICATION VIA THE ONLINE APPLICATION SYSTEMS. A. Visit ANSO official website for the ANSO Scholarship online application system. Please create your own account, and fill in the basic information. The system will lead you to the admission application system of USTC/UCAS. B. Prepare the following supporting documentation: 1)      Copy of your regular passport which has at least 2 years validity (only pages showing personal and validity details are needed); 2)      Complete CV with a brief introduction of research experience; 3)      Original copy of the certificate of university degrees held Ø  For master program applicants: Bachelor’s degree certificate. Applicants having just completed or about to complete their Bachelor degree should provide an official pre-graduation certificate showing their student status and stating their expected graduation date; Ø  For PhD program applicants: both Bachelor’s and Master’s degree certificates; Applicants having just completed or about to complete their degree should provide an official pre-graduation certificate showing their student status and stating the expected graduation date. 4)      Original copy of transcripts of Ø  For master program applicants: undergraduate education; Ø  For PhD program applicants: both undergraduate and post-graduate education. 5)      TWO reference letters: You must ask two referees (NOT the host supervisor) from academia familiar with you and your work to upload their scanned reference letters (written in English or Chinese, signed, dated and on official headed paper with contact phone number and email address) to the online admission system of USTC/UCAS. Reference letters in the body of e-mails will NOT be accepted! 6)      Detailed research proposal; 7)      Photocopies of all the title pages and abstracts of maximum 5 published academic papers (if available); 8)      Proof of knowledge of English and/or Chinese; 9)      Foreigner Physical Examination Form (Attachment 1) C. Visit the USTC online admission system or UCAS online admission system. Follow its instructions and upload all the above-mentioned supporting documentation. Please note: 1. All the above supporting documentation must be in English or Chinese, otherwise notarial translations in English or Chinese are required. 2. Make sure the electronic version of supporting documentation is in the right format as requested for the online application system. 3. If you are awarded the scholarship and are admitted by USTC/UCAS, you MUST present the original hard copies of required degree certificates, transcripts AND regular passport to USTC/UCAS scholarship office upon your arrival in China, otherwise you will be disqualified.      4. REMIND YOUR SUPERVISOR TO COMPLETE THE SUPERVISOR’S COMMENT PROCEDURE BEFORE DEADLINE. •    For USTC applicants, please ask your supervisor to email the scanned copy of the supervisor’s comment page to you which later needs to be uploaded on the USTC admission system. •    For UCAS applicants, please ask your supervisor to visit the UCAS online admission system and finish the required procedure which will be instructed in an email automatically sent to your supervisor by the system immediately after your application materials pass the preliminary review by the institute/college he or she is affiliated with.      Deadline for submitting all material and applications: 31 MARCH 2020      Where to enquire and submit application 1) Applicants for USTC, please contact: Ms. Lin Tian (Linda Tian) ANSO Scholarship for Young Talents USTC Office University of Science and Technology of China 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230026 China Tel: +86 551 63600279 Fax: +86 551 63632579 Email: anso@ustc.edu.cn      2) Applicants for UCAS, please contact: Ms. Yuchen Xie (PhD Program) ANSO Scholarship for Young Talents UCAS Office University of Chinese Academy of Sciences 80 Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing, 100190, China Tel: +86 10 82674900 Fax: +86 10 82672900 Email: phd@ucas.ac.cn      Ms. Menglin Hu (Master Program) ANSO Scholarship for Young Talents UCAS Office University of Chinese Academy of Sciences 80 Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing, 100190, China Tel: +86 10 82672900 Fax: +86 10 82672900 Email: master@ucas.ac.cn