Specific policies are subject to the guidelines of the funding agency for the current year.
Major Policy Changes for 2026
Application Form Structural Reform ("Slimming Down and Improving Quality")
In principle, the main textshould not exceed 30 pages。
Structure of General Program/Young Scientists Fund C and other projects：
（一）立项依据
（二）研究内容
（三）研究基础
（四）其他需要说明的情况
Structure of Major Research Plan and other projects：
（一）重点阐述内容（建议不超过5000字）
1. 研究内容、必要性及与重大研究计划的关系
2. 关键科学问题、研究方案及可行性分析
3. 年度研究计划及预期研究成果
（二）研究基础与工作条件
（三）其他需要说明的情况
Changes to the Representative Works System
- Representative works mustexplain the applicant's personal contributions(new requirement for 2026)
- Give priority to first-author publications
- Representative works must be closely related to the proposed topic
- Explain in the attachment notes the connection between each paper and the project
AI Usage Rules
- ✅ AI may be used to assist in tracking research developments and collecting and organizing references
- ✅ The authenticity and accuracy of AI-generated information must be manually verified
- ✅ Usage must be fully and truthfully declared and identified
- ❌ AI must not be used to directly generate the application
- ❌ Unverified generated content must not be used
- ⚠️ When organizing references, AI will "confidently talk nonsense"; be sure to verify
Project Types and Positioning
Young Scientists Fund Category C (Young C)
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Positioning | Talent-type project, with emphasis on evaluatinginnovation potential |
| Age | Men under 35, women under 40 |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Funding | About 300,000 yuan |
| Restriction | Only one application may be submitted in the same year for talent programs at the same level |
| New Change | In 2026, the Department of Interdisciplinary Sciences will newly accept Young C applications; doctoral students/outstanding undergraduates may also apply |
General Program
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Positioning | Comprehensive and balanced layout, aiming at the scientific frontier, promoting disciplinary development, and encouraging original innovation |
| Duration | 4 years |
| Funding | About 500,000-600,000 yuan |
| Collaboration | No more than 2 collaborating institutions allowed |
| Review | Two sets of review criteria: "free exploration" and "goal-oriented" |
Key Program
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Application Limit | 2026 adjustment: a combined limit of one for leading and undertaking |
| Funding | About 2.6 million yuan+ |
| Duration | 4-5 years |
Major Research Plan
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Features | Has guidelines and requires "competing for selection" |
| Key Support | 4 years, about 2.6-4 million yuan |
| Requirements | Need to explain the relationship with the overall goals of the plan |
Joint Fund
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Features | There are guidelines; need to align with Party A's requirements |
| Type | Regional Innovation and Development Joint Fund, etc. |
| Key | 4 years, about 2.6 million yuan |
| Critical | Understand Party A's intent and reflect collaborative innovation |
Other new changes
- Interdisciplinary Department adds support for the tools field (T05 code)
- NewYoung A track(under 35 years old)
- EstablishScientific Tools track
- Pilot selection of major non-consensus projects
Key points of application limit rules
- In the same year, only one application may be submitted to talent programs at the same level
- For key projects, the total of leading and undertaking is limited to one
- In the same year, one may only undertake one national science and technology talent program
- Specific application limit rules are subject to the guidelines of the current year
- It is recommended to read the application instructions in the guidelines word by word
National application data (2025 reference)
| Category | Applications | Funding | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 450,000+ items | — | Exceeded 450,000 for the first time, an increase of 12.8% |
| General Program | 199,000+ items | 23,000+ items | Funding rate hit a historic low |
| Young C | 167,000+ items | 24,000+ items | An increase of 800+ items over the previous year |
| Key | 4,491 items | 715 items | Scale basically unchanged |
| Major | 118 items | 50 items | — |
| Major Research Plan | 3,317 items | 435 items | 4 newly launched |
Science Fund fiscal budget: 37.82 billion yuan (2025)
Review process
形式审查/初审 → 通讯评审（函评，5-7位专家）→ 会议评审
- The review body shifts from small peers tolarge peerstransformation
- Extreme constraints on review time (about 20 minutes per application)
- After being deemed inadmissible, one may apply for re-review (success rate extremely low: 166 applications → 11 re-sent for review → 2 funded)
Application codes and departments
- 9 science departments + 1 International Research Funding Department
- The first application code determines the division for review and the panel review experts
- Keywords match correspondence review experts
- When choosing a department, consider: which department's experts are more likely to appreciate your work
Bottom line of research integrity
Zero tolerance：
- ❌ Must not plagiarize, misappropriate, or falsify data
- ❌ Must not purchase/ghostwrite applications
- ❌ Must not solicit favors or lobby review panels
- ❌ Must not pry into review information
- ❌ Must not provide gifts or money to review experts
- Consequences of violations are serious (notification, disqualification, etc.)
Common reasons for inadmissibility
- Violation of application limit rules
- Failure to meet application conditions
- Incomplete materials
- Seriously nonstandard format
- False information
- Images cannot be opened/garbled text
Suggestion: Before submission, demo it yourself to ensure all images and attachments can be opened normally.