Applications Open for 2026 National Social Science Fund Cold and Rare Studies Research Program

The National Philosophy and Social Sciences Work Office has announced the 2026 application call for the National Social Science Fund Cold and Rare Studies Research Special Program. Shantou University’s Research Office has circulated the notice and is inviting qualified faculty members to apply. The program aims to advance academic research on the rescue preservation of endangered disciplines and cultural heritage.

Guiding Principles and Objectives

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and aligned with President Xi’s important directives on cultural heritage conservation and the development of “endangered studies” and niche disciplines, the program follows a framework rooted in China while drawing on international perspectives, excavating historical knowledge to inform contemporary practice, and caring for humanity while looking toward the future. The goal is to ensure that scholarship in fields of profound cultural value and transmission significance continues and thrives.

Key objectives include:

• Serving national needs: Funding cold and rare studies that hold long-term, strategic, and reserve value for national development and civilizational continuity.
• Strengthening disciplinary development: Supporting selected research fields and directions each year, helping related disciplines consolidate their foundations, refine their research focus, and optimize their academic layout.
• Fostering research teams: Prioritizing academic teams conducting long-term collaborative research through humanities-based research platforms, building talent pipelines with balanced structures and generational succession.
• Selective rolling funding: Establishing regular review and dynamic withdrawal mechanisms for funded academic team projects, with qualified teams receiving continued support.

Funding Areas

Supported areas include ancient language and script studies and historical research, collation and study of ancient scripts and unearthed bamboo and wooden slips, collection and textual study of important historical and cultural classics, preservation and study of historical remains along the ancient Silk Roads (overland and maritime), cave temple archaeology and conservation, protection research of major historical and cultural sites, preservation of traditional villages, historic districts, and ancient architecture, heritage protection in frontier ethnic regions, and dialect and regional culture studies.

Funding Amounts

Two categories are available:

Applicants should prepare scientific and reasonable budgets according to actual needs, in compliance with the National Social Science Fund Management Regulations and the National Social Science Fund Project Fund Management Regulations.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must abide by the Constitution and laws of the People’s Republic of China and uphold correct political direction, value orientation, and research orientation.
• Applicants must be capable of independently conducting research and hold a senior professional title or doctoral degree.
• For academic team projects, the lead expert must hold a full professorship and have published at least three significant high-level academic outputs in the relevant cold and rare studies field within the five years preceding the application year. The team should include the lead expert plus three to five core researchers, all holding senior titles or doctoral degrees, with young scholars under age 40 represented. The team must demonstrate sufficient time and commitment to the project.
• For individual scholar projects, applicants who currently direct active National Social Science Fund projects, Major Projects of the Marxist Theory Research and Construction Project, Ministry of Education Major Applied Research Projects in Philosophy and Social Sciences, or other national-level major research programs are ineligible. Similarly, those currently directing active National Natural Science Foundation of China projects or other national-level research programs cannot apply for individual scholar projects.
• Applicants must submit a topic description of no more than 300 Chinese characters, clearly explaining the research problem to be addressed.
• Institutions must have a research management department capable of providing necessary research conditions and guaranteeing institutional credibility. For applicants whose primary appointment is elsewhere, the concurrent institution must verify the authenticity of the formal employment relationship.
• Applications based on doctoral dissertations or postdoctoral exit reports must clearly state the relationship between and distinctions from the original work. Works substantially identical or similar to already-published publications are ineligible.

Campus Submission Timeline

Faculty members interested in applying should follow these campus deadlines:

1. Before August 11: Submit the electronic Application Form to o_wkb@stu.edu.cn for formal review, and register an account on the National Social Science Fund Scientific Innovation Service Management Platform (https://xm.npopss-cn.gov.cn). Existing account holders do not need to register again, but should send an email notification confirming the audit request.

2. By August 19: Complete the application information in the submission system and submit it for formal review.

3. By close of business on August 24: Submit six paper copies of the approved Application Form to the Research Office and finalize the materials submission in the online system.

Important Notes

• The Application Form is available in two versions: Academic Team Project and Individual Scholar Project. Applicants may choose either category.
• If the proposed project is based on a doctoral dissertation or postdoctoral exit report, its relationship to and distinction from the original work must be clearly noted in the Application Form.
• Applicants must provide truthful materials free of intellectual property disputes and comply with research integrity requirements. Any instances of fraud, plagiarism, or misconduct will result in disqualification for five years, revocation of any awarded project, public criticism, and inclusion in the bad research credit record.
• Academic team projects follow a “competitive selection, periodic evaluation, dynamic withdrawal” management mechanism, with assessment typically conducted three years after approval. Individual scholar projects have a research period of generally three to five years, with possible extension for exceptionally challenging projects.

Contact Information

Contacts: Huang Yumei, Wang Ruimin Phone: 86502563 Email: o_wkb@stu.edu.cn

Source: STU OA Notice (Research Office)