Yenching Academy Fellowship 2027 at Peking University

The Yenching Academy is a residential Masters programme at Peking University built around China studies, taught in English and aimed at scholars who will work on China from outside it. The fellowship covers the whole programme, and the cohort is deliberately international.

Who can apply

Applications are open to candidates of all nationalities, and the Academy sets no restriction by field: the intake mixes economics, law, politics, history, literature and public policy on purpose. English proficiency must be demonstrated, with an IELTS Academic overall score of 7.0. That bar is high, and it is the single condition that eliminates most otherwise strong applicants, so the test result should be secured well before the file is assembled.

What the fellowship covers

The Academy provides a generous fellowship to all scholars. It covers tuition fees, accommodation, a monthly stipend, one round-trip travel fare, and field study costs. That last item is worth noting: the programme includes travel within China as part of the teaching, and funding it means the academic experience does not depend on a scholar's own budget. One hundred and twenty places are available.

Deadline

Applications opened in September and close on November 30, 2026 at 9:00 am Beijing time. Note the hour and the time zone together: the deadline falls in the morning Beijing time, which for most of Africa is the middle of the night before. Treat the twenty-ninth as your working deadline.

Before you apply

The Academy selects for a clear reason to study China specifically, not a general interest in an international Masters. An application that connects your existing work or research to something you could only pursue in Beijing is the kind that survives. Secure the IELTS result first, because without the 7.0 nothing else in the file matters.