2016 University Recommended Japanese Government (MEXT)
Scholarship for "Frontier Science Research Centers + General"
*Updated on October 28.
1. Qualifications
(1) Eligibility
International students with outstanding academic records (*1) who wish to enter Japan in September as a
new student(*2) to study in Master's/Ph.D. Program either at the Department of Physics, Earth and
Planetary Science, Chemistry or Biological Sciences at the Graduate School of Science.
(*1)
An applicant should have university grade points* of 2.30/3.00 or above in their two most recent
years of study and be expected to maintain the same academic standards during the course of the
scholarship program.
* Grade points will be calculated according to a formula specified by MEXT.
(*2) : Please refer to (9) Others 3. to confirm your eligibility.
(2) Nationality
Applicants must have the nationality of a country with diplomatic relations with the Japanese government.
Applicants who have Japanese nationality at the time of application are ineligible.
(3) Age
Applicants must be born on or after April 2, 1981.
(4) Academic background
Applicants must have academic ability equal to or greater than that of a Japanese university graduate.
Eligible applicants other than those who have graduated from Japanese universities are defined as follows:
1.
2.
Note:
An applicant who has completed or will complete a 16-year school curriculum in a foreign country
(or an 18-year school curriculum if he or she desires to enroll in a Doctoral program in the field of
medicine, dentistry, or veterinary science, or in pharmacy which is founded on a 6-year
department/faculty);
An applicant who is or will be aged 22 or older and has taken an individual entrance-qualification
examination and has been judged by a host graduate school as being equal or greater in
academic ability to a Japanese university graduate (or an applicant aged 24 or older if he or she
desires to enroll in a Doctoral program in the field of medicine, dentistry or veterinary science, or in
pharmacy which is founded on a 6-year department/faculty).
Eligible applicants include those who otherwise satisfy or will satisfy qualification requirements for
admission to a Japanese graduate school.
(5) Field of Study
Applicants should apply for the field of study that they studied at their previous university or a related field.
(6) Health
Applicants must be physically and mentally healthy enough to pursue their studies at a university.
(7) Arrival in Japan
Applicants should be able to leave their country and arrive in Japan by the date specified by the University
of Tokyo. If an applicant is unable to travel to Japan within the designated period, he or she should decline
the scholarship offer. If, for personal reasons, an applicant arrives in Japan prior to the designated period,
travel expenses for coming to Japan will not be paid to the applicant.
(8) Visa Requirements
Selected applicants must obtain a "College Student" (ryuugaku 留学) visa prior to their arrival in Japan.
Those applicants coming to Japan with a visa or residence status other than "College Student" will be
disqualified from the Japanese Government Scholarship. Applicants who change their residence status to
any status other than "College Student" after their arrival in Japan will immediately lose their status as a
Japanese Government Scholarship student.
(9) Others
1)
Applicants in the following categories are ineligible for the Japanese government scholarship. They
must decline the scholarship offer if they are found to fit any one of the following criteria upon their
selection.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
An active member of the military or a civilian employed by the military;
An applicant who is unable to travel to Japan within the period designated by the host university;
A former recipient of a Japanese Government Scholarship in the past is ineligible unless he or she
has had at least three years of research or teaching experience at the time of receiving the new
scholarship after the completion of their previous scholarship. This does not apply to a
research-student applicant, who (i) received training as a Japanese-studies student and later
returned to a university from which he or she graduated in their home or another country, or who
(ii) was an international student in Japan under the Japan-Korea Joint Government Scholarship
Program for the Students in Science and Engineering Departments and later returned to South
Korea, or who (iii) was an international student under the young leaders program.
A recipient of a scholarship from an organization (including a governmental organization in his or
her home country) other than the Japanese government (MEXT);
An applicant who has concurrently applied for this scholarship through another university's
recommendation, or an applicant who has applied for other scholarships for international students
by the Japanese government (MEXT) or the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO)
(including students who have been awarded these scholarships and who plan to remain enrolled
in the semester beginning in September 2016 and beyond.)
An applicant who lives or plans to live in Japan prior to the beginning of the Fall semester. (E.g. An
applicant who plans to enroll at a Japanese university as a self-financed international student in
2016 and plans to remain enrolled from the semester beginning in September)
7.
2)
Applicants who wish, from the time of application, to conduct fieldwork or participate in an
internship outside of Japan, since this scholarship program is intended for overseas students who
wish to enroll in a Japanese university and do graduate research in Japan.
Types of Programs
Type of Program
Number of
Eligibility: Possible Departments of
Recipients
Enrollment
1) Frontier Science
Master： 10
Physics, Earth & Planetary Science,
Research Centers
PhD： 10
Chemistry, Biological Sciences
2) General
0-1
Physics, Astronomy, Earth & Planetary
Science, Chemistry, Biological Sciences
NOTES:
1.Please carefully read “2. Period of Scholarships – (2)” before selecting which program(s) to apply to;
( 1) Frontier Science Research Centers, 2) General, or 3) Both ). Then fill in Application Document 5)
“Application Form for Your Choice of Program(s).”
2. Note that you can only be selected for one of the two types of program, even if you select “Both”.
2. Period of Scholarships
(1) For a recipient who will enroll in a Master's program or Doctoral program, the scholarship will be payable
for a period of time necessary for the recipient to complete his or her regular program (standard course
term) starting from September 2016.
Master's program=September, 2016-August, 2018 (2years)
Ph.D. program=September, 2016-August, 2019 (3years)
(2)Extension of the Scholarship Period
Type of Program
Possibility of Extension of the
Condition
Scholarship Period
（Master → PhD）
1) Frontier Science Research
No Extension
Centers
Applicants should meet certain
2) General
Application for Extension is possible
※ 1
criteria set by MEXT with
outstanding academic
achievement. ※１
※１ The extension of scholarship period: If a grantee desires to proceed to a doctoral course from a
master’s course, he/she may have the term of his/her scholarship extended upon a successful examination
by MEXT and provided that he/she has made outstanding academic achievement that meets certain criteria.
Note that extension will not be granted to all those who apply for an extension. Please also note that if
he/she is to qualify for an extension of the MEXT scholarship but enters a graduate school of another
university when transitioning from a Master's program to a Doctoral program, the approval of an extension
of the scholarship is cancelled and the term of the scholarship is not extended.
3. Scholarship Benefits
(1) Allowance
The amounts of monthly stipend for AY2016 have yet to be determined. As an example, the monthly
amounts for AY2015 will be presented below. (These amounts are subject to change depending on the size
of the annual fiscal budget each year.)
AY2015 actual amounts
144,000 yen/month (for a student of a Master's program), or 145,000 yen/month (for a student of a
Ph.D. program)
(an additional monthly stipend of 2,000 or 3,000 yen may be added to those students undertaking
study or research in some designated regions of the country).
The scholarship will not be paid to a recipient who is on a leave of absence or who has long been absent
from his or her university.
The scholarship will be cancelled in the following cases. If a recipient receives the scholarship even though
he or she is judged ineligible due to one of the following reasons, the recipient may be ordered to return the
amount of scholarship money received during the period concerned.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
If any portion of the recipient's application documents is found to be falsely stated;
If a recipient is in breach of his or her pledge made to the Minister of MEXT (Monbukagakusho);
If a recipient is subjected to a disciplinary action taken by his or her university, such as expulsion
or removal from the register;
If it is determined that the recipient will not be able to complete his or her course within the
standard course term, for example because of his or her poor academic achievement or
suspension;
If a recipient leaves the host university or is transferred to another graduate school;
If a recipient's resident status changes from "College Student," as provided for in Paragraph 1-4 of
Appendix to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, to any other status;
If a recipient receives another scholarship (except for a scholarship designated for research
expenses);
If a recipient proceeds to a higher academic program without obtaining permission to extend the
scholarship period from the MEXT (Applicable to “General” program only)
(2) Traveling Costs
1.
Transportation to Japan: Recipients will be provided, according to the itinerary and route
designated for them by MEXT, with an economy class air ticket from the international airport
closest to their place of residence to Narita International Airport (or an international airport that the
recipient's host university normally uses). Recipients will have to shoulder expenses such as
domestic transportation from their place of residence to the nearest international airport,
passenger service facilities charge (PSFC), airport taxes, special taxes on overseas travel and
domestic travel expenses in Japan (basically the recipient's place of residence should be the
address stated in the application form). Moreover, an air ticket will not be provided if the recipient
travels to Japan from a country other than that of his or her nationality.
Transportation from Japan: Upon application, recipients who return to their home country within
the last-payment month of the scholarship will be provided with an economy class air ticket for a
flight from Narita International Airport (or an international airport that the recipient's university
normally uses) to the international airport closest to their place of return.
2.
Note:
The recipient has to pay for his or her insurance premiums for travel to/from Japan. Recipients
must depart from or return to an airport located in their country of nationality.
(3) School Fees
Enrollment and Tuition fees will be exempted.
4. Application & Screening
Application Documents
(Original) (Copy)
Application form (must be in double-sided print)
1)
※
Note that applicants may be required to resubmit an application form in
January, 2016.
2) Research field and research plan
3)
Please click here for download
Please click here for download
Letter of recommendation from dean or above (the name of the addressee stated in
the letter must be “the President of the University of Tokyo”)
Passport-type photo taken within the last 6 months (4.5 x 3.5 cm, upper-body,
4) full-faced, without a cap) Write name and nationality on the back and glue it to the
application form. A photo in electronic data format acceptable)
5)
Application Form for Your Choice of Program(s)
Please click here for download
1
1
1
1
1
Record showing the applicant's academic excellence at the last university attended
(for example, GPA, class placement, individual ranking or any other indicators
6)
showing the applicant's academic performance at the university) Please refer to
Note 1 and Note 2.
1
7) Abstract of thesis etc
1
8) TOEFL score
1
9) A copy of the student's passport (A page with photo)
1
Note 1:
Please also submit an official document that specifies the grading system if it’s not described on
your transcript submitted to the Graduate School Office.
Note 2:
If the transcript as described above proves the applicant's academic excellence through specific
indicators, it will be considered acceptable.
Application Instructions
1. Follow the “Instruction for Graduate School Application for International Students”.
The applicants must submit the required documents for MEXT Scholarship besides the application
documents for Master’s/Doctoral Program to the Graduate School Office.
2. These documents must be written in either Japanese or English. They should be created in A4 format
using software such as MS Word and must be printed double-sided (duplex printing). A document written
in any other language must be accompanied with a Japanese translation.
3. Submitted documents will not be returned.
4. The thesis abstract should be concise and to the point.
5. An application will not be considered unless all application forms and necessary documents are
completed correctly and all accompanying documents are complete.
6. In some countries, a graduation certificate and other documents are issued by a government
administrative office. In this case, the host university may need to confirm with a student's previous
university that the certificate issued contains no erroneous information.
7. The applicants should be in good health.
5. Application Period
From November 13 to December11, 2015
6. Application Mailing & Contact Address
Submit the required documents to apply for MEXT Scholarship together with the application documents for
Graduate School Application (Master’s/Doctoral Program).
【Mailing address】
Graduate School Office,
Graduate School of Science,
The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku,
Tokyo 113-0033 JAPAN
TEL: +81-3-5841-4009
FAX: +81-3-5841-8779
Email: daigakuin@adm.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp
【Contact information】(Questions about MEXT Scholarship documents)
International Liaison Office (ILO), Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo
TEL: +81-3-5841-7630
FAX: +81-3-5841-8775
Email:
ilo@adm.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp
7. Notification
The result will be notified to applicants in the following schedule.
< Frontier Science Research Centers >
・Notification of the Nominees
The nominees selected by Graduate School of Science will be notified by postal mail after February 16th,
2016. The unsuccessful candidates are also notified by postal mail.
・Official Notification of Grantees
On receipt of the official announcement of the decision by MEXT(Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology), the grantees will be notified by postal mail in mid-July, 2016 (tentative). The
unsuccessful candidates are also notified by postal mail.
<General>
・Notification of the Nominees
The nominees selected by Graduate School of Science will be notified by postal mail after February 16th,
2016. The unsuccessful candidates are also notified by postal mail.
・Official Notification of Grantees
On receipt of the official announcement of the decision by MEXT(Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology), the grantees will be notified by postal mail in mid-May, 2016 (tentative). The
unsuccessful candidates are also notified by postal mail.
8. Others
The recipient of this scholarship is guaranteed to enter the University of Tokyo International Lodge
(furnished room with a rent of approximately 50,000(Kashiwa) yen/month, 60,000(Komaba) yen/month) for
the first one year (a student whose laboratory is located in Hongo Campus=Komaba Lodge, a student
whose laboratory is located in Kashiwa Campus=Kashiwa Lodge).