2018 China Fulbright Affiliation Guide

for Fulbright U.S. Student Applicants

Introduction

This document is meant to serve as a resource guide for U.S. Student Fulbright Program
applicants who wish to carry out their Fulbright projects on the Chinese mainland. Because
the situation in China differs from the situation in many other countries and regions, we
encourage you to read this guide carefully and thoroughly. We hope it will help you identify
an appropriate Chinese academic host institution/advisor for your Fulbright project. If you
have any additional questions or concerns about selecting a host institution for your project
after you have read this guide, please contact FBStudent.EAP@iie.org .

General Information and Program Requirements

A Fulbrighter in mainland China must have a formal affiliation with a higher education
institution or research body that is approved to host foreign students/scholars by the Ministry
of Education, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Provincial or Municipal Academies of Social Sciences, or another Ministry under whose
jurisdiction the host institution falls. The proposed host institution must have the capacity to
issue the paperwork to secure a study/research visa (X1, X2 or F class) that will cover the
candidate for the duration the Fulbright grant term.

As you make your decision about the best host institution for your project, please note the
following:

1) The FulbrightOnline website is the best source of current information about recommended
affiliations:

By Region:
http://us.fulbrightonline.org/fulbright-china-affiliation-guide-for-graduating-seniors-and-
bachelors-level-candidates

By Discipline:
http://us.fulbrightonline.org/fulbright-china-affiliation-guide-for-graduate-students

These lists have been developed over the years by U.S. Embassy and IIE program staff, and
generally reflect positive Fulbright feedback about the recommended institutions. Please note
that the Fulbright program overall wants to encourage participants to engage as deeply with
their host society as possible, and wishes to see grantees basing projects outside of the major
cities and into less-visited regions and institutions. Fulbrighters often find that they have a
better grant experience when based in less-visited cities and institutions. This is one reason
why we do not recommend many of the elite Chinese universities in Beijing and Shanghai on
these lists, except in very specific disciplines.

2) All universities that participate in the Chinese Government Scholarship Program managed
by the China Scholarship Council are by default eligible to host foreign students and

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researchers, and therefore can be selected as your Fulbright host institution. You can find the
list of these institutions, searchable by province, on CSC’s website at the following address:

http://www.campuschina.org/universities/index.html

3) If a host institution does not appear on the list of institutions that participate in the Chinese
Government Scholarship Program, it may still be eligible to host foreign students. There are
several ways you can find out:

 Find the institution’s website (search in Chinese on both Google and Baidu for best
results) and look for the section on foreign student enrollment. If it indicates that the
institution can accept applications from and directly enroll foreign students, it should
be an acceptable host.
 If there is no section on foreign student enrollment, try to find a section on international
exchanges and cooperation. This section may provide information about whether your
preferred host has the capacity to enroll foreign students.
 If you cannot find the information on the school’s website (or if the school has no
website), try checking with faculty or other academic contacts at the institution. They
should enquire at the Foreign Students Office to see if it is possible for foreign students
to enroll.

4)Domestic or international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and bilateral/multilateral

organizations (including the UN and its subsidiaries, USAID, EU-related organizations, etc.)
are not able to process the visa paperwork required by the U.S.-China Fulbright Program, and
therefore cannot serve as the host institution for a Fulbright grantee.

5) It is current U.S.-China Fulbright Program policy that recent B.A. graduates must affiliate
with a university approved by the Ministry of Education to receive foreign students, and must
plan to audit courses at the host institution during the first term of the project. Requests to
affiliate with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences
and/or their various regional branches will therefore not be considered for recent B.A.
graduates.

FAQs About Host Institutions and Affiliations

Q1: Is it essential that I identify an official host institution in China?

A1: Yes and all applicants should include affiliation letters along with their Fulbright
applications. The affiliation letter should come from the professor that the applicant wishes to
work with if awarded a grant and it should indicate the author’s willingness to work with the
individual on the proposed project. The letter should also speak to the feasibility and validity
of the project being proposed. It is not necessary or recommended at this stage of the process
to be officially admitted to your proposed host institution – if you are nominated for an award,
Fulbright program staff will provide you detailed instructions and support in finalizing your
affiliation later on in the application process.

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Q2: Why does my affiliation matter? How important is it to the success of my Fulbright
project?

A2: From a Chinese perspective, your host institution is your official “work unit” (单位 danwei)
during your research term, and is expected to be responsible for you. Chinese society has
changed greatly in the past 30 years, but the “work unit” is still a central pillar of the
administrative and social structure, and the main channel through which you have to negotiate
and manage all official matters related to your research and your stay in China. The extent to
which foreign researchers are integrated (or find themselves expected to integrate) into the
danwei structure varies widely from place to place and from institution to institution. Some
researchers find that they have limited contact with staff and faculty at their host institution
after their initial arrival, while others find that their host institution takes a very “hands-on”
approach to the relationship that can sometimes feel uncomfortable or even stifling. All of this
is part of the ebb and flow of doing research in China, and learning to negotiate the relationship
with your danwei is an integral part of the Fulbright experience and an important aspect of
learning how to be a successful researcher in China.

Given this background, we encourage you to approach the affiliation process and the
management of your relationships with prospective host institutions carefully and seriously,
and consider it a key aspect of your grant experience that starts even before you arrive in China.
An individual may not run into any challenging situations during the Fulbright grant term, but
having solid and positive working relationships with faculty and staff at the host institution will
help in working through and resolving any issues successfully. It is never too early to start
developing and building those relationships.

Q3: How should I choose a host institution?

A3: Choosing a host institution can be a daunting process. Many different things need to be
taken into account, including:
- where the best local advisor for your project is based
- where you will spend the majority of your time and where you wish to be registered as
"resident" in China
- where you have existing networks or the ability to start building networks before you
arrive in China
- which institution will be able to offer you more support as you pursue your research.

In recent years, the Fulbright Program has found that many of the most successful Fulbright
projects are built on the foundation of a strong relationship between the Fulbrighter and a local
academic advisor. So one highly recommended strategy is to first identify who the Chinese
experts are in your field, then investigate whether they would be interested in working with
you, and finally choose your host institution based on the local advisor’s presence there and
their willingness to support you and your project. Targeted keyword searches in Chinese on
both Baidu and Google are good ways to find the names of Chinese scholars who have research
interests in your field of study or topic, if you are not able to identify such individuals through
other channels. It is always preferable to try to approach a potential Chinese contact through
your existing network of connections (which can and should be explored as broadly as possible).
If you are going to contact a Chinese academic based on your independent research and not
through another connection, it is generally best if you write your message in Chinese,
appending an English translation or paraphrase, as many Chinese academics are not totally
comfortable communicating in English, and an English-only message may make them worry

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that you are not capable of working in Chinese. Be advised that although email is becoming a
more frequent means of communication in Chinese academic circles, it is still not used as
frequently as the phone, and some Chinese academics do not read or reply to their email as
regularly as Westerners are accustomed to. If you have not received a response to your query
within a week or two of sending it, you might want to try to reach the person by phone to follow
up.

You should try to seek an affiliation with an institution in the city or region where you plan to
spend the most time. Sometimes, it helps to affiliate where you or your U.S. faculty advisors
already have important scholarly contacts. For many Fulbrighters, the community of
international scholars who work on related topics will provide the best counsel about good
places to affiliate, and good people to work with once you arrive. A list of recent Fulbright
faculty scholars who might be able to help you identify an appropriate host institution or faculty
advisor can be found here: http://www.cies.org/fulbright-scholars -- enter China as your
Country selection in the appropriate box to generate the results for all faculty scholar programs
for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 academic years. Please note that the scholars who appear on this
list are a mixture of US Lecturers and Chinese Visiting Research Scholars (who typically
specialize in topics related to American Studies) and US Senior Research Scholars (who
typically have a research interest related to China or Chinese Studies). You can narrow your
search for a more targeted range of contacts by adding field of study, home or host institution,
etc.

Do not be shy about contacting people you don’t know personally – even senior scholars -- to
ask for recommendations about which scholars/institutions you can contact in China as you try
to work out your affiliation. When sending such queries, it is generally a good idea to provide
a short synopsis of your project. You may not get a response to your initial query (which
should be polite and to the point), but generally people will be willing to help. Networks are
very important to getting things done in China, and now is a good time to start working on
building yours.

If you are having difficulty choosing between a famous/top-ranked school (e.g. Peking
University, Tsinghua, Fudan, Zhejiang University) and a lesser-known option, we strongly
encourage you to consider that the lesser-known school will often be willing and able to give
you more personalized support and attention. After many years of work on this program, we
have seen a common pattern: grantees who choose to affiliate at the “top” Chinese universities
and those institutions with large foreign student populations often are frustrated and
disappointed by the lack of attention and support they get once they arrive. In contrast, those
Fulbrighters who choose to affiliate with lesser-known, less-visited institutions often get the
red-carpet treatment and have a much richer Fulbright experience overall. This is not to say
that China’s elite universities are not excellent – they are. But they are intense, competitive
places where both faculty and students are extremely ambitious and often overstretched.
Faculty/students in these institutions don’t lack for connections to the Western academic world,
and therefore they are less likely to be interested in cultivating relationships and working
collaboratively with Fulbright researchers, especially recent graduates. Requests or even
demands for assistance with things like writing/editing papers, providing English conversation
practice, etc. also seem to be more intense and difficult to avoid at some of these institutions.
The situation obviously varies greatly depending on the individual – if you are going into
Peking University or Fudan with a connection to a faculty member who has a pre-existing
relationship with your US academic advisors and a strong interest in your project, you are in a
much better position. If you don’t have such pre-existing relationships or a very solid

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indication from a faculty member at one of these elite institutions that they are willing to
actively mentor you during your Fulbright research, we would strongly suggest that you
explore alternative affiliation options now. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that simply
having the Peking University or Tsinghua name on your resume is going to be significant or
meaningful to graduate schools or employers in the U.S. It may or may not. But if you choose
a less-visited host institution and are able to become a full member of the academic community
there it is going to be more meaningful in the long-run than just having the name of an elite
school in China on your resume. Look beyond the big name schools for the best, most
supportive institutional fit for your project – you might be pleasantly surprised by the results
of your search and you will likely have a much richer Fulbright grant experience in the end.

Important warning about split campus arrangements:

The combination of reforms in China’s higher education system (which has led to many
mergers between Chinese universities in recent years) and the high cost of urban land has led
to the development of “split campus” arrangements at many Chinese universities. Many
universities now have two or more campus locations, sometimes located in totally different
parts of the city and with commute times ranging from 30 minutes to over 2 hours between
campuses. Public transportation between the two locations can be limited and very crowded
during peak hours. Academic departments, levels of training and academic resources may be
split between the campuses in ways that make it difficult for Fulbrighters to navigate and make
best use of their time and energy. We therefore STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you
investigate whether or not your preferred affiliation has such a split campus arrangement, and
determine whether or not it might negatively impact your experience there. Your personal
contacts at the university, particularly any faculty you have identified as potential advisors, are
the best source of relevant information. Foreign students, including former Fulbrighters, who
have carried out independent research projects at your proposed host institution are another
good source of information – those who have only enrolled in language courses may be less
useful, as those programs are often much more self-contained and require less extensive use of
university resources.

Regardless of the formal affiliation, you can seek out other contacts and relationships at a
variety of institutions while you are in China. Where one's circle of relationships overlaps
easily with one's administrative affiliation, that's good. It isn't necessary, however, and some
Fulbrighters find that it works better to think independently about the two.

Q4: Can I affiliate at two institutions?

A4: No. You must eventually choose a single host institution. If you are having difficulty
deciding which of two or more institutions would be the better host, please list them all in your
application. If you are nominated for an award, program staff will review your options and do
their best to advise you about which is likely to be the best fit.

Q5: Should I be in direct contact with my proposed Chinese host institution?

A5: We strongly encourage correspondence with professors, advisors and academic colleagues
in China at all times during the application process. These kinds of contacts are often very
important in the affiliation and placement process. Faculty contacts can and should be
consulted about the general feasibility of your project and the likelihood that your special needs
can be met through an affiliation at a particular host institution. If you are notified that you

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have been recommended as a candidate by the National Screening Committee, that would be
an excellent time to review substantive issues (research needs and access to proposed fieldwork
sites, libraries, archives, and scholars, etc.) with your faculty contacts in China.

Q6. What about tuition and fees? Do I need to be concerned about this when choosing a
prospective host institution?
A6: Not at the time of application. If you are recommended for final consideration for a
Fulrbight Award the program will provide you with more information on the affiliation fee
situation.

Q7: I have applied for a Critical Language Enhancement Award. If I am offered this award,
how does it affect my affiliation plans? How does the Critical Language Enhancement
Award interface with the regular Fulbright grant in terms of placement, visas, research
calendar, etc.

A7: The Critical Language Enhancement Awards provide an important boost to Fulbright
grantees’ language abilities at the cost of some of the flexibility that is available to other
grantees. If you are selected for a Critical Language Enhancement Award, you will be given
full details at that time about how the program works and how it interfaces with the regular
Fulbright grant. But there are a few of issues you need to be aware of now:

1) There is a programmatic requirement that Critical Language Enhancement Awardees start

their regular Fulbright research term immediately following the conclusion of their language
studies.

2) Certain host institutions (most notably Peking University) are reluctant to allow anyone to
begin their affiliation outside the regular academic calendar, and will not allow a student to
extend enrollment across terms. They will generally only issue visa paperwork for a September
or March enrollment date. This means that it is generally NOT possible for a Fulbrighter to
accept a Critical Language Enhancement Award and affiliate with Peking University. We
therefore strongly recommend that anyone who has applied for a Critical Language
Enhancement Award not request as affiliation with Peking University.

Q8. What will my status be if I am offered a Fulbright grant and my affiliation is approved?
What can I reasonably expect from my host institution in terms of access and support for my
research, including the support of an advisor?

A8. When arranging affiliations for Fulbright Fellows, we are constrained by the rules and
procedures established by the Chinese Ministry of Education and the individual host
institutions. Generally speaking, non-degree seeking foreign students coming to China for
extended periods will be offered an affiliation with a host institution with one of the two
following statuses: Senior Visiting Student (高级进 修 生 gaoji jinxiusheng) or General
Visiting Student (普通进修生 putong jinxiusheng). The description of each status provided on
the Peking University Website gives a good summary of how these categories differ and what
levels of access/support they generally entail (though note that different universities may have
slightly different approaches):

Senior Visiting Students Program: Candidates must have at least a Master's degree.
Senior Visiting Students are normally supervised by a professor of the accepting college

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 or department to conduct research in a specific subject. The program is one [academic]
year, however, upon request the student may be considered for an extension. Upon
graduation, the student will receive a certificate of achievement.

General Visiting Students Program: Candidates must have completed at least one
year of undergraduate study at their own university. The options are available for
joining undergraduate courses or enhancing proficiency in Chinese language.

Please note that it is your official classification within this Chinese system that is of paramount
importance to the Chinese academic administrators you will be dealing with. There is a certain
degree of misalignment between the Chinese administrative structure and the structure of the
Fulbright program. Those of us who work on the Fulbright program recognize that Graduate
Students are generally willing and able to work more or less independently, and we would
actually prefer to see our Recent Graduates work closely with Chinese academic advisors. But
in China, it is those who are granted Senior Visiting Student status who will be assigned an
advisor (not always the one of their choosing), while General Visiting Students are not only
not assigned an advisor, but in some cases are even discouraged from seeking out informal
advisors on their own (since this is a privilege that is not officially afforded to students of their
status).

We mention this here because it is one more reason why it is important for Fulbright applicants
to try to identify an appropriate mentor/faculty advisor before choosing a host institution. The
more contact you have had with the person or people you most want to work with in China, the
better the chances are that they will be willing to work with you, even if your official status
does not afford them any benefits for doing so. If you want to work with a specific faculty
member, it is also important that you list their name and their department (preferably in Chinese)
in your application materials. We cannot always guarantee that such placements will be
possible, but generally the chances are good that if you request affiliation in a specific
department and ask to work with a specific individual, that request will be honored.

Please be aware that understanding of the Fulbright Program is limited in China. The academic
cultures and academic systems are very different in China and the U.S., and while there have
been movements in the direction of experiential or research-based academic programs for
undergraduates in China, such efforts are not very widespread or well established. We are
trying to work with Chinese host institutions to develop a better understanding, awareness and
acceptance of the core element of the Fulbright Student program, in particular, but it can
sometimes be difficult given local attitudes.

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