The Forbidden City Scholarship, funded by Beijing Municipal Government, aims to sponsor distinguished overseas students from the countries along the Belt and Road routes for full-time doctoral study. As one of the projects affiliated institutions, China Agricultural University (CAU) now offers PhD program in Development Studies to the international students who wish to be engaged in doctoral research in the field. Based in the College of Humanities and Development Studies (COHD) at CAU, the program offers competitive English courses taught by a group of leading scholars in their respective fields and a three-year full scholarship. All aspirational candidates are welcome to join the program.
CAU is the institution that initiated development studies in China. Development Studies in COHD is led by two themes: development and change, and focuses on four particular fields: international development, national development, international agrarian change and national agrarian change. With rich research and teaching experience, COHD scholars have enjoyed high academic reputation at home and abroad. The college is also regularly visited by internationally renowned scholars including Henry Bernstein, Jan Douwe van der Ploeg, Saturnino (Jun) M. Borras Jr., Carlos Oya and Jennifer Conroy Franco as adjunct professors. Since 2011, the COHD Seminar Series - Critical Issues in Agrarian and Development Studies (CIADS) has successfully held 83 sessions and invited keynote speakers from all over the world, including Teodor Shanin, James Scott, Michael Lipton, Paul Richards, Sir Gordon Conway, Barbara Harriss-White, James Ferguson, Bridget O'Laughlin, Ben White and Tania Li, among others. The college has also set a precedent in China to confer doctoral degree in Development Studies since 2017.
Basic Information
Field：Development Studies
Discipline：Sociology
Degree：Doctor of Laws
Duration：Three years (full time)
Scholarship: Forbidden City Scholarship, provided by Beijing Municipal Government, covering the three-year tuition fee, accommodation fee, living expenses, medical insurance expenses, and the cost of a round-trip air ticket to Beijing (Economy Class).
Target Students: Overseas students from the countries under the Belt and Road initiative.
Deadline for the application: March 15, 2019.
Eligibility
Nationality: Citizen of the Belt and Road countries.
Educational/academic background: A strong academic record and at least a Master Degree obtained from an institution with good academic reputation is required. A first degree in social sciences or humanities and prior working experiences in the field of development would be an advantage.
Language: The doctoral program is in English and the applicants are required to have a good command of English in order to accomplish the doctoral study and thesis writing. The applicants are also expected to have passed IELTS with an overall score of 6.5 or above and writing part of 6 or above, or with equivalent qualifications.
Age: Under 40 and in good health condition.
Application Documents
1. CAU Application Form for International Students (Apply on http://apply.cau.edu.cn).Please choose "Beijing Government Scholarship for International Students”.
2. Diploma or certificate of educational/academic qualifications provided by the corresponding academic institution, and academic transcript (scanned). The certificates provided should be the original documents in Chinese or English, otherwise notarized translations in Chinese or English are required.
3. Two academic reference letters from scholars with the titles of associate professor or above.
4. A scanned copy of the personal information page on the passport (ordinary passport).
5. A letter from your current employer to certify your employment status, or a letter from your current university to certify when you are expected to graduate.
6. A scanned copy of Foreigner Physical Examination Form. The blank form can be found in http://admissions.cau.edu.cn/en/download?cid=157&pid=144.
7. The abstract of your master thesis.
8. A personal statement that includes a research proposal indicating your future research project during doctoral period (about 2000 words).
9. Other materials that can support your application, such as published academic papers or other academic achievement proofs.
Please upload your application materials via http://apply.cau.edu.cn. All the original documents will be checked in the enrollment.
Program Description
Courses Highlights:
Development Theories, Critical Development Studies, Political Economy of Development, Agrarian Sociology, Research Methodology in Development Studies, Research Methods of Social Sciences, Regional Development Planning and Management, Public Policy Analysis, Community-based Natural Resource Management, Development Patterns of China, etc.
PhD Dissertation:
Each candidate is required to complete a dissertation in English under supervision (above 70,000 words).
Contact
Chaoqun Liu
E-mail: chaoqun.liu@cau.edu.cn
Tel: +86-10-62732374
Fax: +86-10-62731027
Room 221, Minzhu Building
College of Humanities and Development Studies
China Agricultural University
No.17 Qinghua Donglu, Haidian District, Beijing 100083
P.R.China
Website: http://admissions.cau.edu.cn
