A funded master's in China, from Nigeria

This guide is for a Nigerian graduate, or a final-year student, who has never applied to a university abroad and has no money for school fees. Peking University, a university in Beijing, runs the Yenching Academy, and the Yenching Academy runs one master's: a two-year master's in China Studies, about China and how it works, and it takes graduates from any course. Everyone it admits is paid for in the first year: school fees, a room on campus, medical insurance, a monthly allowance, research and field study costs, and one return trip between a city in Nigeria and Beijing. You make your own account and apply yourself, on the academy's own application site, from your phone or a computer in Nigeria. You pay nobody to apply. This guide walks you from the account you make tonight to your first month in Beijing: what you do, where, what it costs, how long it takes, and what comes next. Every fee, date and rule in it comes from the official page that sets it. Updated on 3 November 2026. Naira figures are at ₦1,333 to the US dollar, the rate of 20 October 2026, and about ₦203 to the Chinese yuan, the Central Bank of Nigeria's rate of 2 November 2026.

Nobody can promise you a place or a visa, including us. The Yenching Academy chooses its students, and only the Chinese government decides the visa. What this guide gives you is every step, in order, and where a page does not say something yet, it tells you what to do meanwhile.

The application link, the message for your professors and what to send

These are the three things you need this week. Each one is explained in full in its stage below.

1. The application link. You apply on the academy's own application site: apply.yca.pku.edu.cn, opens in a new tab. The academy's words: "Each applicant will create an account on the Yenching Academy admissions portal". Make your account there tonight. More instructions show inside the site once your account exists. The academy's admissions page, with the full list of what it asks, is yenchingacademy.pku.edu.cn/ADMISSIONS.htm, opens in a new tab. Applications close on Monday 30 November 2026 at 9:00 am Beijing time, which is 2:00 am in Nigeria. So your real last day is Sunday 29 November. Stage 2 walks the account.

2. The message for your professors. You need two recommendation letters, and Peking University takes them only from a professor or an associate professor. Its words: "Peking University will only accept recommendation letters written by full professors or associate professors (or equivalent titles). Letters of recommendation must be submitted by professors in the applicant's intended field of study." Your intended field is the area you pick to study at the academy (Stage 1), for example Economics and Management. A Professor or an Associate Professor counts. For any other title (a Reader, a Senior Lecturer, a Lecturer I), no Yenching page says whether the academy treats it as equal, so ask a Professor first wherever you can. First pick your area, then check each person's title on your department's staff page, then send this message, by WhatsApp or email, this week:

> Good morning, Prof. ___. I am applying for the Yenching Academy master's at Peking University in Beijing, in ___ (your area, for example Economics and Management). The academy takes letters only from professors and associate professors in the area I will study, and you taught me ___. Would you write one of my two letters? The application closes at 9 am Beijing time on 30 November, which is 2 am in Nigeria, so my last day is Sunday 29 November. Today I will send you my CV, my transcript and a short note of what I plan to study. Thank you, Sir/Ma.

Send the CV, the transcript and your note the same day.

If your professors teach a science, a health course or engineering, or hold a title other than Professor, write to the academy's admissions office today, at yca-admissions@pku.edu.cn, before you rely on their letters, and ask your two most senior professors at the same time so you lose no days:

> Good day. I am applying for the 2027 Master's in China Studies from Nigeria. My first degree is in ___ from the University of ___, and I plan to study in ___ (your area). The professors who taught me teach ___, and their titles are ___. Will their letters count as from my intended field of study? If not, whose letters will count? Thank you.

Stage 3 walks it.

3. What to send. Everything goes in through the application site, in English (the two letters may be in Chinese or English):

• the online application form;
• a personal statement, 750 words or less;
• a statement of research interest, 1,500 words at most, not counting citations;
• your CV, two pages at most;
• your official transcript (Stage 4 says how to get one);
• your degree certificate, or, if you are in final year, a certificate of enrolment and an official letter from your university with your expected graduation date;
• your two letters from professors or associate professors in your area;
• English: no test if you graduated from a degree taught in English, with a letter from your university (for example from the Registrar) saying English was the language of instruction; otherwise IELTS Academic 7.0 or one of the other tests in Stage 5, taken after 1 September 2025 and sent straight to the academy by the test body.

Every scan must be "clear, color scanned copies produced with a scanner": the academy says photos taken with a phone or a camera "will not be accepted". Stages 4 to 7 walk each paper.

Where the window stands today (3 November 2026)

Open. Applications for the 2027 group (the academy calls each year's group a cohort) opened on 1 September 2026. On 3 November 2026 there are 26 days to Sunday 29 November, your last safe day, and the site closes at 2:00 am on Monday 30 November in Nigeria.

The hour. The academy prints "November 30, 2026 (9:00 am Beijing time)". Beijing is 7 hours ahead of Nigeria, so 9:00 am in Beijing is 2:00 am in Lagos, Abuja and Kano on the same Monday morning. If you plan to submit "on the 30th", you have already missed it. Submit on Sunday 29 November at the latest, in daylight, with power and data you trust.

What the academy published on 2 November 2026. A new notice, "Master's Program in China Studies for 2027 Entry", says things the admissions page does not: your bachelor's degree must be one China recognises (Part 1, rule 2); if you are in final year, your degree must be awarded before August 2027, and after an offer your certificate itself is asked for four times, the last at registration in Beijing, where an offer without it is cancelled (Part 1, rule 3); your CV may be two pages at most; the English waiver needs a letter from your university on the language of instruction; and every paper must be a colour scan from a scanner, not a phone photo.

What happens after the close. The academy's admissions committee reads the applications and invites its finalists to an online interview in the winter or early spring of 2027, with about a week's notice. International candidates hear the academy's decision around April 2027. Peking University's Graduate School and its office for international students then check the papers of the people the academy chose, and the admission offers are mailed out around the end of June 2027. You enrol in Beijing in early September 2027.

Not printed yet, each said again at its stage with what you do meanwhile:

• the amount of the monthly allowance: no Yenching page prints a figure;
• where in Nigeria the medical form for the visa is filled: we cannot tell yet;
• the visa fee from 1 January 2027, the year you will apply for it: we cannot tell yet.

Last year. The window for the 2026 group ran from 10 September to 1 December 2025, 9:00 am Beijing time. This year it opened earlier (1 September) and closes a day earlier (30 November). Do not plan from last year's dates.

From today: what you can still finish

Three things take time that is not fully in your hands: your two professors' letters, your university's papers (transcript, the English letter, a final-year student's letter), and, if you need one, an English test. Everything else (your account, your area, your two statements, your CV) is in your own hands. Find the row for the days left to Sunday 29 November and read the column for what you hold.

No passport yet? You give your passport details in the application, and the academy says "The passport details provided by the applicant during the application process (including name, citizenship, gender, date of birth, and the uploaded photograph) cannot be altered once confirmed, prior to enrollment." A fresh Nigerian passport takes 42 days after your enrolment at the passport office (the day your fingerprints and photograph are taken), and a renewal 21 days, on the Nigeria Immigration Service's own service terms; a 32-page, five-year passport is ₦100,000 and a 64-page, ten-year passport ₦200,000. Started today, a fresh passport will not be in your hands by 29 November. Apply for it today all the same on the Nigeria Immigration Service's passport portal, opens in a new tab, because you need it for the visa. For a fresh passport you need your NIN slip, your birth certificate (or a declaration of age from a High Court), your local government (indigene) certificate and a passport photograph. For the application itself, no Yenching page says what an applicant with no passport yet should enter; write to the admissions office at yca-admissions@pku.edu.cn this week, and ask how to give your details, because a detail you give cannot be changed later.

Part 1. Before you start

What this master's is

It is one master's, about China and how it works, and it takes graduates from any course. The official name is the Master's Program in China Studies at the Yenching Academy of Peking University. You do not need to have studied China or to speak Chinese: the academy says "candidates are not required to have formally studied China or the Chinese language in the past", but "they must be strongly interested in doing so". Chinese classes are part of the master's for every international student.

It runs two years. In the first year you take all your courses, on campus in Beijing. In the second year you write a long research essay (a thesis) with a teacher who guides you, and defend it in an oral examination. You choose one of six areas to write in:

• Economics and Management;
• History and Archaeology;
• Philosophy and Religion;
• Politics and International Relations;
• Law and Society;
• Literature and Culture.

Your area decides the name on your certificate: for example "Master of Economics in China Studies" or "Master of Law in China Studies". Every student takes the same compulsory courses (China in Transition, a week-long Field Study trip, the Topics in China Studies Lecture Series, Academic Writing, and Chinese), then chooses other courses from any of the six areas.

About 120 new students start each year, and about three in four are from outside China. The group that started in September 2026 has 124 students from 37 countries and regions.

What the money covers. The academy calls its money the Yenching Fellowship. In its words, everyone admitted receives it "for the first academic year, which covers tuition, accommodation in the Yenching Academy House, a travel stipend for one round-trip journey between your base city and Beijing (the base city must be a city within the country of your nationality; cost of this round-trip will be estimated and calculated by YCA), basic medical insurance, a monthly stipend, and expenses related to research." In plain words: school fees, a room, one return trip from a city in Nigeria (the academy works out the amount), basic medical insurance, a monthly allowance and research costs. No Yenching page prints the amount of the monthly allowance.

The second year is applied for. Students "who maintained a good academic standing, and plan to stay in Beijing during their second academic year can apply for the second-year Yenching Fellowship", which covers "the tuition, accommodation support (on-campus house or off-campus housing stipend), basic medical insurance and a monthly stipend". It is not given to everyone, and it does not name a second flight. An international student may leave Beijing in the second year to write the thesis, but the second-year money is for those who stay.

The bodies you will deal with

• The Yenching Academy (Yenching Academy of Peking University, YCA): the part of Peking University that runs this master's, chooses its students and pays the fellowship. You apply to it, on its own site. Its admissions office: yca-admissions@pku.edu.cn, +86 10 6276 6358.
• Peking University's office for international students (the International Students Division, ISD, part of the Office of International Relations): with Peking University's Graduate School, it checks the papers of the people the academy chose; it issues your admission notice and helps you with your residence permit when you arrive.
• The Chinese degree check (the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, CSCSE, part of China's Ministry of Education): it checks your Nigerian degree and writes a report that Peking University needs. You do it yourself, online, once you hold an offer (Stage 10).
• Nigeria's Ministry of Education (the Federal Ministry of Education, its Department of Education Support Services): it stamps your degree as genuine for use abroad (authentication), which the visa needs (Stage 12).
• The Chinese Embassy in Nigeria in Abuja and the Chinese Consulate-General in Lagos: they decide your student visa and stamp your police certificate. You hand your papers in at the China Visa Application Centre for your state, in Abuja or in Lagos (Stage 13).
• The Nigeria Police Force (its Police Services portal, possap.gov.ng): it issues the police certificate China asks for (Stage 12).
• Beijing's travel health centre (the Beijing International Travel Health Care Center): after you land, it checks your medical report (Stage 15).

Who can apply, and the rule that governs you

The academy's rules are the ones you live under. The strictest of them is said first.

1. Your two letters must come from a professor or an associate professor, in the area you will study. The academy: "Peking University will only accept recommendation letters written by full professors or associate professors (or equivalent titles). Letters of recommendation must be submitted by professors in the applicant's intended field of study." A Professor or an Associate Professor counts. The page names no other Nigerian title as equal to an associate professor, so for a Reader, a Senior Lecturer or any lower title, write to the admissions office (yca-admissions@pku.edu.cn) before you rely on that letter. Check the title before you ask the lecturer who knows you best. And the academy adds that you must "personally check and confirm that all documents (including the two letters of recommendation)" meet its rules: if a letter does not, your application can fail on it.
2. A bachelor's degree, in any course, that China recognises. The academy's notice of 2 November 2026: applicants "must hold or be on track to receive before August 2027, a Bachelor's degree in any field accredited by the Ministry of Education in the P.R.C." For a Nigerian degree, that recognition is China's degree check (the CSCSE report, Stage 10), done after an offer; without it the offer ends. No page lists which Nigerian degrees pass it. An HND or an OND is not a bachelor's degree, so this guide does not walk them.
3. Or your final year, with the degree awarded before August 2027. The notice: "on track to receive before August 2027". After an offer you need your certificate four times: you send your certificate of graduation when you are pre-admitted (after you accept the academy's offer and finish Peking University's first steps; around April to June 2027); the visa needs your degree authenticated by Nigeria's Ministry of Education (July or August); China's degree check needs the certificate (Stage 10); and you show the original at registration in early September, or the offer is cancelled. This week, ask your university's certificate office in writing when the 2027 certificates will be issued, and write to the admissions office (yca-admissions@pku.edu.cn): if your certificate will not be out before August 2027, does your university's statement of result serve when you are pre-admitted? China's degree check asks the "Degree certificate/diploma", and the visa your degree authenticated, so plan for the certificate itself by July. Peking University does not let you be enrolled in another degree while you study there.
4. A passport of any country except China. "Applicants must be non-Chinese citizens with a valid passport." Nigeria is not limited.
5. English. The academy: applicants "whose native language is English, or have graduated from an English-taught degree program (undergraduate or above), are not required to provide an English proficiency test report", and the waiver needs your university's letter on the language of instruction. The page names graduates. If you are in final year, write to the admissions office this week and ask whether your university's letter is enough; book the test the same week all the same (Stage 5), because the test must be taken and sent before the close.
6. Health and a clean record. The 2027 notice: applicants "should be healthy, both physically and psychologically, with no criminal record".

Age. There is no age limit, but the academy says "excluding recipients of the Zhuoyue Scholarship" (a separate award), "no person over the age of 29 has been admitted to the program. The average age of students entering the program is 23." If you are over 29, you may still apply; know that nobody older has been admitted so far.

A master's already. You may apply, but the academy says "Those who hold graduate degrees are not favored in the selection process."

What the academy looks for. In its own words: "academic merit, leadership potential, international experience, and long-term aspirations", and personal statements that "offer specific and persuasive explanations of how they could benefit from studying in our interdisciplinary China Studies program". Its 2027 notice also lists "An outstanding academic record" and "A record of extracurricular achievement, community engagement, social responsibility, and leadership potential". No page prints a minimum grade.

Corps members. You can apply while serving. Plan for one thing now: the master's starts in early September 2027, and a service year runs a year from its three-week orientation camp. If your service will still be running in early September 2027, read the NYSC rule in Part 4 before you accept an offer.

Do you need an agent? No

You make your own account and submit everything yourself. Nobody can sell you a "Yenching link", a place, or a letter that counts. Your questions go to the admissions office, yca-admissions@pku.edu.cn. Pay nobody to apply for you.

Partner universities. The academy works with partner universities abroad that pre-select their own students and graduates; "All students and alumni of Partner Universities must apply through your home university's internal pre-selection process". No Nigerian university is on the partner list or the list of cooperating universities. If your degree is from a Nigerian university, this rule does not touch you: apply straight on the academy's site.

Is there a fee to apply?

No Yenching page prints an application fee, and none prints that there is none. If the site asks for a payment, pay only inside the site, never to a person.

Can my husband, wife or children come?

No Yenching page speaks of a family, and the fellowship pays one room and one flight, for you alone. China's visa for the husband, wife or child under 18 of a student is a different visa (the S1), applied for and paid for separately. Plan as one person.

The route this guide walks

A graduate of a Nigerian university, or a final-year student, applying straight to the academy from Nigeria, with an online interview, an offer, the Chinese degree check, the student visa (the X1, the visa for study of more than 180 days) from the visa centre in Abuja or Lagos, and her first month in Beijing.

Part 2. The whole journey on one page

1. Pick your area and check you fit. Today. (Stage 1)
2. Make your account on the application site. Tonight. (Stage 2)
3. Ask your two professors. This week. (Stage 3)
4. Ask your university for your papers: transcript, certificate or the final-year letters, the English letter; and your passport. This week and next. (Stage 4)
5. An English test, only if you need one. Book it this week. (Stage 5)
6. Write your two statements and your CV. By about 22 November. (Stage 6)
7. Fill the form, upload, and submit by Sunday 29 November 2026. (Stage 7)
8. The wait and the online interview, winter or early spring 2027. (Stage 8)
9. The academy's answer, around April 2027. (Stage 9)
10. The Chinese degree check (CSCSE), in April 2027 for a graduate; at enrolment for a final-year student. (Stage 10)
11. Your admission offer and your visa form (JW201 or JW202), around the end of June 2027. (Stage 11)
12. Your visa papers: your degree authenticated (from April), your police certificate and its stamp, the medical form. (Stage 12)
13. The student visa (X1) at the visa centre in Abuja or Lagos. July or August 2027. (Stage 13)
14. Travel to Beijing and fill the arrival card. Late August or early September 2027. (Stage 14)
15. The first 30 days: register, insurance, your address, the health check, the residence permit. (Stage 15)
16. Your first monthly allowance, and the year. (Stage 16)
17. Year two and after. (Stage 17)

Part 3. Stage by stage

Stage 1. Pick your area, and check you fit

Back to the short stages

Why. Your area decides which professors may write your letters, what your research statement is about, and the name on your certificate. Pick it first, because everything else follows from it.

What you do.

1. Read the six areas (Part 1) and pick the one closest to what you want to do after. A Microbiology graduate who wants to work in health policy might pick Politics and International Relations or Law and Society; an Accounting graduate might pick Economics and Management; a History graduate History and Archaeology. Your first degree does not have to match: the academy takes "a Bachelor's degree in any field".
2. Open the academy's Curriculum page, opens in a new tab and read the courses listed under your area. Write down two or three that pull you. You will name them in your statements.
3. Read the rules in "Who can apply" (Part 1) once more and check each against yourself: the degree or your final year, your passport, the letters, English.
4. Watch the academy's recorded information session in English, held in May 2026 "with a regional focus on African countries": the recording, opens in a new tab. The academy says its sessions covered the courses, the money, life outside class, the admission figures and student life.

Where. The academy's FAQ, opens in a new tab and Curriculum, opens in a new tab pages.

How long. One evening.

How you know it is done. You can say in one sentence which area you will study and why it fits what you want to do after.

What opens next. Your account (Stage 2) and your professors (Stage 3), the same week.

What goes wrong. Picking the area that sounds most like your first degree, then finding that no professor who taught you teaches in it. Look at both together: the area you want, and the professors in your department or faculty who work in it. If your heart is set on an area where nobody taught you, Stage 3 says what to do.

Stage 2. Make your account on the academy's application site

Back to the short stages

Why. Everything goes in through it, and "More details will be available through the admissions portal once the applicant has created an account". Some of what the form asks shows only inside.

What you do.

1. Open apply.yca.pku.edu.cn, opens in a new tab on a computer if you can (a business centre or a cyber café will do for the uploads; a phone works for reading).
2. Sign up with an email address you check every day. The academy writes to finalists "approximately one week before their interview date", so an email you miss can cost you the interview.
3. Read the site's Application Instructions once you are in.
4. Enter your name, date of birth and passport details exactly as they are on your passport. They "cannot be altered once confirmed".
5. Save, and come back to it. You do not have to finish in one sitting.

What you need. An email address; your passport, or the plan in "No passport yet?" above.

What it costs. No fee is printed on any Yenching page.

How long. Thirty minutes.

How you know it is done. You can sign in, and you see the form and the upload boxes.

What runs at the same time. Your message to your professors (Stage 3).

Stage 3. Ask your two professors

Back to the short stages

Why. The letters depend on other people's time, and a letter from the wrong person does not count. Ask early.

What you do.

1. Open your department's and faculty's staff pages (or the noticeboard list) and write down every professor and associate professor who taught you, and what each one teaches.
2. Pick the two who teach closest to your area. Peking University wants professors "in the applicant's intended field of study", the area you will study at the academy: a professor of economics for Economics and Management, of law or sociology for Law and Society, of political science for Politics and International Relations, and so on. If none of your professors teaches near your area, send the admissions office the message in the box at the top of this guide today, ask your two most senior professors the same day, and rely on their letters once the office answers.
3. Send each one the message in "The message for your professors" above, by WhatsApp or email, this week.
4. The same day, send your CV, your transcript and a short note (five lines) of what you plan to study and why. A professor writes a better letter about the real you.
5. Ask each for the email address he wants the academy's request sent to (his university email if he has one).
6. The day a professor says yes, sign in and enter his name, title and email in the site as it asks, so his request goes out that day. Tell him to look for the academy's email, in spam too. The instructions inside the site say how the letters are sent.
7. Check in on about 15 November and again on about 22 November.

If no professor in your area ever taught you. Send the admissions office, yca-admissions@pku.edu.cn, the message in the box at the top of this guide, with your first degree, your area, and the professors who taught you and their subjects. The academy takes letters only from professors in your intended field, so a letter from outside it does not count. What no Yenching page says is whether a professor of a neighbouring subject counts as in your field, so ask that, and ask your two most senior professors the same day. If the answer is no, pick the area your professors teach in (Stage 1).

If a professor says yes but is slow. Professors are busy and travel. A request in the last week is the one that misses the date. If either has not written by about 22 November, ask your second choice.

What it costs. Nothing.

How long. Your message takes ten minutes; the letters take your professors a week or more.

How you know it is done. Both letters show as received inside the application site.

What goes wrong. Asking the lecturer who knows you best without checking the title. Peking University "will only accept recommendation letters written by full professors or associate professors (or equivalent titles)". Check the title first; ask a Professor first wherever you can; ask the admissions office about any other title.

Stage 4. Ask your university for your transcript, your certificate and your English letter

Back to the short stages

Why. The academy asks for official papers, scanned in colour on a scanner, and your university may take time to issue them.

What you do.

1. Your transcript. The academy "only accepts official transcripts". Some Nigerian universities send an official transcript only to an institution, not to you: the University of Lagos, for one, says "Official Transcripts CANNOT be issued directly to individuals", and calls the copy it lets you download yourself "the unofficial copy" (its student copy). Do two things this week:

   • Ask the admissions office (yca-admissions@pku.edu.cn) whether it accepts a scan of your student copy at the application, or where your university should send the official transcript now. No Yenching page answers this.
   • Order the official transcript from your university, to be sent where the academy tells you. The University of Lagos, as one example, charges ₦10,000 for a transcript and ₦3,000 to send it by email, or ₦15,000 to upload it to an application site, on its records portal's fee list (updated on 26 October 2026).

   If you are chosen, the academy's rule is: "All pre-admitted candidates must either arrange for their university to send official transcripts directly to the Yenching Academy (yca-submissions@pku.edu.cn), or provide university certified transcripts". Pre-admitted means after you accept the academy's offer and finish Peking University's first steps, before the admission notice in summer.

2. Your degree certificate. Scan it. If your certificate is not out, ask your university's certificate office this week when it will be, and keep asking. You need the original for the Chinese degree check in April 2027 (Stage 10) and in your hand at registration in Beijing, where an offer is cancelled without it. If your certificate is not yet issued, your university's statement of result is the paper it gives graduates meanwhile (the University of Lagos charges ₦5,000); no Yenching page says whether a statement of result counts in place of the certificate, so write to the admissions office and ask, and upload it with your transcript.
3. Final-year students. You need a certificate of enrolment (a letter from your university that you are a student there) and "an official letter from their current university stating their expected graduation date". Ask your faculty officer or the Registrar this week. If you are chosen, you must "submit their certificate of graduation upon being pre-admitted".
4. The English letter. If you graduated from a degree taught in English, ask your university for a letter that says English was the language of instruction. The academy's example: "a letter issued by the Registrar indicating the language of instruction". The University of Lagos calls this paper "English as a Medium" and charges ₦5,000 for it.
5. Your passport. The data page, scanned.
6. Scan everything on a scanner, in colour, clear. A business centre or your department's office will do it. "Photos taken with mobile phones or cameras will not be accepted."

Where. Your university's transcript office or portal (the University of Lagos takes them on its records portal), your faculty officer, the Registrar.

What it costs. Your university's charges. The University of Lagos, as one example, on its records portal's fee list (updated on 26 October 2026): transcript ₦10,000; statement of result ₦5,000; English as a Medium ₦5,000.

How long. Some universities state a time and many do not. Ahmadu Bello University states 24 to 48 hours to send an official e-copy to an institution; the University of Lagos, the University of Ibadan, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Obafemi Awolowo University state none. Request yours this week.

How you know it is done. Every paper is a clear colour scan, saved as a file named for what it is (Transcript, Certificate, English letter, Passport).

What goes wrong. A phone photo of a paper. A transcript with a different spelling of your name from your passport. Fix the name on the paper before you send it, not after.

Stage 5. An English test, only if you need one

Back to the short stages

Who needs one. A graduate whose degree was not taught in English; anyone whose university will not write the English letter in time; and a final-year student, unless the admissions office tells her in writing that her university's letter is enough (Part 1, rule 5).

What the academy takes.

• IELTS Academic: 7.0 overall;
• TOEFL iBT: the page prints "Overall 5" and does not say what that is in plain terms, so IELTS is the test to book;
• Cambridge English Scale (Advanced): 185.

The rules that catch people. The test must be taken after 1 September 2025. The academy does not take "TOEFL MyBest Scores, TOEFL iBT Home Edition, IELTS Indicator test, IELTS Online, or IELTS One Skill Retake". And the score must go straight from the test body: "Make sure you choose "Yenching Academy of Peking University" as the designated recipient of your scores when you book the exam time. For TOEFL, use the institution code: C488."

What you do. Book IELTS Academic at a test centre (on a computer) this week. When you book, name the Yenching Academy of Peking University as the place the result goes.

What it costs. IELTS Academic at a test centre on a computer: ₦299,000 (IDP Nigeria, which runs IELTS tests in Nigeria). TOEFL iBT: US$170 (about ₦227,000).

How long. IELTS on a computer gives its result in 1 to 5 days.

How you know it is done. The result is out and shows as sent to the academy.

What goes wrong. Booking IELTS Online or the Indicator because it is easier. The academy does not take them.

Stage 6. Write your two statements and your CV

Back to the short stages

Why. These are where the academy meets you. It reads them for "academic merit, leadership potential, international experience, and long-term aspirations".

The personal statement (750 words or less). About you: why China, why this master's, what you have done, and what you will do after. The academy wants "specific and persuasive explanations of how they could benefit from studying in our interdisciplinary China Studies program". Write from your own life: what you saw in Nigeria that made you ask a question China can help answer (Chinese loans and roads, trade in your market, Chinese firms in your state, technology, health, farming). Name one or two of the courses you wrote down in Stage 1. Say what you will do with the degree. A statement that could be sent to any school does nothing for you.

The statement of research interest (1,500 words at most, not counting citations). About one question: what you would study about China in your area, why it matters, what is already known, and how you might study it. One clear question beats a broad topic. An example of the size of question, for Politics and International Relations: how do Chinese-built hospitals in Nigeria find and train their staff?

Your CV (two pages at most). Your education with your class of degree; your leadership (a student body, a fellowship, a society you led, your NYSC community project); work and volunteering; prizes; languages. The academy names "extracurricular achievement, community engagement, social responsibility, and leadership potential".

How long. About a week of evenings for both statements. Draft by about 15 November; finish by about 22 November.

How you know it is done. Both statements are under their word limits, read aloud once, and checked against each other so they do not repeat.

What goes wrong. Going over the word limit. Writing a list of your activities instead of a few examples with what you did. Leaving out why China.

Stage 7. Fill the form, upload, and submit by Sunday 29 November

Back to the short stages

What you do.

1. Sign in to the application site and fill every part of the form.
2. Upload each paper in its box.
3. Check that both letters show as received.
4. Check every page against your passport and your papers, then submit.
5. Keep the confirmation and a copy of everything you sent.

When. By Sunday 29 November 2026. The site closes at 9:00 am Beijing time on 30 November, 2:00 am in Nigeria.

How you know it is done. The site shows your application as submitted.

What goes wrong. Waiting for the last night, then a power cut or a slow network. Submit by daylight on the 28th or the 29th.

Stage 8. The wait, and the online interview

Back to the short stages

What happens. "Application screening is completed by the Admissions Committee within the Yenching Academy." Finalists are invited to an interview "during winter and spring", by email, "approximately one week in advance", and international candidates are interviewed "online via a video conferencing platform".

What you do while you wait.

• Check your email every day, including spam.
• If you have no passport yet, get it now.
• Ask your university now how long its official transcript takes to reach an email address abroad. You will need it if you are chosen.

The interview. The academy's own advice: "choose a location with a strong internet connection and ample lighting. You may want to use wired internet for a more stable connection. Please test your computer before the interview to ensure that your microphone and camera are working properly. You should be ready at your computer 20 minutes before the appointed time". The invitation carries the detailed instructions. In Nigeria, plan the power and the data too: a fuelled generator or a charged power bank, and a second network as a backup. Re-read your two statements before the call.

How you know it is done. You have had the interview, or the spring has passed with no invitation.

Stage 9. The academy's answer, and accepting

Back to the short stages

When. "Final admission decisions for international candidates ... will be released around April."

If the answer is yes. "Candidates who accept our offers must complete internal procedures at Peking University before being pre-admitted." Accept by the date the academy gives. If you are a graduate, the Chinese degree check comes next (Stage 10), in April. The same week:

• arrange your official transcript: your university sends it to yca-submissions@pku.edu.cn, or you provide a university-certified transcript;
• start the Ministry of Education's stamp on your degree (Stage 12, item 1). It is done online (you upload your degree and supporting papers on the ministry's portal, and your university emails your transcript to the ministry); its time is not printed, and the visa needs it;
• write to the admissions office and ask whether the academy buys your ticket or pays you back after you land, and when, so you know whether you need the fare first (Stage 14).

If the answer is no. The academy says: "You are welcome to reapply. It is important that you can explain how you have used the intervening year to strengthen your skill sets and work toward your career goals." Go to Part 8.

Stage 10. The Chinese degree check (CSCSE)

Back to the short stages

Why. Peking University needs a report from China's Ministry of Education service centre that your Nigerian degree is genuine and what it equals in China: "An Overseas Credential Evaluation is required only for offer holders". Without it you cannot enrol.

When. A graduate submits it "during the Peking University Office of International Relations (OIR) registration stage in April". A final-year student submits it, with the original certificate, "during enrollment".

What you do. You apply yourself, online, at the centre's application site (zwfwbl.cscse.edu.cn, opens in a new tab). The centre's guide says: register; prove who you are; use China's immigration app ("National Immigration Administration 12367") to get an 8-digit code (whether that app's check works for an applicant in Nigeria: we cannot tell yet; if it does not, write to the centre at renzheng@cscse.edu.cn the day you hold your offer); fill the form; upload; pay online. The papers: your degree certificate; your passport; a recent photo; the signed authorisation statement; and, recommended, your full official transcript. The centre's rule: "Delegating to others or submitting applications on behalf of others is prohibited." Do it yourself.

What it costs. RMB 360 (about ₦73,000), paid online. If the centre suspends the check, "The evaluation fee is refundable."

How long. "Within 20 working days" for countries outside its faster lists. It offers no faster service.

How you know it is done. The centre issues its report as an electronic file. Keep it: you show it again when you register in Beijing.

What goes wrong. Starting late. The report must be in by the stage Peking University sets, and the centre may write to you for more papers. Answer the same day.

Stage 11. Your admission offer, and the visa form

Back to the short stages

When. "admission offers will be mailed out around the end of June of the enrollment year", that is around the end of June 2027.

What comes. Peking University's office for international students issues your admission notice; the visa also needs the Visa Application Form for Study in China (the JW201 or JW202 form) and Peking University's certificate of enrolment (from its Graduate School). Peking University's own instructions list all three among the papers for the X1 visa. Keep all three safe: "After your visa has been approved, please ensure that the aforementioned documents are returned together when you collect your passport, as you will need these documents for further procedures after your arrival in China."

What you check the day they arrive. Your name and passport number against your passport, and the enrolment date.

Stage 12. Your papers for the visa

Back to the short stages

The ministry's stamp on your degree starts in April (Stage 9). The police certificate and the medical form run in the same weeks once your offer comes; the embassy's stamp comes after the police certificate.

1. Your degree, authenticated by Nigeria's Ministry of Education. The Chinese Embassy asks a university student for "Proof of final academic qualification (should be authenticated by the Ministry of Education of Nigeria)". Since April 2026 the ministry does this online only: you register and upload on its portal, essverify.education.gov.ng, opens in a new tab, and you ask your university to send your transcript "directly from the institutions' official email addresses to ess1@education.gov.ng". You do not visit the ministry. Questions go to ess.enquiry@education.gov.ng. The ministry's fee and time: we cannot tell yet. A graduate starts it the week the academy says yes (Stage 9); a final-year student the day her certificate is issued.

2. Your police certificate, and the Chinese Embassy's stamp on it. China asks this for the residence permit you apply for in Beijing: "A consular-authenticated police character certificate in Nigeria is required." Get it in Nigeria, before you travel:

• Apply for the Police Character Certificate on the Nigeria Police Force's Police Services portal (possap.gov.ng, opens in a new tab): fill the form, upload your papers, go for your fingerprints at your police station, and download the certificate. The police say 5 to 7 working days. The papers: the form, your National Identity Number slip or card, your passport's data page, two passport photographs (white background), proof of payment, and your birth certificate or a declaration of age.
• Then have the Chinese Embassy stamp it (consular legalisation). You submit it at the China Visa Application Centre with your passport and the embassy's legalisation form (from its legalisation page, opens in a new tab). The embassy's legalisation page names the centre in Abuja; whether the Lagos centre takes legalisation for the Lagos district: we cannot tell yet, so write to Lagoscentre@visaforchina.org before you go. The embassy's fee for a foreigner's personal paper (a "Civil Matter") is ₦8,400, paid by online bank transfer when you collect, plus the visa centre's own service fee (we cannot tell yet); standard service takes 4 working days, or the 3rd working day for ₦9,500 more. Whether the embassy wants Nigeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to stamp the certificate first: we cannot tell yet. Before you go, write to your centre (abujacentre@visaforchina.org or Lagoscentre@visaforchina.org) and ask whether a Police Character Certificate needs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' stamp before the embassy's.

3. The medical form. The visa asks a "Physical Examination Form", and Beijing later checks "health reports taken in other countries". Where in Nigeria the form is filled and who signs it: we cannot tell yet. Meanwhile, read every paper that comes with your offer: if it carries a medical form, that is the one you use. Keep the original report: you carry it to Beijing (Stage 15).

4. Money for the visa. The embassy asks "Proof of funds（2500 dollars/year or Scholarship certificate）". The fellowship is your scholarship. Whether the academy's offer papers serve as that certificate: we cannot tell yet. If they do not, the other paper the embassy names is proof of US$2,500 a year (about ₦3.33 million).

5. Your passport, valid for at least six more months, with blank pages.

Rekoja's desk can prepare your visa file and your documents with you, paid in naira, with the official fees passed on at cost. It never prepares your Yenching application: nobody pays Rekoja for help with the application itself. It never files your CSCSE check either: China's centre lets only you file it.

Stage 13. The student visa (X1)

Back to the short stages

Which visa. The X1, "Issued to those who intend to study in China for a long-term period of more than 180 days".

Which centre. You apply at the visa centre for the state you live in:

• Abuja (the embassy's district): the FCT, Kwara, Niger, Kaduna, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi and Oyo. The Chinese Visa Application Service Center in Abuja: Murjanatu House, 3rd Floor, 1 Zambezi Crescent, Maitama, Abuja; abujacentre@visaforchina.org; +234 807 119 1134.
• Lagos (the Consulate-General's district): Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo, Kogi, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Anambra, Imo, Rivers, Enugu, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Nasarawa, Benue, Ebonyi, Cross River and Taraba. The Chinese Visa Application Service Centre in Lagos moved in March 2026 to the third floor, Purple Mall, Freedom Way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; Lagoscentre@visaforchina.org; +234 807 989 0023.

Older pages still print the old addresses (Churchgate Plaza in Abuja, The Manor in Lekki). Use the ones above, and before you travel, confirm the address by email to your centre.

What you do.

1. Online first. Since 28 April 2025 you fill the visa form and upload your papers online, on the visa centre's site, where "registration is only supported through email addresses". The visa centre's current online address: we cannot tell yet; ask your centre by email (abujacentre@visaforchina.org or Lagoscentre@visaforchina.org). The embassy's older guidelines name China's online visa form site, cova.cs.mfa.gov.cn, opens in a new tab. The application is reviewed online first, and you can fix the form or add papers while it is under review.
2. In person. When your application's status changes to "Passport to be submitted", go to the centre with your passport and your papers, give your fingerprints (the X1 still needs them), and pay the visa fee.
3. Collect. When it is approved, go back to the centre to collect your passport, the visa, and your admission notice, visa form and certificate of enrolment.

What you take.

• your passport (six months left, blank pages) and a photocopy of its data page;
• the visa form, printed, and its confirmation page;
• one recent colour passport photo, white background, front view, no headwear;
• a photocopy of your admission notice;
• a photocopy of your JW201 or JW202 form;
• Peking University's certificate of enrolment;
• your degree, authenticated by the Ministry of Education;
• your proof of funds or scholarship certificate;
• your physical examination form.

What it costs. The visa fee for a Nigerian, single entry: ₦10,500; the centre's own service fee is extra. Those visa fees hold "to December 31, 2026"; the fee you pay in 2027: we cannot tell yet. The centre's service fee: we cannot tell yet. A faster service is offered for an extra fee once your papers are in.

How long. "Normally it will take 4 working days to process visa application, which is subject to visa officer's decision", counted once your passport is in. The online review comes before that.

How you know it is done. The X1 visa is in your passport, and your admission notice and JW form are back in your hands.

What goes wrong. Going to the wrong centre for your state. Leaving the visa until August: apply as soon as your papers are complete.

Stage 14. Travel to Beijing

Back to the short stages

The flight. The fellowship pays "a travel stipend for one round-trip journey between your base city and Beijing", with a base city in Nigeria, and the academy calculates the amount. How and when the academy pays it: no Yenching page says, so ask when you accept (Stage 9). If it pays you back after you land, you need the fare first. Book only after you hold the visa.

When to land. You enrol "in early September 2027", on a date your admission notice gives. The X1 lets you stay 30 days from the day you land. Peking University's office for international students says you "must change" it to a residence permit "within 30 days after arrival", and the permit takes 8 to 10 working days after you apply, so apply in your first two weeks.

The arrival card. Since 20 November 2025 you can fill China's arrival card online before you fly, on the National Immigration Administration's arrival card site, opens in a new tab, its "NIA 12367" app, or at the airport on arrival.

What you carry in your hand luggage. Your passport with the visa; the original admission notice, JW form and certificate of enrolment; your original degree certificate; the CSCSE report; your medical report; your police certificate with the embassy's stamp; two 2-inch photos on a white background.

Stage 15. The first 30 days in Beijing

Back to the short stages

Registration. "Admitted students must register at Peking University with valid passport, valid visa and admission letter at the designated time." Bring your original degree certificate and your CSCSE report: "Students who do not pass the admission qualification review will be disqualified".

Insurance, before registration. China requires every international student to be insured. You buy the "Comprehensive Insurance Plan for Foreign Students" yourself, online (from 15 days before registration, at lxbx.net, opens in a new tab) or at the registration office on the day, and "Yenching Academy will reimburse students for the cost". Its price: we cannot tell yet; you pay it first. "Students who do not have valid medical insurance will not be allowed to register."

Your address, within 24 hours. Every foreigner registers where she lives within 24 hours of moving in. In year one you live in the Shaoyuan dormitory, and its service desk does it for you.

The health check. Book the Beijing International Travel Health Care Center (booking site, opens in a new tab, "Foreigner Physical Examination/Verification") to have your Nigerian medical report checked, or to take the examination there. Take: your passport and a copy of its data page; two 2-inch white-background colour photos; your admission letter and a copy; your JW form and a copy; a copy of your visa page; your medical report from Nigeria. You go yourself: "This service cannot be done via a third party." The report takes 4 working days, so book it "at least 5 business days before the X1 visa expires". Its fee is not printed.

The residence permit. Peking University's office says the X1 must be changed to a residence permit for study (the permit in your passport that lets you live and study in China) "within 30 days after arrival", and it takes 8 to 10 working days once you apply. You enter your details online with the visa agency the university uses, take your papers to the office for international students (third floor, New Sun Student Center) for its seal, then either go yourself to the Beijing police exit-entry office or pay the agency RMB 200 (about ₦41,000) to do it. So register, have the health check in your first week (its report takes 4 working days), and apply for the permit by the end of your second week.

Your photo for the permit. 2 by 2 inches, white background, printed on photo paper, no glasses, no earrings, no headwear, no wide smile, no light-coloured top.

How you know it is done. The residence permit is in your passport. With it you may leave China and come back while it is valid.

Stage 16. Your first monthly allowance, and the year

Back to the short stages

The allowance. Year one's fellowship pays "a monthly stipend". When the first payment comes and into what account: we cannot tell yet. Bring money of your own for your first weeks: the insurance (paid back later), the health check, photos, a phone line, food and transport until the first allowance.

Your room. "Scholars live in newly renovated rooms in the Shaoyuan 6 dormitory on Peking University's campus. Most scholars are placed in two-bedroom suites, sharing a bathroom with one person of the same gender." Everyone lives on campus in year one.

The year. You finish every course in year one: China in Transition, the Field Study trip, the lecture series, Academic Writing, Chinese, and your choices. The year starts in early September; China's National Day gives a week off around 1 October, and Chinese New Year about a month between the two terms, in January or February. The spring term ends in early July. First-year students may also apply for the academy's research grant (the Dean's Research Grant), "Offered on a competitive basis".

Stage 17. Year two, and after

Back to the short stages

Year two. You write and defend your thesis. If you keep "a good academic standing" and stay in Beijing, you apply for the second-year fellowship (school fees, housing support, insurance and a monthly allowance). Second-year students who live on campus and serve as student assistants "can receive additional funding support". The academy encourages internships and volunteer work in year two. You may instead leave Beijing to write, without the second-year money.

The degree. Degrees "are awarded in January and July of each year", after your courses and a passed thesis defence, and you must finish "within two years of enrollment".

After. The academy says about 30% of its graduates went on to a doctorate, and lists employers such as UN agencies (UNESCO and UNDP) and the European Commission (the European Union's executive). It runs a careers service for its students.

Part 4. What can stop you

Your deadlines

What stops people, and what you do

• A letter from a lecturer below associate professor, or from outside your area. Check titles first (Stage 3). If in doubt about a title or an area, write to the admissions office today and ask your professors the same day; rely on their letters once the office answers.
• Treating 30 November as your last day. In Nigeria the site closes at 2:00 am that morning.
• Asking your professors in the last week. Ask this week.
• A phone photo of a paper. Scan on a scanner, in colour.
• A CV over two pages, or a statement over its word limit.
• The wrong English test, or a score not sent straight from the test body. No IELTS Online or Indicator; name the Yenching Academy when you book.
• A final-year student who assumes she needs no test. The waiver names graduates: ask the admissions office, and book the test meanwhile.
• A passport detail typed wrong. It cannot be changed once confirmed.
• Paying an "agent" to apply, or for a "link". You apply yourself, on the academy's own site; the CSCSE forbids anyone applying for you.
• The CSCSE report or the certificate missing at enrolment. "Candidates who fail to obtain the relevant certificates before enrollment in the year of admission will have their admission offers invalidated." Graduate or final-year student, chase your certificate from this week; a final-year student, read Part 1, rule 3 first.
• The 30 days after landing. Book the health check in your first week, and apply for the residence permit by the end of your second week.

If you are serving (NYSC). A service year starts with a three-week orientation camp and runs a year. If yours will still be running in early September 2027, know the NYSC rule: only the NYSC Director-General can let a corps member travel outside Nigeria during service, and leave other than the end-of-service vacation "shall not exceed 14 days in any service year". No page says how NYSC treats a corps member admitted abroad. If your dates clash, apply all the same, and before you accept an offer, write to your State Director and to the academy's admissions office with both dates.

If the answer is no

The academy welcomes you to apply again the next year, and says you should "explain how you have used the intervening year to strengthen your skill sets and work toward your career goals". Go to Part 8 and use the year: a role you led, work that touches China (trade, a Chinese firm, a project, Chinese classes), and a sharper research question.

If this is not for you

If your heart is not in studying China, this master's is the wrong one: the academy asks every applicant for a "Strong interest in interdisciplinary study of China".

Part 5. If you already did some of this

• You have your account and your area. Go to Stage 3 today.
• Your professors have agreed. Send them your papers today, then Stage 4.
• Your papers are scanned and your letters are coming. Stage 6: write.
• Your statements are drafted. Finish them against the word limits, then Stage 7.
• You submitted. Stage 8: watch your email, get your passport if you have none.
• You had the interview. Stage 9: wait for April; meanwhile ask your university how it sends an official transcript abroad.
• The academy said yes. Stage 9's three moves the same week, then Stage 10 (the CSCSE report).
• Your offer papers have come. Stage 12 (your visa papers), then Stage 13.
• You hold the visa. Stage 14.

Part 6. The time, stage by stage

• Stage 1, your area: one evening.
• Stage 2, the account: thirty minutes.
• Stage 3, the professors: ten minutes to ask; a week or more for them to write.
• Stage 4, your papers: your university's time; ask this week.
• Stage 5, an English test: the booking, then 1 to 5 days for an IELTS result on a computer.
• Stage 6, the statements and CV: about a week of evenings.
• Stage 7, submitting: an evening, by Sunday 29 November 2026.
• Stage 8, the wait and the interview: winter or early spring 2027; about a week's notice.
• Stage 9, the answer: around April 2027.
• Stage 10, the CSCSE report: within 20 working days.
• Stage 11, the offer: around the end of June 2027.
• Stage 12, your visa papers: police certificate 5 to 7 working days; the embassy's stamp 4 working days; the ministry's authentication, no time printed.
• Stage 13, the visa: the online review, then 4 working days.
• Stage 15, the first 30 days: health check 4 working days; residence permit 8 to 10 working days.

Part 7. The money, all of it

What you pay, in the order you meet it, for you alone. Before 29 November, a graduate of a degree taught in English pays only her university's charges: at the University of Lagos, a transcript ₦10,000 plus ₦3,000 to email it, and the English letter ₦5,000, about ₦18,000 in all.

What the fellowship pays in year one, and you do not. School fees, your room on campus, one return trip from a city in Nigeria, basic medical insurance, a monthly allowance, and field study and research costs.

What the table leaves out. Your flight, if the academy pays it back after you land rather than buying it (ask when you accept); your travel to the visa centre in Abuja or Lagos; your living money until the first allowance arrives; the health check's fee in Beijing (not printed); and, only if the academy's papers do not serve as the scholarship certificate, proof of US$2,500 a year (about ₦3.33 million) for the visa.

Naira figures beside US dollars are at ₦1,333 to the dollar (the rate of 20 October 2026), and beside yuan at the Central Bank of Nigeria's rate of 2 November 2026, about ₦203 to the yuan, rounded.

Part 8. If the window has closed: the closed plan

If you are reading this after 2:00 am on 30 November 2026, the window for the 2027 group has closed. The next window's dates are not out yet. This year's opened on 1 September 2026 and last year's on 10 September 2025; watch the academy's Notices page, opens in a new tab from August. Use the months between to make your application stronger.

Stage C1. Check your fit for the next window

Back to the short stages

The degree in any course, your passport, the professor rule, English (Part 1). If you are in your second-to-last year now, the next window is yours: you apply in your final year.

Stage C2. Pick your area, and get to know your professors

Back to the short stages

Pick your area (Stage 1) and take a course, a project or a long essay with a professor or an associate professor who teaches in it. A professor who has seen your work writes a stronger letter.

Stage C3. Ask your university for your papers now

Back to the short stages

Transcript, the English letter, your certificate, your passport (Stage 4).

Stage C4. Do something worth writing about

Back to the short stages

Lead something; do work that touches China; start Chinese. The academy reads for "leadership potential" and "international experience", and if you applied before, it wants to see how you "used the intervening year".

Stage C5. Watch the window and the information sessions

Back to the short stages

The academy held online information sessions in May and October 2026, one in English with a focus on African countries. Watch the recording now and join the next sessions when they are announced.

The academy says it in its own words: "Yenching Academy is a fully-funded residential program" (the first year for everyone; the second year is applied for), and you apply yourself, on its own site. Nobody pays Rekoja for help with the application itself.