The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) offers scholarships to international students who wish to study in graduate courses at Japanese universities as research students(either non-degree or degree students) under the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship Program for 2017 as follows.
Application Deadline: 5th January 2017. Visit individual country embassies for more information.
Offered annually? Yes
To be taken at (country): Japanese Universities
About Scholarship: The Japanese Government’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) is offering scholarships to those who are enrolled in a master’s course, a doctoral course, or a professional graduate course at a graduate school, or who are conducting research in a specialized field at an undergraduate department, graduate school, institute attached to a university, etc. without the aim of completing the course, or who are receiving preparatory education in the Japanese language and other subjects prior to placement at the university, etc. (Excluding the Young Leaders Program(YLP) students or teacher training students.)
Type: Research (Post graduate students who wish to conduct research in Japan for the award of Ph.D/Master’s degrees in respective fields).
Fields of Study: Applicants should apply for the field of study they majored in at university or its related field. The fields of study must be subjects which applicants will be able to study and research in graduate courses at Japanese universities.
Those studying traditional entertainment arts such as Kabuki and classical Japanese dances, or subjects that require practical training in specific technologies or techniques at factories or companies are excluded from this restriction.
Selection Criteria and Eligibility:
- Nationality: Applicants must have the nationality of a country that has diplomatic relations with Japan. An applicant who has Japanese nationality at the time of application is not eligible. However, persons with dual nationality who hold Japanese nationality and whose place of residence at the time of application is outside of Japan are eligible to apply as long as they choose the nationality of the foreign country and give up their Japanese nationality by the date of their arrival in Japan. Applicant screening will be conducted at the Japanese diplomatic mission in the country of applicant’s nationality.
- Age: Applicants generally must have been born on or after April 2, 1982.
- Academic Background: Applicants must be a graduate from a Japanese university or have academic ability equal or superior to that of a Japanese university graduate. A person will be deemed to have academic ability equal or superior to that of a university graduate, if he/she:
- has completed or will complete 16 years of school education in a foreign country (or 18 years of school education if he/she desires to enroll in a doctoral course in the field of medicine, dentistry or veterinary science, or pharmacy which is based on a 6-year course in a department or faculty); or
- is or will be aged 22 or older and has taken an individual entrance qualification examination and has been judged by a Japanese graduate school as being equal or superior in academic ability to a university graduate (or 24 or older if he/she desires to enroll in a doctoral course in the field of medicine, dentistry or veterinary science, or pharmacy which is based on a 6-year course in a department or faculty). Eligible applicants include those who otherwise satisfy or will satisfy qualification requirements for admission to a Japanese graduate school. As a general rule, a person who has completed a doctoral course may not apply unless he/she seeks to obtain a degree.
- Japanese Language Ability: Applicants must be willing to learn Japanese. Applicants must be interested in Japan and be willing to deepen their understanding of Japan after arriving in Japan. Applicants must also have the ability to do research and adapt to living in Japan.
- Health: Applicants must be free from any mental or physical disabilities that would impede the pursuit of study at Japanese graduate school.
- Arrival in Japan: In principle, applicants must be able to arrive in Japan between the 1st and 7th of April 2017, or by the date specified by the accepting university, which will fall within two weeks of the starting date for each semester (in general, in September or October) in that year designated by the accepting university. “Arrival in Japan” is considered to be the arrival period specified in the application form; changes will not be permitted after submission of the application.
- Visa Requirement: Applicants must acquire College Student (ryugaku) visas before entering Japan. They then enter Japan with the College Student (ryugaku) residence status. Please also note that those who change their visa status to one other than College Student after arrival in Japan will lose their qualification to be Japanese Government Scholarship recipients from the date when their visa status changes.
- While the applicant is studying in Japan, he/she shall contribute to mutual understanding between Japan and the home country by participating in activities at schools and communities with the aim of contributing to the internationalization of Japan. The applicant shall make efforts to promote relations between the home country and Japan by maintaining close relations with the university attended after graduation, cooperating with the conducting of surveys and questionnaires after the return home, and cooperating with all relevant projects and events conducted by Japanese diplomatic missions in the applicant’s home country.
Number of Scholarships: Not specified
Value of Scholarship:
- Allowance: : 143,000yen (Research Students(non-regular students), 144,000yen (regular students in Master’s courses or professional graduate courses), or 145,000yen(regular students in doctoral courses) per month. (In case that the recipient research in a designated region, 2,000 or 3,000 yen per month will be added. The monetary amount each year may be subject to change due to budgetary reasons.)
- Transportation to Japan
- Transportation from Japan: The recipient who returns to his/her home country within the fixed period after the expiration of his/her scholarship will be supplied, upon application, with an economy-class airplane ticket for travel from the New Tokyo International Airport or any other international airport that the appointed university usually uses to the international airport nearest to his/her home address.
- Tuition and Other Fees: Fees for the entrance examination, matriculation, and tuition at universities will be borne by the Japanese Government.
Duration of Scholarship: Determined by candidate’s course
How to Apply: It is important to go through the Scholarship Webpage and Application Guidelines before applying
Visit the Scholarship Webpage for details
Sponsors: The Japanese Government’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)