Once you start down the MEXT Scholarship path, you may want to keep going, so you’ll need to know about the scholarship extension application process.
In many cases, no information is available about the extension application before it is time to apply, so scholarship winners worry about this extension. Here are just a few of the questions I often receive in blog comments and by email:
- It is easy (or guaranteed) to extend your scholarship?
- Is it possible to extend my scholarship to move up to the next degree?
- Can I extend my scholarship and move to a different university?
- What are the requirements to extend a MEXT Scholarship?
- Am I eligible to extend my MEXT scholarship?
- How/when do I apply to extend my MEXT Scholarship?
In this article I will explain how the MEXT scholarship extension application system works, who is and is not eligible to extend their scholarship, and everything you need to know about eligibility and requirements. I will explain each type of extension separately, so scroll down to the scholarship extension type you are most interested in for more details. (But read the next section first!)
These guidelines are current as of 2022, for students extending their scholarship with the new program to start in 2023.
When is it Impossible to Extend your MEXT Scholarship?
There are a few situations where it is impossible to extend your scholarship. Fortunately, these situations will apply to a very, very small number of students, but let’s get them out of the way first:
- If you will not be moving on to a new level. (For example, you cannot extend your scholarship award time as a research student or Master’s student beyond 2 years, or your time as a Doctoral student beyond 3 years.)
- If you are already a doctoral degree student.
- If you are in a degree program and want to become a research student.
- If you are a University Recommended MEXT Scholar and want to change universities.
- If you are a PGP Scholarship Winner, but your university has no PGP scholarship slots in the next degree level for the year you would advance.
- If you require permission from your employer or home country government to extend your MEXT scholarship and fail to obtain it.
- If you intend to conduct fieldwork or participate in an internship outside of Japan after extending your scholarship.
- If you fail to obtain acceptance to the degree program at the next level that you plan to apply for.
If you are not in any of the situations above, you should be able to apply to extend your scholarship in order to move up to the next degree level. Read on for the instruction!
Who Can Extend Their Scholarship?
Here is a list of the different scholarship extension types and who is eligible. You can find more details about each extension in the sections below’
| Started As | Current Status | Extending To | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research Student | Research Student | Masters or Doctoral Degree Program (including professional degree programs) |
|
| Non-PGP: Research Student or Master’s Degree Student |
Master’s Degree Student (including professional degree programs) | Doctoral Degree (including professional degree programs) |
|
| Non-PGP: Bachelor’s Degree Student | Bachelor’s Degree Student | Master’s Degree (including professional degree programs) or Doctoral Degree, in the case of a 6-year undergraduate program in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, or veterinary studies |
|
| Non-PGP: Bachelor’s Degree Student College of Technology Student Specialized Training College Student |
Master’s Degree Student | Doctoral Degree (including professional degree programs) | |
| College of Technology Student | College of Technology Student | Bachelor’s Degree Student (3rd year transfer enrollee) or advanced course at the College of Technology | |
| Specialized Training College Student | Specialized Training College Student | Bachelor’s Degree Student (3rd year transfer enrollee) | |
| College of Technology Student Specialized Training College Student |
Bachelor’s Degree Student | Master’s Degree | |
| PGP: Master’s Degree Student (including professional degree programs) | Master’s Degree Student (including professional degree programs) | Doctoral Degree |
|
MEXT Scholarship Extension Application Requirements
Here are the requirements, conditions, and number of slots available for each type of extension.
1. Extending from Research to Degree Program
In order to extend from Research Student Status to a Degree Program, applicants must:
- Be expected to receive admission in the appropriate degree program
- Be strongly recommended by their advising professor
- Be appropriate for recommendation, as determined by the president of the university or Dean of the Graduate School
Changing Universities
For Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholars, it is possible to change universities when moving from research student to degree-seeking student status. You can fill in up to two choices of university/graduate school for your next degree. However, the student’s current advising professor must clearly explain the need for the change in the adviser’s section of the extension application form if you list another university or graduate school as your first or second choice. If you end up pursuing your next degree at a university/graduate school other than one of the ones on your list, you would lose the MEXT Scholarship.
University-Recommended MEXT Scholars (including PGP scholars) will lose their scholarships if they change universities.
Slots
There is no limit to the number of scholars that universities can nominate in this category. However, that does not mean that all nominees will automatically be accepted for extension by MEXT. The number of successful nominees will be determined by the contents of the nomination and MEXT’s budget.
In practice, I have never heard of anyone in this situation being unsuccessful in their extension application. The caveat about MEXT’s budget is always there because they are not allowed to commit to any spending in advance of the fiscal year. It is nothing to worry about.
2. Extending from Master’s to Doctoral or Bachelor’s to Master: Non-PGP
This category does not include students who started as undergraduate MEXT scholars, previously extended to a Master’s degree, and are now applying to extend to a PhD. Please see below for that category.
Both of these categories have the same requirements and share a combined slot limit, so I am addressing them together.
In order to extend to the next degree level, applicants must:
- Have a GPA of 2.50/3.00 in their current degree program
- Be expected to receive admission in the appropriate degree program
- Be strongly recommended by their advising professor
- Be appropriate for recommendation, as determined by the president of the university or Dean of the Graduate School
- Be expected to complete their current degree within the standard years of enrollment*
*The standard years of enrollment is 4 years for a bachelor’s degree and 2 years for a master’s degree. If you take longer than that to earn your degree, you would lose your scholarship at the end of the standard years (or as soon as it became apparent that you would not finish within the standard years) and would not be able to extend your scholarship.
Changing Universities
The same condition applies as to research students extending to the degree program.
For Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholars, it is possible to change universities when moving from research student to degree-seeking student status. You can fill in up to two choices of university/graduate school for your next degree. However, the student’s current advising professor must clearly explain the need for the change in the adviser’s section of the extension application form if you list another university or graduate school as your first or second choice. If you end up pursuing your next degree at a university/graduate school other than one of the ones on your list, you would lose the MEXT Scholarship.
Slots
The base number of students a university can nominate for these two types of extension combined is equal to the average number of nominees for the two types combined over the past three years, rounded up (e.g. 2.01 would be rounded up to 3).
In addition to the base slots calculated above, each university receives additional slots as determined by the table below:
| Number of MEXT Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree Scholars finishing their studies in AY 2023 | Number of additional slots for the extension application |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | 1 |
| 3-4 | 2 |
| 5-9 | 3 |
| 10-15 | 4 |
| 16-20 | 5 |
| 21-25 | 6 |
| 26-30 | 7 |
| 31-35 | 8 |
| 36-40 | 9 |
| 41-45 | 10 |
| 46-50 | 11 |
| 51-55 | 12 |
| 56-60 | 13 |
| 61-65 | 14 |
| More than 65 | 15 |
*This chart applies to the extension application in AY2023 and may change in future years.
If a university has not nominated any students for extension in either category over the preceding three years, the number of nominees is capped at two. (The additional slots calculation does not apply in that case.)
Unlike the condition for research students advancing to the degree program, above, there is no statement about not all nominees being accepted.
If you are applying to change universities when you advance to the next degree level, you would still need to be nominated by the university that you are currently attending and you would count toward their limit of nominees.
3. Former Undergraduate MEXT Scholar Extending from Master’s to Doctoral Program
In order to extend to a doctoral degree, applicants must:
- Have a GPA of 2.80/3.00 in their current master’s degree program
- Be expected to receive admission in the appropriate doctoral degree program
- Be strongly recommended by their advising professor and the dean of their graduate school or president of the university
- Be expected to complete their current degree within the standard years of enrollment
The standard years of enrollment for a master’s degree program is 2 years. If you fail to complete your degree within 2 years, you would lose your scholarship at that point (or as soon as it became apparent that you would not graduate within 2 years) and would not be eligible to apply to extend your scholarship.
Slots
There is no limit to the number of scholars that universities can nominate in this category. However, that does not mean that all nominees will automatically be accepted for extension by MEXT. The number of successful nominees will be determined by the contents of the nomination and MEXT’s budget.
In practice, I have never heard of anyone in this situation being unsuccessful in their extension application. The caveat about MEXT’s budget is always there because they are not allowed to commit to any spending in advance of the fiscal year. It is nothing to worry about.
4. College of Technology MEXT Scholar Extending to Bachelor’s Program or Advanced Courses at the College of Technology
In order to extend to a bachelor’s degree transfer student or to advanced courses at the College of Technology, applicants must:
- Have a GPA of 2.80/3.00 in their current program with a class attendance rate of 95% or better
- Be expected to receive transfer admission into the third year of the appropriate bachelor’s degree program or to the advanced program at the college of technology
- Be strongly recommended by their advising professor
- Be appropriate for recommendation, as determined by the president of the university or Dean of the Graduate School
- Have a clear connection between their current field of study and the field of study to be pursued in the bachelor’s degree
Changing Universities
Allowed (required if transferring to a bachelor’s degree). Applicants may select up to two universities, two advanced courses at colleges of technology, or one of each, that they want to proceed to. Only national universities or colleges of technology are eligible (you cannot apply to private or local public universities ).
If you end up pursuing your next degree at a university other than one of the ones on your list, you would lose the MEXT Scholarship.
Slots
In general, up to 1 nominee per College of Technology. If the College of Technology determines that there are two or more equal applicants, they may nominate more than one, but must indicate their order of priority. Not all nominees will automatically be accepted for extension by MEXT. The number of successful nominees will be determined by the contents of the nomination and MEXT’s budget.
5. Specialized Training College MEXT Scholar
In order to extend to a bachelor’s degree transfer student, applicants must:
- Have a GPA of 2.80/3.00 in their current program with a class attendance rate of 95% or better
- Be expected to receive transfer admission into the third year of the appropriate bachelor’s degree program
- Be strongly recommended by their advising professor
- Be appropriate for recommendation, as determined by the president of the university or Dean of the Graduate School
- Have a clear connection between their current field of study and the field of study to be pursued in the bachelor’s degree
Changing Universities
Required. Applicants may select up to two universities that they want to proceed to. Applicants may only select national universities. (It is not possible to extend to a private or local public university).
If you end up pursuing your next degree at a university other than one of the ones on your list, you would lose the MEXT Scholarship.
Slots
Up to 2 nominees per Specialized Training College. However, if the Specialized Training College determines that there are more than two equal applicants, they may nominate one additional applicant, but must indicate their order of priority. Not all nominees will automatically be accepted for extension by MEXT. The number of successful nominees will be determined by the contents of the nomination and MEXT’s budget.
6. Former College of Technology MEXT Scholar or Specialized Training College MEXT Scholar Extending from Bachelor’s (or advanced courses at a College of Technology) to Master’s Program
In order to extend to a master’s degree, applicants must:
- Have a GPA of 2.80/3.00 in their current bachelor’s degree program
- Be expected to receive admission in the appropriate master’s degree program
- Be strongly recommended by their advising professor and by the dean of their faculty or president of the university
- Be expected to complete their current degree within the standard years of enrollment
The standard years of enrollment for a bachelor’s degree program is 4 years. If you fail to complete your degree within 2 years, you would lose your scholarship at that point (or as soon as it became apparent that you would not graduate within 4 years) and would not be eligible to apply to extend your scholarship.
Changing Universities
The same condition applies as to research students extending to the degree program.
For Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholars, it is possible to change universities when moving from research student to degree-seeking student status. You can fill in up to two choices of university/graduate school for your next degree. However, the student’s current advising professor must clearly explain the need for the change in the adviser’s section of the extension application form if you list another university or graduate school as your first or second choice. If you end up pursuing your next degree at a university/graduate school other than one of the ones on your list, you would lose the MEXT Scholarship.
Slots
There is no limit to the number of scholars that universities can nominate in this category. However, that does not mean that all nominees will automatically be accepted for extension by MEXT. The number of successful nominees will be determined by the contents of the nomination and MEXT’s budget.
In practice, I have never heard of anyone in this situation being unsuccessful in their extension application. The caveat about MEXT’s budget is always there because they are not allowed to commit to any spending in advance of the fiscal year. It is nothing to worry about.
7. Extending from Master’s to Doctoral: PGP Scholarship Recipients
In order to extend to the next degree level, applicants must:
- Have a GPA of 2.50/3.00 in their current degree program
- Be expected to receive admission in the appropriate degree program
- Be strongly recommended by their advising professor
- Be appropriate for recommendation, as determined by the president of the university or Dean of the Graduate School
- Be expected to complete their current degree within the standard years of enrollment
The standard years of enrollment is 2 years for a master’s degree. If you take longer than that to earn your degree, you would lose your scholarship at the end of the standard years (or as soon as it became apparent that you would not finish within the standard years) and would not be able to extend your scholarship.
Changing Universities
It is not possible to change universities as a PGP Scholarship recipient.
Slots
A university can only nominate students for scholarship extension if the PGP program was originally able to nominate students at both the Master’s and Doctoral level and is still able to nominate Doctoral students in the year that you apply for the extension.
The rules about when it is possible to extend have changed several times and are subject to future change depending on the year that the PGP program was approved, so ultimately you are going to have to check with the university that you want to apply to to see if it will be possible to extend or not.
Since PGP programs are approved to accept new students over a three-year program, if you enroll as a Master’s student in the program’s first year, you would be eligible to apply for extension at the conclusion of your degree, since the program would still be in its third year of approval and accepting new students. (Though you would be competing with those new Doctoral level students for a slot).
If you enroll in the Master’s degree in the PGP program’s second or third year, though, the possibility of extension can vary, so you would need to contact your university to find out for sure. In past years, it has not been possible in some cases, possible in all cases, or possible only if the university applied for an extension of the PGP program period as a whole (regardless of whether that extension was approved or not).
(Thanks to reader Alex who pointed out that the handling of extensions started changing from year to year after programs approved in 2019!)
Payment of Application and Matriculation Fees
If you are applying to extend your MEXT scholarship fees, you would be responsible for paying all application and matriculation fees for the programs that you want to apply to. However, the fees would be refunded to you as follows, based on the success of your applications.
If your application to extend your MEXT scholarship is successful, the application and matriculation fees to the university you enroll in would be refunded. (In the case of Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholars, MEXT will refund your fees. In the case of University-Recommended MEXT Scholars, the university will refund your fees.)
If you apply to multiple universities (Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholars are allowed to apply up to two during the extension process), then your fees for the university that you do not end up attending would not be refunded.
Your fees would also not be refunded if you failed to pass the entrance exam or if your MEXT scholarship extension application was not approved.
Application Timeline
In 2022, MEXT released the application guidelines for the Extension application in mid-December and the deadline to submit the final application is January 26, 2023. This is the application period for students who want to extend in either April or October 2023. There is no separate application period later for the October extension, so this is you one and only chance to apply for that year.
*The only exception to the timeline is for applicants who start their scholarships in April as research students and then apply to extend to a degree program starting in that October.
Your university should let you know when it is time to apply, but if you do not hear from them by the beginning of December, it would be a good idea to contact your university’s Center for International Affairs to follow up.
Application Documents
You will receive the forms from your current university, but they should not pose any difficulty.
Application Form
The application form itself is similar to the initial application form, but shorter and simpler. Since you have already completed the application form once, it will be no trouble.
Research Plan or Research Status Report
The second form you have to submit is a Research Plan or Research Status Report. If you are applying to advance to the next degree, your Research Plan would be similar to the type of document you submitted for your initial Field of Study and Research Program Plan, except simpler. In this case, you would not be submitting your application for a competitive evaluation to professors/a university that is unfamiliar with your performance. So, your plan can be a simpler explanation of what you plan to research. Your current adviser should be willing to help you write it, as well.
If you are extending from research student status to degree status, and continuing your ongoing research, then you would write an update on your progress.
Essay (Former undergraduate, college of technology, or specialized training school applicants, only)
Former undergraduate or college of technology MEXT scholarship winners extending from Master’s to Doctoral degrees and former college of technology students extending from a Bachelor’s to Master’s degree must also submit a short essay. However, MEXT’s application guidelines have no instructions for this essay, so please follow up with your host university for more details (and let me know in the comments below!)
Proof of Language Ability (University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship applicants only)
This requirement only applies to applicants who were initially accepted as University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship “Research Students” (i.e. Non-Degree Students) and who did not submit documentary evidence of their language proficiency, such as language proficiency test scores showing CEFR B2 level English or N2 level Japanese or proof of completing their qualifying degree in English/Japanese at the initial time of application.
If the university accepted you under the condition that they judged your language ability to be “equal to a person with B2 level English or N2 level Japanese” without any documentary evidence, you would be required to submit test scores in order to extend to a degree program.
Special Thanks
Special thanks to the TranSenz supporters on Patreon, who help keep this site running through their generous contributions, especially to my newest Samurai patron, HiC, Daimyo-level supporters Dũng Phạm Quang and Alessia M, and to everyone who has been supporting the sight for months or years. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your continued support! If this site has helped you in your application process and you want to “pay it forward” to keep the site running to help future applicants, every contribution helps!
If you want to show your support but Patreon is out of reach, I’d appreciate it if you say hi on social media or in the comments below to let me know if you appreciate these posts. You can find me on facebook at @TranSenz or on Twitter at @tagsenzaki. I look forward to saying hi!
Questions?
Let me know in the comments below!
Hello Travis,
Thank you for always being available for the endless questions. They have helped me so much and continue to do so during my academic and scholarship related problems in Japan. So, I am currently a masters student (graduating Sep next year) and I am struggling a lot, and I don’t know if I want to do Ph.D. anymore. However, my options are tight considering I don’t want to stay in Japan anymore or look for jobs here(it has been way too stressful for me here). So, I might go back to my country after Masters, however, my option after masters is a if thing(back in my country), which makes Ph.D. my back up option through MEXT. If I extend my scholarship, go to Ph.D. and decide to drop out (and go back to my country) what will be the consequences? Will I have to repay the money, or face some really bad consequences like being banned from entering Japan ever?
Hi Haru,
Thank you for your kind feedback. I am sorry to hear that you have struggled so much with your studies here. Japan can be quite stressful!
If you were to drop out of the PhD, I do not think that you would have to pay back the scholarship money that you received. But you would have to give them a reason for withdrawing. As long as you don’t fail out with bad grades or get kicked out for a crime or violating university rules, there should not be any lasting consequences, like a ban on entering Japan. It is likely that you wouldn’t have a chance to apply for a MEXT Scholarship again or return to that university, but it doesn’t sound like that would be high on your list of things to do, anyway!
If you drop out of the MEXT Scholarship, they would not pay for your travel back to your home country, and you would lose your stipend as soon as you decide to withdraw (and have to leave the country within 2 weeks, in general), so you would have to be prepared for the financial costs and for a quick move.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, I am a regular master student enrolled in 2022 fall and I am going to be graduated in fall 2024. I wanna extend my scholarship to PhD. I have two questions.
1. My university has two entrance examination period April and September. Can I enter to spring examination of 2024 (before my graduation from master) or should I wait until September?
2. MEXT extension application process starts around October 2023, are extension results announced before entrance examination? If so, when we pass entrance examination of the university then will it be reported to the MEXT for enrollment and start of payment of scholarship?
Thank you! (I also gained MEXT master scholarship thanks to your publications)
Hi Can,
Thank you for your feedback! I am glad to hear that the resources here helped you in the past!
1. You should take the entrance exam corresponding to the semester that you want to start the PhD program. Typically, each entrance exam cycle is only for a specific start date, so if you pass the entrance for April 2024 start, that would not qualify you to start in September 2024.
2. As far as I know, the extension application process usually begins around December. If you’ve heard that it’s going to be early this year, though, please let me know! (Unlike the entrance exams, there is one extension application that applies to both Spring and Fall 2024)
The results of the MEXT Extension may not come out before the entrance exam. They are entirely separate processes. Once you pass the MEXT Extension, you should be given more information about the follow-up procedures, including how to report to them which university you will enroll in and submit proof of acceptance to that university.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, I wanted to ask you, if my research student status is for a year and then I apply to join a two year masters course, when do I have to apply for an extension? And will the extension cover the entire of my two years of masters?
Hi Arundhati,
Typically the call for the extension application comes in December of each year and is for applicants who plan to apply for an extension to cover the next level of degree starting in either April or Sept/Oct of the next year.
So, if you were planning to start your Master’s course in Fall semester 2025, for example, you would apply for the extension around December 2024. You would also have to apply separately for admission to the master’s degree program. Once you pass the extension application and the admissions exam to the Master’s program your extended scholarship would start at the same time as your Master’s degree and would cover the two years necessary for that degree.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
Thank you so so much for all the detailed information, Your guidelines are extremely helpful!
I want to extend my scholarship from a master’s to a Ph.D. program but at a different university.
The issue is that I was enrolled in my current master’s program in September and I will graduate in September ’24. However, most of the universities I have in mind, only have enrollment periods in April.
Therefore, in this case, how can I extend the scholarship (if possible) taking into consideration that MEXT doesn’t support a gap period when extending from one program to another?
Thank you so much for your time and consideration!
I hope you have a nice day and I’m sending you kind regards,
Ivanka
Hi Ivanka,
Thank you for your feedback.
I double-checked the guidelines, including a directive MEXT issues in 2019 about changes to the handling of “gap periods” when extending your scholarship, but unfortunately, it looks like your only option is to find another program that accepts students in the fall semester, if you want to keep the MEXT Scholarship.
MEXT’s change to the handling of “gap periods” only covers minor differences in the Academic calendar within the same semester. For example, if you graduate from a Master’s at University A on Aug 31 and want to proceed to a PhD at university B that starts on Oct 1, that would be allowed (though you would not receive a scholarship stipend during the gap month of September). But they explicitly state that this condition does not apply to students who have to wait for a whole semester to start their next degree.
So it looks like there is no way to extend to an April-start program if you graduate in the fall.
I am sorry that I do not have better news for you.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis!
Thank you so much for everything on this blog, it’s life-saving. I got informed last week of my passing the primary screening.
It actually didn’t occur to me before the difference between non-regular and degree students. However, since I unexpectedly passed, I panicked about too many things and am looking for info I may have missed before applying, and now I need to understand the difference, is it right to say that if I got enrolled as a non-degree student, I will have to finish its 2 years program, before applying for an extension?
Hi Miracle,
Congratulations on passing the primary screening!
If you start as a research student, you do not need to complete a full two years in that status. In fact, it is most common (and almost expected) that you will be a research student for one semester, only. During that time, you will take the entrance exam and apply for your scholarship extension so that you can move into the degree program.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I’m doing some early planning but if you apply for the mext scholarship at 33 would you still be able to extend your scholarship even though you’d be 35 at that point? I know the intial cutoff is 35 but the extension doesn’t mention age. I’m currently 30 I have two years left of my bachelor’s degree and I was wondering if I could take a break after graduating before applying.
Hi MA,
There is no age requirement for the MEXT Scholarship extension, so you can extend if if you are older than the cut off date.
I would caution you about taking “a break” after your bachelor’s, though. It’s one thing if you are taking a break from education to gain working experience in the field that you want to study in Japan, but if you do something unrelated or aren’t engaged in anything in particular, that could hurt your eventual application chances. MEXT is going to want to see a consistent history of dedication to work and studies in your field as prove that you are dedicated and the kind or person who can make a difference as a leader in your field after your studies.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis.
Thank you so much for all the information and guides you have provided. I´ve been consulting your blog since I first applied to the MEXT scholarship and has been really helpful ever since. I’ve recently started as a non-degree research student (Embassy Recommended) and I plan on extending my scholarship to Masters (if everything goes right). Thing is, since I arrived I´m having some trouble with the university I´m currently enrolled in. Not with the advisor in particular (she´s very nice), but with the Japanese level used in classes (even though I have N2 I’m struggling a lot) and this has been detrimental to both my emotional and my time dedicated to research. Also, since I arrived my research took a bit of a turn and I’m starting to think that a university with a more international and multidisciplinar approach (with a English program) would be better both for my research and for my sanity. But I´m concerned that that’s not a solid reason for MEXT to approve me changing universities. In addition, the university I’m currently enrolled in is a national one, and I plan on applying for a private uni. Do you think I can fail the extension application if I’m applying to change from a national to a private university? Thank you!
Hi Chloe,
Thank you for your kind feedback and congratulations on winning the MEXT Scholarship!
I am sorry to hear about your struggles with the program you’re in now and I certainly understand your concerns.
As an Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholar, you can choose up to two universities that you would like to apply to during the scholarship extension (note that you have to apply for admission to the universities separately). So, you could list your current university and the private one then (unlike the initial application) you get to choose which one to go to, assuming the extension is approved and you are admitted to both. So, in that case, I do not think that the extension would be denied because you are applying to a private university.
One thing to note is that if you are considering changing universities, your current academic advisor must give their opinion on why the change would be beneficial to you in the application form, so please make sure that you have discussed your plans in advance with your advisor!
I think that the evolution of your research topic would make a more compelling reason for the switch than the language difficulties. If you can explain how your research has taken a different direction and why that makes the other university more appropriate, that seems like a reason that MEXT should accept.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi!
Thank you for your insightful writings, for some of us it means a lot.
However, I am currently a Master’s degree student in my second year(Embassy recommended). I have recently reached out to the Academic Affairs office to ask as to when the extension period will begin for us who want to extend our scholarship for April 2024. Unfortunately, they seem very unware, do you have any information as to when the extension period will begin?
Hi Jack,
Thank you for your kind feedback!
The extension application guidelines usually come out in December for anyone who wants to extend in April or September of the following year. Once they come out, you won’t have much time to complete the application, just a week or two, if I remember correctly.
You’ll also need to apply for admission to the degree program(s) that you want to extend to, separately. You can list up to two programs on your MEXT extension application, but you need to be accepted into at least one of those programs and pass the MEXT application, so make sure that you know the start dates for any of the Ph.D. programs’ application processes as well.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks Travis,
Usually, when is the result usually released after applying in December?
Hi Jack,
Last year, universities had to submit their nominations for the extension by Jan 26, 2023, and according to the guidelines, results were due to be released in early March. That’s been a fairly consistent timeline in past years, too, as far as I can remember.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I hope you are well.
Thank you for your support…
Please, if a student starts as a “non-regular student”, won’t that affect their research plan?
How do we deal with?
Thank you
Hi Martial,
In general, starting as a research student would meant that you have one extra semester to complete your research. Assuming that you intend to start as a research student, you should still write one research proposal that covers both the research student term and your degree, then mention that you will adjust the timeline as necessary if you start directly into the degree program.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz