Letter: advance notice pdf

Advance notice of University Recommended Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship (Research Students) Applicants for 2022

As you know, we take University Recommended Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship for Research Students every year and MEXT announces its recruitment notice around December every year. The scholarship covers monthly stipend (about 150,000 yen), enrollment and tuition fees. The students will benefit courteous support.

However, it takes time to prepare all application documents following the application guidelines that prescribes the qualification and conditions in detail although the application deadline is quite short from notification. Therefore I would like you to refer the unofficial draft below in advance to the official announcement from MEXT to prepare for this year’s recruitment.

Application Guidelines of University Recommended Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship (Draft)


Qualifications and Conditions

1) 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.

2) Age: Applicants must have been born on or after April 2, 1987.

3) Eligibility for enrollment in Graduate School:

[1] Applicants who have completed 16 years of school education (18 years for faculties of medicine, dentistry, veterinary sciences and certain parts in pharmaceutical fields) in countries other than Japan (including prospective ones).

[2] Applicants who have recognized as having academic competency equivalent to person with a bachelor’s degree by the screening of the institute and become 22 years old (24 years old for faculties of medicine, dentistry, veterinary sciences and certain parts in pharmaceutical fields) (including prospective ones).

Note: Other than the above (1) and (2) conditions, applicants who are eligible for enrollment in a Japanese graduate school (including prospective ones).

4) Language proficiency: Applicants must meet one of the language requirements in either English or in Japanese as described below:

[Japanese]

[1] Have passed N2 or higher of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) before enrollment.

[2] Have completed an educational program whose primary language of instruction is Japanese that satisfies the entrance requirements to a master’s or doctoral program at a Japanese graduate school.

[3] Have recognized as having Japanese competency equivalent to [1] by the screening of the institute.

[English]

[1] Hold an English language proficiency test score equivalent to Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) scale B2 or higher.

[2] Have completed an educational program whose primary language of instruction is English that satisfies the entrance requirements to a master’s or doctoral program at a Japanese graduate school.

[3] Have recognized as having English competency equivalent to [1] by the screening of the institute.
Note: If a student is recommended as a non-regular student to MEXT, he/she must meet one of the conditions above at the time of recommendation.

5) Arrival in Japan: Applicants must, in principle, be able to arrive in Japan by a date specified by the accepting university which shall be within two weeks before or after the first day of the semester (September or October) in the year specified by the accepting university. If applicants cannot arrive in Japan by the period specified, they must withdraw their application unless under unavoidable circumstances as deemed by MEXT. Furthermore, if applicants travel outside of the period specified above due to personal reasons, the cost of travel will not be paid.

6) Academic Score: Applicants should have a grade point of 2.30 or higher for the latest two years, and should be expected to maintain the same academic standards during the course of the scholarship program.

[Important] Please contact Student Division to refer to Grade point calculation formula.

7) Non-eligibility: Those who meet any one of the following conditions are ineligible. If identified ineligible after being selected as a scholarship student, he/she must withdraw from the scholarship.

[1] Those who are military personnel or military civilian employees at the time of their arrival in Japan or during the period of the payment of the scholarship;

[2] Those who cannot arrive in Japan by the last date of the period specified by MEXT or the accepting university;

[3] Those who are previous grantees of Japanese Government (MEXT) scholarship programs (including those who withdraw from the scholarship program after the arrival in Japan). This does not apply to: those who have educational or work experience exceeding more than three years from the following month of the period of the previous scholarship to the estimated first month of the payment of this scholarship; and the past grantees of Japanese Studies Students program who have graduated or are going to graduate from universities in their home countries, Japan-Korea Joint Government Scholarship Program for the Students in Science and Engineering Departments and Young Leaders’ Program. The Monbukagakusho
Honors Scholarship for Privately-Financed International Students is not included in the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship Programs and its
recipients are eligible;

[4] Those who are currently also applying to another program under the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship system for which scholarship payments will begin in FY2022;

[5] Those who are already enrolled in a Japanese university or other institution with a residence status of “Student,” or who are going to be
enrolled, or plan to enroll, in a Japanese university or other institution as a privately-financed international student from the time of application to the MEXT scholarship program until the commencement of the period for payment of the MEXT scholarship.
However, this stipulation does not apply to privately-financed international students who, even though they are enrolled, or are planning to enroll, in a Japanese university or other institution, verifiably return to their home country at the time of the scholarship application, and newly acquire the “Student” residence status and come to Japan;

[6] Those who are planning to receive scholarship money from an organization other than MEXT (including a government organization of the applicant’s country) on top of the scholarship money provided by MEXT after the start of the scholarship payment period;

[7] Those who are expected to graduate at the time of application and cannot satisfy the condition of academic background by the deadline given;

[8] Holders of dual nationality at the time of application who cannot verify that they will give up Japanese nationality by the time of the arrival in Japan;

[9] Those who plan to, from the time of application for the MEXT scholarship program, engage in long-term research (such as fieldwork or internship) outside Japan or plan to take a long-term leave of absence from the university;

[10] Those who have no intention to enroll in a regular course and, for a doctoral course, who do not plan on obtaining a degree.


*** This draft is drawn based on the one from 2021. Details will be determined at a later date.


※ Reference (MEXT website: Japanese only)
●2021年度大学推薦による国費外国人留学生の募集について
https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/ryugaku/1423055_00003.htm
●2021年度大学推薦による国費外国人留学生の募集について
https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/ryugaku/1423055_00004.htm
●世界の成長を取り込むための外国人留学生の受入れ戦略
http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/ryugaku/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2013/12/24/1342726_1.pdf