UCCL is able to provide limited financial support for academic research that is directly connected with China.
The maximum value for an individual grant is £2,000.
Application form and all reference letters are required by 1st February, 1st June and 1st November of each year and decisions on grants are considered at UCCL’s Executive Council meetings which take place in the 3rd weeks of February, June and November. Outcomes will be communicated within the week following the meeting.
Eligibility:
- China-based scholars (in any discipline in the arts, humanities or social sciences) who seek to make China-focused research visits to the UK, or UK-based scholars working on relevant subjects at UK universities wishing to undertake visits to China for specific China-related research or lecture reasons;
- In exceptional circumstances, we will consider applications for research visits to destinations other than the UK or China;
- The grants are normally given to those studying for PhDs or equivalent, postdoctoral and early career researchers;
- Grants can also be made to established academic staff of UK or Chinese Universities, who otherwise comply with the UCCL criteria;
- Grants are given to cover flights and modest living expenses, plus occasionally academic and research costs, but only if no other funding source is available;
- Grants to attend academic conferences in China and the UK will only be entertained where conferences have a particular China-related focus, and if the applicant has been invited to speak or take a leading role on the panel or similar (please note that conferences outside of China and the UK will not be considered). Only scholars from China who are currently studying at, or on the academic staff of, a university in China may apply for support to attend conferences in the UK;
- Grants are also available for the promotion and teaching of Chinese and other Chinese studies in the UK;
- If your subject requires Ethics Clearance, you will need to start this process as soon as possible. Grants will not be awarded without it, where relevant.
The UCCL has to screen a large number of applications; please ensure that your application provides all the necessary information in a clear and succinct way. Applications that do not conform to the stated requirements and word limits will be returned to the applicant.
Application restrictions:
- Repeat bids for projects which have already received a travel grant from the UCCL are unlikely to be awarded. Such applications will need to demonstrate good reasons why full use was not made of the grant awarded at the time;
- Retrospective bids will not be considered.
NB: Please note that all successful applicants are required to write up and send the UCCL a report detailing how their grant was spent (a Post Project Report). Subsequent grants, however long the time elapse, will not be given to those who have failed to submit a report of earlier research or trips conducted by virtue of UCCL funding.
References:
Two references are required, one of which must be from an academic supervisor with long-standing record and experience of conducting research in China and the Chinese language. It is the role of the applicant to ensure that their referees are aware in detail of the below points, especially as the Executive Council attaches great importance to the references.
- It is the applicant's responsibility to request references from their referees in good time. Please note that the referees must send their references from their work email to info@universitiesccl.org.uk by the deadline, or the application will not be put forward for conisderation;
- References should be in English and in letter form (on official letter headed document with address and contact details etc). They must be signed (scanned in pdf) and must state clearly the relationship between their authors and the applicants or projects;
- At least one of the references should refer specifically to the proposed project and to its relevance to the applicant’s overall research. It would help the Council if it included any relevant personal circumstances;
- The content of the reference will depend on the nature of the application, but broadly the Council will be interested in:
- the qualifications and potential of the applicant;
- what stage their studies are at (if a PhD student);
- the aims of the project;
- its academic content;
- the likely content and distribution of the outcome;
- The purpose of the reference is twofold:
- to demonstrate to the Council that the project will in some way improve the level of UK-China academic exchange;
- the grant awarded will benefit the wider academic community.
Guidelines for costing:
Please note the UCCL will not cover costs including, but not limited to, the following:
Thank you gifts
IT/Technical Equipment
Printing
The UCCL will use the below guideline costs (2024). Please note the maximum value for an individual grant is £2,000, although this upper limit may be waived for applications received from June 2024 onwards, where the need for a longer research trip is convincingly demonstrated.
Return flights - Up to £1000 from UK/China return.
Food/accommodation - Up to £100/day in UK and £80/day in China on short visits up to two weeks. £55/day for longer visits.
Conference, registration costs - Flat fee of £100.
Visa - Up to £200.
Applications and enquiries should be addressed to the UCCL address listed in the Contact section.