Questions about the MEXT scholarship? Ask them in the comments here or on the individual FAQ pages listed below!
FAQs Released so Far
Here are the links to the existing pages:
- MEXT Scholarship Application Basic Information (Where to apply, etc.)
- Contacting Professors (Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholarship Application)
- Field of Study and Research Program Plan
- University Recommended MEXT Scholarship Application
Explanation
Given the recent volume of questions, I am afraid that I no longer have the time to answer each emailed question one-by-one and get you the response you want in a timely manner.
Instead, I will group similar questions and answer them in the subject-by-subject FAQ articles linked above.
Live Q&A?
Once TranSenz reaches $50 in monthly support on Patreon, I will start a monthly live video Q&A. If you are interested in supporting this effort, or simply getting faster responses to your questions and access to articles ahead of everyone else, you can become a patron of TranSenz for as little as $2 per month!
Get All the Answers, Fast
When you sign up for my MEXT Scholarship Mailing List, I will send you my sample MEXT application forms as well as a email course introducing you to the essentials of the MEXT scholarship application, step-by-step.
Tips to Get Your Questions Answered Faster
There are some ways you can get your question featured faster:
- Be clear. Let me know what type of application process (Embassy/University/Domestic Selection) you’re asking about, what level (Undergraduate/Graduate), what year, and any other relevant details. If I have to guess what you mean – or write back to you to ask you to clarify your question, it’s going to take more time.
- Be detailed. If your question is “Please help me with the MEXT Scholarship application” or “I don’t know where to start,” then read through the articles that exist on this site first. Specific questions that are easier to understand and research will get answered first. If your question seems like it’s asking for a half-hour sit-down chat, then it’s probably not possible for me to answer in the FAQ.
- Be original. If there is an FAQ for your question already, please watch/read what I have posted in there already. If you ask a question that’s just been answered, it will take me longer to circle back to it.
- Don’t be selfish. Questions that can help more people will get answered first. If your question is specific to only your case, it’s going to take me longer to get to it.
Can’t Wait?
If you’re really in a hurry, you can join the community of TranSenz Supporters on Patreon. These are people who generously donate to help me cover the site costs and production expenses for this website for as little as a few dollars a month.
As one small way of expressing my gratitude to them, I answer their questions on a priority basis, including individual questions.
If you are interested in becoming a TranSenz supporter (whether or not you want faster answers), you can get all of the details here.
Subject Specific FAQs
As I release and publish new Q&As and Q&A videos, I will post each of them on a separate page for that subject. Before posting a new question, please check to see if it’s already been answered, to save yourself some time!
If you can’t find an answer, you can post your question in the comments on the subject-specific page or on this page.
Ads by Google:
Hello Travis, I can not thank you enough for all of your work, your mailing list and blogs really helped me. I am intending to apply for 2021 Mext Embassy Recommendation as a research student. However I have some questions regarding document requirements;
1. Does the MEXT medical certificate form are equally the same wherever country I lived in? Because I want to get a head start and use the form you have sent through your mailing list, since Indonesian embassy (I’m Indonesian) have not given any official announcement yet. But I’m afraid that the medical form would be different when it finally be announced and I would lose precious time and perhaps money.
2. I also want to ask, there is a requirement where applicant’s transcript should show all of applicant’s grades and semester they’ve taken the course. My transcript sure does show my grade and lists of all the courses I attend but not in a chronological order nor in a per semester order. It is shown in a alphabetical order by the courses codes. Would it be a problem?
I am hoping you would reply to my inquiries. Thank you, have a good day.
Hi Alya Dayna,
Thank you for your kind feedback! I am glad that you have found the blog to be helpful.
1. Yes, the Medical Certificate is designated by MEXT and is the same in all countries. You can get the 2021 form from the Study in Japan website. However, I would recommend that you wait on this form. Some countries do not ask you to turn it in with the rest of the application documents at the beginning and only ask for it later in the process, once applicants have been through part of the screening. Your local embassy might also have additional medical documentation, etc., specific to your country, so I would recommend waiting for their guidance.
2. As far as I know, yes, you would need a document that shows when you took each of your courses over your four years. It should not have to be shown on the transcript itself, if you can provide another official document from your university that shows when you took each one. When I handled applications from students in Indonesia, most often they provided a separate document with a year-by-year breakdown of courses taken so that we could compare it to the transcript.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis
Does the recommendation letter have to be sealed and sent in the specific format given or can any other format be used as well? How many letters of recommendation do I require?
Hi KT,
You do not need to use the sample format given by MEXT and it does not need to be sealed (unless the embassy where you are applying specifically instructs you otherwise). The guidelines specifically say that a freeform letter is acceptable.
You need one letter of recommendation from the president, dean, or academic advisor at the last university you attended and one letter of recommendation from an employer if you are currently working. (Again, though, refer to the specific instructions from the embassy or consulate where you will apply, because they may have additional requirements or directions.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis
So I have a question and I don’t seem to find the answer anywhere, I’m planning on applying this year 2020 for an undergraduate scholarship, now I’m currently in a university so I know I need to list that in the application, but in order to take the scholarship, if I do get it, I’m gonna have to withdraw from my university since I would be graduating in 2024, so my question is do I need to specify somewhere in the application that I would be leaving my current university or changing anything at all? Because everywhere I see applications of people who are in university but will have graduated by the time of the scholarship.
Hi Monica,
It is most common to apply for the MEXT scholarship to start after you finish your degree, but I have seen applicants in the past who planned to quit partway through their current degree to take the MEXT scholarship if possible.
Since you will not be finishing your current degree before starting the MEXT scholarship, any years that you have spent in that program will not count toward your total years of schooling in the application form or for the eligibility requirements. I would recommend that you list the degree in the education table, then, in the notes section, indicate that you will withdraw from that degree program if accepted to the MEXT scholarship.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
As a research student, will I be a non-degree student if I get the scholarship
? Is it possible for me to apply as a degree-seeking student while applying for the scholarship?
I do not understand what a non-degree student means, it would be helpful if you could explain it.
Thank you.
Hi KT,
There are two meanings to the word “research student” (they are different words in Japanese, but unfortunately, both translate to the same English word).
1. First Meaning: Research Student refers to all graduate students at any level (non-degree, masters, doctoral, or professional degree). This is the meaning of the “MEXT Scholarship for Research Students”. You can apply to start directly as a degree-seeking student.
2. Second Meaning: Research Student also refers to “Non-Degree Student” to distinguish from degree-seeking students. This definition is usually used at the university level. A Non-degree student is enrolled at the university, can take classes, use facilities, and receive research guidance from professors, but they are not formally enrolled in a degree program (have not passed the entrance exam) or working toward earning their degree,
Most MEXT scholars in my experience start as Non-degree research students so that they can arrive in Japan and settle into their studies then take the entrance examination once they have arrived. It can be difficult to take the entrance exam before arriving, as some universities will require you to sit for it in person. The other advantage to starting as a research student is that once you formally enroll in the degree, you have a time limit that you need to finish in: 2 years for a Master’s and 3 for a Doctorate. If you stumble during your first semester because you are adjusting to Japan, etc., and lose progress, you might not be able to graduate on time and could lose the scholarship. If you start as a research student (non-degree student), though, that gives you time to adjust.
I always recommend starting as a non-degree student and matriculating to the degree program after arrival, if your personal circumstances allow it.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thanks a lot for all you are doing for us. We cant thank you enough!
I’ve 2 questions to which I’ve failed to find answers in your different posts.
1. I’m a Ugandan and I did my master’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Ankara, Turkey and graduated last year in June. As I was leaving Turkey after graduation, I got recommendation letters from my professors including my academic advisor and they were never sealed. However according to what I’ve read and understood for mext scholarship, the recommendation letter must be sealed and signed on the seal by the recommender. Could there be any other alternative of getting a recommender who is not from your last university attended or they should be from the last university attended and I should devise ways of getting them from Turkey when the scholarship application window opens? What would you advise?
2. In the sample application form in section 18, you are asked whether you currently have a job and in section 19 you are asked your employment record excluding part-time and volunteeering. I’m a part-time assistant lecturer at a university in my country. Is it in order to say yes in 18 and say none in 19 or if its part-time work still in 18 I should say No?
Best Regards
Hi Ssali Hussein,
You’re very welcome!
1. There is no requirement that the recommendation letter be sealed anymore, at least not from MEXT. That was a requirement several years ago, but no longer. The Japanese embassy in Uganda might ask for it to be sealed, but in that case it would be a local requirement, not a MEXT requirement. So, if they do ask for it to be sealed, you may be able to explain the situation and ask them to allow an unsealed letter.
In general, there is no alternative allowed to getting the letter of recommendation from your most recent university. At least, there hasn’t been in the past. It is possible that things might change this year because of COVID-19 making it harder for people to get letters.
2. If your job as a “part-time” lecturer at your university is your primary form of employment, I would say that you should list it in both parts of the application form. When the form tells you to leave out part-time jobs, they are referring to working a few hours per week at a shop or restaurant or something like that. In the academic career field, MEXT and your reviewers will understand that new academics almost always have to start out as part-time lecturers before getting a full offer of employment from a university.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks so much Travis! You have answered me thoroughly well.
Dear Travis,
I just found about the scholarship a day or two back. I am a doctor (MBBS), looking for options for Post Graduation in fields related to medicine or surgery. The scholarship program says medicine, I hope that considers every field of medicine and surgery and not just medicine.
While searching, I have found that to apply I would have to get a minimum of 70 percent (which is very high for medical field), mine is a little above 65, Is it the 70% norm for every field under natural science (or is it different for medicine)?
Is there any other courses that I need to learn? Found out that the embassy takes exams for Japanese and English, does that mean I need to learn Japanese before applying?
If someone gets selected by the embassy, does that mean he/she gets a university or even after the embassy selects him/her, university needs to select and are there chances of rejection by the university?
(These are the questions I remember now, I am from Nepal)
-Thank You
After going through the FAQ, I found the answer to the last question.
How likely is it for a doctor to get scholarship for surgical field?
Hi Amrit Neupane,
There is no way to say how likely something is just based on the field. There are far too many other factors, like the level of competition, your past academic performance, the quality of your application, the priorities of your country, etc.
All you can do is focus on the steps and things you can do to strengthen your application and increase your personal likelihood of earning the scholarship.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you for your reply.
My question was about surgery was on the based on the fact that the scholarship notice of last year had mentioned medicine but not surgery (For a non medical field person, they may be similar but for a medical person having one and leaving the other might mean different things).
Hi Amrit Neupane,
As far as I know, “Surgery” is going to be a field of study within the Graduate School of Medicine at a Japanese university.
The guidelines from last year also say “A student who studies medicine, dentistry or welfare science will not be allowed to engage in clinical training such as medical care and operative surgery until he/she obtains a relevant license from the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare under applicable Japanese laws.” so they include surgery as a type of clinical training under the field of medicine. (By the way, that was the license I was referring to that you would need to test for in Japanese.)
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSez
Dear Amrit Neupane and dear Travis,
I hope this information might help you, Amrit. I have a Surgeon degree in my home country. It is definitely possible to apply to MEXT as a surgeon and get the scholarship. I got it this year and will forever be grateful to Travis for that 😀
However, please bear in mind that you can’t perform any kind of procedure over real patients because your Medical license is not valid in Japan. You can join a surgical research laboratory of a Graduate School of Medicine you choose, for research purposes only.
That being said, if you are a recently graduated physician who wants to enroll in postgraduate studies to get a surgeon degree, well that is not possible with this scholarship because as Travis said, you need to pass the exam in Japan that allows you to get a medical license there, which unfortunately is very, very difficult and requires a N1 Japanese level proficiency.
Anyway, if that is what you want to pursue, go ahead and don’t give up. It may be difficult, but it’s not impossible. Good luck!
Hi Ayu,
Thank you for your feedback and for this very helpful insight! I find it really helpful to hear about your direct experience and I’m sure Amrit Neupane will appreciate it, too!
Good Luck with your studies!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I am in a difficult situation. I have been awarded MEXT scholarship (FY-2019) as by University recommendation.
There are some painful misunderstanding happened with my Professor due to my mentor. For my mentor (she) careless, poor communication and attacking mentality created this issue.
I would like to change my current lab to another lab. Is it possible in spite of being University recommended MEXT scholar or will it produce any effect of my scholarship?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Ethan,
I am sorry to hear about your situation.
As far as MEXT is concerned, if you are changing to another lab in your university, that should not be a problem as long as it does not interfere with your ability to graduate on time. I don’t think the university would even have to report that change to MEXT.
So, that makes it a decision for your graduate school. If you can make the case there, then it should be fine, as far as I know.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you Travis for the help. This will definitely help me decide my path for future studies.
Also, thank you to Ayu.
Thank you Ayu
Means a lot
Hi Amrit Neupane,
The grades that you have to receive are different for every country, because each country’s system is different. (e.g. 70% is good in the UK, but poor in the US or Japan). You need to convert your grades to the MEXT 3.0 GPA scale to find out if you are eligible.
For medical degrees, you should assume that you will need to be fluent in Japanese. You will need to pass a national exam in order to participate in the practice phase of your studies and that exam is going to be entirely in Japanese. You can apply for a research degree in a field like Life Sciences that has medical applications without having Japanese ability, though.
There are several steps to the application process. The first is applying to the Embassy and passing the Primary Screening. After that, you need to acquire Letters of Provisional Acceptance from universities, so yes, you will need to apply to universities, too, and there is certainly a chance of rejection at that stage. You should already know what universities you want to apply to before submitting your application to the embassy.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Good Day Travis!
Firstly, I’d like to thank you for all your advice and dedication towards helping people!
just a quick question, I’ve wanted to study in Japan since my highschool days, in 2014, I obtained
a student visa but unfortunately couldn’t leave as I was accepted into a program but not the university itself – my grades weren’t good enough by the time I got them and it was too late to redo them.
Now, after a few years I have obtained a full high school diploma and would like to apply again, whilst I know that my chances for getting into a university are reasonably good, I would like to obtain a scholarship, however herein lies the problems:
1 – I am turning 25 this April (2020), I have phoned the embassy and consulted with someone who has told me that I am allowed to apply, however looking at past documentation (regarding undergrad) the guidelines state that one needs to be born between April 2, 1996 and April 1, 2001. Assuming applications start mid April this year and are not postponed due to Covid-19, am I still eligible to apply as I was born in 1995 and will turn 26 next year?
I am somewhat confused by this.
2 – I’m not sure if this question has been asked before, and if it has I apologise, however, it’s been a few years since I have done aptitude tests, whilst I am not overly worried about an interview or an English test, I am concerned about anything Math related as it is not my strong point. Furthermore, I do not wish to pursue a field where math and scienece are needed. How much will a negative performance during an exam impact the probability of obtaining a scholarship? I am confident in myself with regards to the interview and English exam as well, just not so much the Math.
Thank you for your assistance.
Best Regards,
Suhail
Hi Suhail S,
My expertise is in the scholarship for graduate students, not the undergraduate scholarship, but in this case, some of the same answers apply, so I will answer as best I can.
1. The application guidelines will be specific about what date your birthdate must be before. For the 2020 Scholarship (2019 application/2020 arrival), applicants had to be born on or before April 2, 1995. So, for the 2021 Scholarship, for which the application will start soon, I would expect that the requirement will be that you must have been born on or before April 2, 1996, like you said. Since you haven’t said when your birthday is, I can’t say if you will meet this requirement, but if it is on or before April 2, 1996, you should be fine.
2. According to the guidelines, everyone must take a math test (the type depends on what field of study you are applying in), so if you know this is a weak area for you, I would recommend that you start studying now. While I do not have an exact reference as to how much each individual part of the application process matters toward your passing, I would assume that every single part is important and you cannot afford to be weak in any area. This is a very competitive scholarship application and it is a zero-sum game. There are only so many scholarship places available, so if you want one, you have to outperform all of the other applicants.
You can find past tests to study at http://www.transenzjapan.com/tests/ (Redirect link to the official Study in Japan page).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
Thank you for your reply, my birthday falls on the 18th of April and I was born in 1995. I’m assuming that I will be eligible to apply but I’d only get one shot at it in this case, correct?
Thank you for clearing any doubts I had, obviously I’d need to get some tutoring in order to perform well for the test.
Just one last question! I do understand that your speciality is for grad students, so I’d just like to find out if possible, are there any other sites that would be able to provide for example, a list of companies that provide scholarships or such for undergrad students, or is the MEXT scholarship the only option available?
I apologise for any inconvenience caused!
Thank you for your help!
Best Regards,
Suhail
Hi Suhail,
Your calculation sounds right to me. You would be eligible this year, but it is also your last shot. If it does not work out, then I would recommend that you earn a bachelor’s degree in your home country then try again for the MEXT scholarship for graduate students later.
Unfortunately, I am not aware of any other pre-enrollment scholarships for international students for undergraduate study in Japan or of anyone else who might have compiled that information.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis, Do I have to have an IELTS score to get accepted by a university or is there also another way to get selected without IELTS / TOEFL tests? Also, how do you change from a research student to a normal master’s degree student?
Thankyou.
Hi Kamali,
If you apply via the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship, you do not need to submit TOEFL/IELTS scores, etc. But if you apply for the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship, you do need to submit proof of your English language ability.
If you start as a Research Student, you will need to pass the entrance exam for the degree program at your university and also apply simultaneously to extend your MEXT Scholarship. Your university should also provide instructions and the forms/deadlines.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, Thank you for answering my question.
But will I be a student that’s acceptable by a university if I don’t have the scores? Or do I need to submit something different like an official document as a proof? I have completed my high school and undergraduate studies in English medium school and university. Therefore, will the university still accept me without the test scores?
Hi Kamali,
Are you referring to applying for Letters of Provisional Acceptance after passing the Primary Screening at the Embassy?
In general, once you have passed the Primary Screening, the universities that you apply to will take it for granted that the embassy has reviewed your English language ability and found it to be sufficient. So many will not ask for any further proof. (Some might, but that’s a university-by-university decision).
In your case, I recommend that you get a certificate from your undergraduate university that the medium of instruction was English and include that in your application documents when you submit it to the Embassy. In the application form, there is a place to indicate your language ability in English and what proof you have – you can fill in “Undergraduate degree taught in English” in that section and attach the certificate. That should clear up most universities’ questions (in addition to having passed the Primary Screening).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much, that was really helpful.
Hi Travis,
I have been granted the MEXt through the embassy recommendation. I m a mba candidate at kyoto and scheduled to arrive in april this year. I have a few questions. 1) i opted for the i-ba path but wonder if it is possible to switch to the i-pm path eventhough I wrote i-ba on the paperwork and was assigned a professor for the chosen path? 2) how likely is it to change university (for example from kyoto to tokyo? will I loose the scholarship? 3) Are scholars allowed to travel during the two months of vacation few months after their arrival? 4) Considering the fact that mext grantees attend japanese classes and then pass the entrance exam, what happens if they fail the exam? will they have a additional chances of taking it again?
Thanks for answering
Hi Meeka,
Congratulations on earning the MEXT Scholarship!
1. I’m assuming those are different programs or courses in the department? I don’t know what those terms mean. But in general, it would be a university decision whether or not to allow you to change programs or departments. I think it would be unlikely, but you may be able to shift your research focus or coursework to be closer to the other field, if that is what you are more interested in now.
2. Changing universities is not possible. The only exception is when you extend your scholarship (i.e. when you complete your MBA and apply to extend to a doctorate).
3. In general, graduate students are expected to be doing research during the breaks between semesters and continuing to work on the projects. If you need to travel for research, that would certainly be possible. But you cannot leave Japan for more than a month at a time, since you need to check in at your university each month to receive your stipend.
4. If you start as a research student (non-degree student) and fail the entrance exam, you may be able to remain a research student for an additional semester and try again. You have up to two years of enrollment as a research student available. However, if you are not scheduled to be a research student at Kyoto but will move directly from the language program to the MBA degree program, that might not be an option in your case. As soon as possible after you arrive, I would recommend that you get in touch with your advisor at Kyoto and talk to him or her about the entrance exam and what you need to do to prepare.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
If it is not too much to ask, I would like to know if people in the LGBT society can qualify to do this program? Specifically the T part. My friend wants to do this scholarship after I showed it to him, but doesn’t know if he can do it. He like me is planing to do the Undergraduate program.
-Hope
Hi Hope,
A person’s sexuality has nothing to do with the scholarship application process. MEXT doesn’t care, so if you don’t make it an issue, they won’t.
But do not expect special treatment or consideration, either. The Japanese government is far behind in recognizing the LGTBQIA+ community. So, they are going to look at everyone from the binary perspective of being whatever sex is recorded in your passport. (That means, in general, that if someone’s passport says “male” and their university has shared housing, they would be living with other males, etc.)
In terms of living in Japanese society as a member of the LGTBQIA+ community, I’m afraid that I do not have any direct experience and have not talked extensively with anyone who has. But I hope your friend can find advice from someone in a better position than me.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you for your information, it was really helpful.
I wanted to ask you something:
I submitted my documents through the university track with a professor I have been talking with for 2 years, I even met him at Tokyo and visited the laboratory. The success rate in this university is around 30-40% (quite high, I think). I am applying for a PhD in Microbial Biotechnology. As merits, I submitted an award which awarded the top of the best students in my BSc. Also, 1 poster presentation, 2 conferences (one international), 2 national research scholarships, my ranking stating I was the 3rd best student during my BSc in Pharmacy (I also finished an MS in Biotechnology), Besides, some courses about research in the field I am applying, and the reports stating I have been an intern student (collaborating student) at the Microbiology Department of my university, assisting research for 2 years.
However, I do not have any mention as an author in papers. In Spain, for science students, it is not common to be mentioned as an author in a paper until you get to the PhD level. My research has been published, without mentioning me, even if illegal, it happens to almost everyone. I have no friends with papers, even if they were the top students at their respective degrees. Not having a paper will weaken deeply my application? Also, should I inform the selection panel about this situation in Spain? I do not know if in Japanese culture it may seem like an excuse.
Best regards,
Abel
Hi Abel,
Honestly, I don’t think publications are going to make a significant enough difference to mean the difference between success or not in the application. They might be a factor if all other things (i.e. the quality of your Field of Study and Research Program Plan and your past academic performance/grades) are equal, but it is rarely the case that two applicants are so closely matched.
Publications would also seem to make more of an impact if you were applying “cold” with no relationship, as they could be a way to get the professor to pay closer attention to your application. But since you have that relationship with the professor already, you’re already ahead of that step.
If you applied through a university in Japan (university recommended MEXT scholarship), there should be no selection panel in Spain. You would only face a selection panel in your home country if you were applying through the embassy. But whether you mention it in the interview at the embassy or university, I would suggest that you refer to your lack of publications only indirectly when describing your research experience. For example you could describe the research that you did and the papers that you contributed to, but then mention that they were published under your professor’s name, as is usual. If you approach it from the perspective of “I want to show my experience” instead of “I want to explain why I don’t have publications”, then it should not sound like an excuse.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
hello sir
I had an enquiry regarding the research proposal. My research proposal is from the computer science domain. Do I need to give to the exact solution or some rough idea? Because I need to do a survey and based on that I can provide a perfect solution. Its not actually a software development project.
thankyou sir
Hi Hironmoy Chakraborty,
Have you read my articles about the Field of Study and Research Program Plan? I think you might find some hints there.
You should not be able to propose a perfect solution at this point. You are proposing research, not implementation. So, by definition, if you had the solution, you would not need to do any research.
You do need to provide an explanation of what problem you will be attempting to solve, how, why it matters, etc.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you sir for the help. I will look into it.
Hello Travis.
First of all, I really want to thank you for all your effort regarding the MEXT scholarship. I must admit I felt extremely overwhelmed about the whole process before finding out about your website and books. I’m currently finishing the first book and will read the second one too.
Going straight into my question (and apologies if you have answered about this before), what are the chances of staying in Japan after finishing studying through the MEXT scholarship? Reading your first book I can see there’s a lot emphasis on scholars returning home and being leaders connected to Japan. The application guidelines also ask about what would we do to help Japan and our countries after returning home. I’m asking this because the thing is that I would very much love to stay in Japan after finishing my studies. Not that I have earned the scholarship yet of course, but this is something to have in mind before committing to it all.
Is it common for MEXT scholars to stay in Japan after finishing their studies? Is it not frowned upon considering the main objective of the scholarship of having professionals around the globe connected to Japan? Is it even a good idea to approach the whole application process with the mindset of not coming back to my country after finishing?
Thanks for your help.
Hi Johnny Navarro,
Thank you very much for your kind words! That’s exactly what I hoped to do – make this scholarship understandable and less overwhelming.
It is certainly possible to stay in Japan and start a career here after your MEXT scholarship, at least from the Japanese side. (If you apply via the Embassy Recommendation, some countries will set a requirement that scholarship winners return to that country to work for a certain number of years, but that’s determined by your country’s government, not MEXT).
My recommendation was that, at the time of application, you have a plan as to how you can return to your home country and contribute there after finishing your studies (or if you stay in Japan, that it is clear how you will contribute to your country from Japan). But that is not a requirement that you follow that plan exactly after graduation. Many things can change and new opportunities can arise during your studies.
As far as I know, the majority of MEXT scholars do not stay in Japan after graduation, but that is not because of MEXT requirements, it is because of the job market in Japan. It is challenging to establish a career here without being nearly fluent in Japanese, and working conditions/employment isn’t all that great compared to other countries. I think those are the primary reasons.
For the sake of your application, I would suggest that you approach it with the mindset of returning home after your studies, at least on paper. But keep your mind open to other possibilities and understand that you are not committed to that course of action.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much for your reply Travis. I’ll continue the preparations for the application with the mindset of returning home even if I wish to stay there then. I understand the job market might be challenging in Japan, but there aren’t many oportunities in my country to being with, so I think it could be rewarding trying to find something potencially better over there. I read somewhere that after finishing studying there’s a period of time you can look for a job before being sent back home, do you talk about that somewhere in the books or do you know anything about it? Apologies for the trouble and once again thank you very much.
Hi Johnny,
I didn’t mean to try to discourage you with my comments about the job market – I work here, after all! – I just meant to say that I think it’s a reason for many MEXT scholars. In many industries, companies still prefer to hire fluent Japanese speakers, so I would recommend that if you want to work here after graduation that you work as hard as you can on your language, in addition to the studies.
There is a special residence status process that will allow you to stay up to 6 months after completing your degree for job hunting, but it is completely up to the university’s discretion. I know that in some cases, universities will not support you for that visa unless you have already made it deep into the hiring process (typically the third interview) at at least one company, so you do have to start the job hunt before you graduate.
I do not cover that process in my books, yet. (It was something I had in mind for a book later in the series, but I am working on another project at the moment, so that is on hold.) It is something that I could write an article about, though, in the meantime, so I will try to do that soon.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Do I have to have a Research Plan even if I want to apply for a Master’s degree? Or do only Research students have to have a research plan? I’m asking this because the Master’s degree comes under the category of research students.
Thank you
Hi Kamali TC,
“Research Students” means all graduate students, so yes, you absolutely need a Field of Study and Research Program Plan for a Master’s Degree!
Here are my articles on the FSRPP for the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship and Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis.
I’m an undergraduate student ( second year ) I study biology, I want to apply to the research scholarship ( PHD ) after I get my master’s degree which means after 4 years but in my first year, I didn’t get good grades, I got 11.73/20 annually ( 2 semesters ) sooo it’s kinda low, ( and i think it won’t get higher because it’s starting to get harder and harder , since it’s the best and the most time consuming university in my country LOL )
My questions are, how can I maximize my chances to get the scholarship ? Does having a good level in English and Japanese gives me advantage ? Does having a language certificate like JLPT and IELTS helps ? Does having recommendation letters from my professors helps too ?
Sorry for theses too many questions 🙂
Hi Tioua Chafik,
MEXT only considers the most recent two years of grades for eligibility when you submit your application, so bad grades in your first year won’t hurt you too much.
Having high grades will help you, of course, as will language proficiency scores (though to a somewhat lesser degree). The most important factor, along with your grades, is going to be your Field of Study and Research Program Plan and how you use that to present a complete, compelling application that shows your unique strengths as an applicant.
Other things that you can work on now, since you have plenty of time before applying, include trying to make research connections with Japan in your field of study. Knowing a professor there in advance that you want to study with can be quite beneficial.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Ahh i see …….
You said that the field of study is one of the most important factors , how is that ??
I’m currently studying “biological sciences – food science “, and for my master’s degree i will jump to neuroscience as well for the phd. sooooooo…….,?
And secondly ,what did you meant about research connections ?? and how to get in touch with a professor there ??
Thirdly , how can knowing a professor there be beneficial ?? they will recommend me to the scholarship ?? will i have an advantage against the other competitors??? and what should i talk with them about … for 4 years !!!
Again sorry for these too many question 😉 .
Thanks in advance .
Hi Tioua Chafik,
I said that your “Field of Study and Research Program Plan” is one of the biggest factors. That is a specific document that you will submit.
Your actual field of study (the field you choose to study) is not so much a factor, as long as it meets the eligibility requirements. The “Field of Study and Research Program Plan” is how you present your research proposal and the significance of your research. If you have a well-thought-out plan with clear research objectives and goals, that will help you.
How to make connections with a professor is a more detailed subject than I can possibly describe in a single comment here. It is the subject for a future article or book. But don’t worry, I’m not saying that you have to get in touch with them 4 years in advance. It’s just something to think about over time, especially if you have the opportunity to study abroad in Japan in the future or attend conferences in your field where Japanese faculty may also be present.
But having a connection with a professor will help you because you will need to approach that professor to ask them to supervise you, eventually. If they know you and your research in advance, that will be an easier conversation. They can also support your acceptance in internal university discussions later. Some might even be willing to look through your Field of Study and Research Program Plan when the time comes, if you have a particularly strong relationship.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Regarding the Letter Of Recommendation, can I use the LOR that I got in the month of December 2019 for application in the month of April 2020. Also, How many LOR do I require for application.
Hi Kam,
What type of the MEXT scholarship application are you planning to apply for? (That will help me understand the timing).
Typically, it is best to get the letter of recommendation as close as possible to the actual application period. Part of the reason is so that you can make sure that your letter actually meets what the application guidelines are looking for.
But I understand there are some situations where that might not be possible (e.g. if you are moving countries, etc.) If you get a letter of recommendation now for the an application in the spring (the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship, I assume), then make sure the letter is specific to the 2021 Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship and meets all of the requirements, at least as of the most recent guidelines. At least that will make it look like you have been preparing ahead and are not just using an old letter.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello
I’m a MEXT phd student (embassy recommended). I spent 6 months as a research student for advanced language course then i begun my phd prorgram, i spent 3 months but i had very difficult circumstances regarding my family in my home country. My question is; how to discontinue MEXT scholarship and will there be a penalty?
thanks in advance
Hi Amr gamal,
I am sorry to hear about your situation.
If you want to withdraw from the scholarship, you should talk to the administrative office that manages the scholarship at your university. (Often, it’s the international office). They should be able to direct you to the paperwork to withdraw.
There won’t be a penalty now (no need to pay back stipend, etc.), but you will not be able to come back and resume the scholarship or apply again for at least three years. And you’ll have to pay for your own flight back.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Is the MEXT scholarship applicable to all the universities in Japan or are there a list of universities?
Hi Kamali,
It depends what kind of MEXT scholarship you are talking about. For the MEXT Scholarship for Graduate Students (which is the focus of my entire website), any university in Japan is eligible to host MEXT scholars through the University or Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship, though it is the university’s choice whether or not they want to.
In general, all universities with graduate schools and programs taught in English should be open to hosting MEXT scholars!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I’m looking to apply for the MEXT scholarship in the year 2021 and i have a few questions. I t would be very helpful if you could help me out with my queries. Thankyou in advance.
1. I am currently doing my Bsc. degree in India which is a 3 year program. Therefore, I only have 15 years of education. Am i eligible to apply for the MEXT scholarship? And will I be able to pursue a masters degree with 15 years of education?
The website information states that 16 years of education OR EQUIVALENT would suffice. Therefore, am I eligible?
2. Is it necessary for me to write IELTS to get selected for the scholarship and by the universities?
3. Is it mandatory for me to be knowing the japanese language to get selected?
4. If I apply for the scholarship in the year 2021 April and supposedly get selected, which month and year will i be able to attend the college in japan?
I’m sorry *APPLY IN THE YEAR 2020 APRIL.
Hi Kam,
I have addressed most of your questions in my recent articles about eligibility for the MEXT scholarship, so I would encourage you to read that article as well as the other pieces on this site, as you may find other useful information there!
1. One of the eligibility criteria (from the article above) is “Completed an undergraduate program with a standard length of study of at least three years in a country outside of Japan and received a degree equivalent to a bachelor’s degree.” So yes, you would be eligible.
2. The embassy does not require test scores, at least as of last year, but some universities might ask for IETLS or TOEFL to issue a letter of acceptance. That’s going to be a university-by-university decision, so you’d have to check with their websites.
3. No.
4. If you submit your application in spring 2020, then the scholarship would start in either April or September/October 2021. (Which semester you start in is based on your preference as well as the university’s rule).
I have covered all of those questions and more in my articles about the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship. The more of those articles you read through, the better prepared you will be!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
May I know if I will be disadvantaged/disqualified in applying for the university recommended/embassy recommended MEXT scholarship if I took a slightly longer time to finish my bachelor’s degree?
(The original duration of my degree is 3.5 years, but I took 4 years to complete due to forgetting to take a subject during my 2nd year, which was unfortunately only offered in my last semester and wanted to improve my grades for my degree too)
Should I honestly mention the reasons in the “remarks column” in MEXT scholarship forms?
Thank you!
Hi J,
That should not disadvantage you in the application. I do not think that section plays much of a role in the competitive selection process. It’s function is essentially to prove that you meet the minimum requirements for your education background.
If you want to explain it, you could simply write something like “Tertiary education is 3.5-year program. Completed in 4 years because of course scheduling.” And I think that would be completely understandable.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Transenz, do you have any information about transferring to a different grad school or laboratory, after successfully getting the MEXT Scholarship? I am currently in Japan now under the MEXT Scholarship for Research/Masters, and I am looking for options in how to transfer schools, or change labs.
Hi Dionne,
If you are in Japan as an Embassy-Recommended MEXT scholar, it is possible to change universities when you extend your scholarship (e.g. when moving from Master’s to PhD and in rare situations, from research student to degree student) and still retain your scholarship. You will need your current advisor’s consent to transfer schools when you extend.
But you cannot transfer mid-degree unless you plan to forfeit the scholarship. Similarly, if you are a University-Recommended MEXT Scholar, then it is not possible to transfer without forfeiting the scholarship, even when extending.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
Thank you for this website, it’s been very beneficial for me during the application process for the 2020 Research Scholarship.
I officially passed the first screening and got an acceptance letter from the University of Tokyo. However, I only have this acceptance. I read something on the internet saying that you need at least two acceptances to pass the final step. I’m wondering do you know any information about that? Do you experienced such a thing or witnessed one?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Feyza,
I do not know where you heard that you need two acceptances, but that is certainly not the case. I have heard of loads of applicants making it through the application process with only one Letter of Acceptance, so you should be fine!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Great! I’m waiting fingers crossed!
I’ll update my status by time.
Thank you!
Hello Travis,
I’ll apologize in advance I have lots of questions because I’m totally new to the whole MEXT Scholarship. Firstly I want to pursue masters(data science) from Tohoku university in the fall of 2020 so is it possible if I apply now for MEXT via university recommendation and get into the university during fall 2020?
Which do you recommend shall I go with applying now for MEXT via university recommendation or thought embassy which would be in June ?(I’m worried because if I apply via embassy i guess I would not able to make it by fall 2020)
Also what are the criteria for applying MEXT scholarship in terms of percentage gained in BE (Bachelor of Engineering)degree ?
Regardless of me applying via university or embassy is it necessary to have research papers in specific field i want to pursue maters?
Hi Poonam,
The exact application timing for the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship application depends on each individual university. In general, the application process ongoing in Fall 2019 would be for entry to the university in Fall 2020, so that is your only chance if you want to start in that semester. However, I do not know the deadlines for Tohoku University off the top of my head, so I would recommend that you check those directly.
In general, I recommend applying for the first opportunity available, which would be the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship, in your case. If you do not succeed, then you can try for the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship next May/June. The next Embassy application cycle will be for the scholarship starting in spring or fall of 2021.
I have written other articles about eligibility and how to calculate your GPA for the scholarship, so I would recommend that you read those. As you will see, there is no requirement to have published papers, but it wouldn’t hurt if you did.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, thank you so much again for your website. This has really helped me in my application. I am already scheduled to start my Japanese Language Preparatory Education this October 2019 at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, and begin as a Research Student at the Tokyo University of the Arts in April 2020. However, there is an upcoming conference in October 2019 which will be valuable to my research and I have been invited to take part in it. If I pursue it, I will be missing one whole week of my Japanese language classes. I already asked TUFS if this was okay but all they said was that I need to consult the upon arrival but they would like to “respond to this matter positively” since it will be beneficial to my research. They However, I cannot wait until my arrival in Japan before I confirm my attendance to the conference because they need my answer right away. My question is this, have you heard of similar situations? Are there students under the Japanese Preparatory Language Education program who have had to leave for conferences? Do you think it is impossible to catch up after missing one whole week of classes? I cannot properly analyse the situation because I don’t know how intensive the program will be. Thank you!
Hi Nessa,
Congratulations on earning the MEXT Scholarship!
The response you got from TUFS seems perfectly Japanese to me. As far as they’re concerned, you aren’t officially there, yet, so they don’t want to make any other considerations. They also don’t want to agree easily and give you the impression that it’s OK to leave the program at any time for your own reasons. They probably want to talk to you face to face to make sure that you are taking the language program seriously and impress its significance on you.
However, my reading of what you shared is that they will agree to let you go in the end. Missing a week of the language program is going to put you behind the other students and you’ll have to study hard on your own to catch up, so they may be reluctant. But there is no rule against it that I am aware of.
I have never heard of a similar situation that was for a good reason, like yours. I have heard of students wanting to leave for a family wedding, or something like that. As far as I can recall, even though we never supported that decision, the students in that situation went and nothing bad happened to them or their scholarships. That was during the degree studies, not the language program, but I don’t imagine that you would be punished for going.
I think it should be possible, and it sounds like it’s worthwhile for you, so I would encourage you to pursue the conference. (Maybe even try to get your advisor at GeiDai on board!)
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I passed the first screening and was notified on the 31st of August. When notified, they told me that I have to submit the medical certificate before I can retrieve the document to start contacting universities. This was told to me a day before a flight to the US for a 2 week trip with my family (which I am currently on). I had told the embassy in advanced and asked if there was anything I had to do while I’m in the country, and they didn’t mention it before. I’m returning to my country on the 19th of August and have made arrangements to get my medical on the day of my return to submit it on the following day so I can start contacting universities from there. Because of the delay of the releasing of the interview results this year, the deadline to contact universities to request LoAs have been moved to September 13th, which gives me 23 days to contact universities.
Although that seems like a fair amount of time, I’m worried how much this might affect my chance of getting a LoA from the universities I contact. How much of a disadvantage do you think it is? Do you think it is still possible to get a LoA right in the middle of the contacting period ?
Also, do you think I have a better chance of getting my first choice university if it is a not one of the really top ranking universities (my first choice is TMU). I figure it will probably make my chances of getting an LoA from my other choices that are higher ranked (waseda and keio), but I hope that if no other university will accept me, I can at least get my first choice( especially since its not a private university which I hear is preferred by mext in terms of price). Also if your wondering while I chose TMI first over the higher ranked universities, it’s because selected based on supervisors I want to work with the most as opposed the ranking of the universities (I hope this wasn’t a mistake).
Thank you in advanced 🙂
Hi Jovan,
Now that it’s already August, submitting your LoA request to universities this week versus two weeks from now is not going to make a significant difference in your application. Faculty are already gone for the summer and the chances are good that nobody would be around to review your application and make a formal decision until September, anyway. At least at the university where I processed applications, we accepted them in August, but since professors were not around, it was always mid September or so before we could send results.
That said, even though you cannot submit the documents yet, if you are applying to universities that require you to contact or get the approval of a professor, first, I would recommend that you do that while on your vacation. And still try to send your application documents in as soon as possible after you return. If you wait until the last minute, you risk technical difficulties getting in your way.
I don’t think the rank of your university has anything to do with your placement by MEXT. If you get an LoA, that’s all that’s important. Of course, they do favor national universities over public and private ones, so that may result in MEXT preferring to place you in a lower choice on your list, but rank and popularity should not be a factor. In your case, it looks like you have one public, two privates, and no nationals. So, MEXT would probably lean toward placing you at TMU, if you get the LoA there.
You should always make your decision on universities based on the supervisors and the program’s similarities to your interests over something meaningless like rank. So, you made the right call!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much for the reply. Just one more question if that’s ok. How much would you say/ do you think that universities pay attention to the details of the transcript. Surely they look at the GPA, but in terms of the grades for individual courses. The reason I ask is that my Research is in Artificial Intelligence but the grade I got for my AI course was a failing one. I of course did the exam over and got an excellent score but that was after I submitted my application to the embassy, and was told that it cannot be changed/updated. I’m worried that this may greatly affect my chances of being accepted by any universities (I worry a lot as you can see lol). Do you think these details are greatly taken into consideration?
Thanks again
Hi Jovan,
For the Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholarship, universities are not going to be looking too hard at your overall GPA. The Embassy should have already checked that and ensured that you qualify and the Embassy screening was the competitive section, so the universities have no need to rank order candidates.
A failing grade in your AI class when you are applying for a degree in AI may hurt your chances with some of the universities. Even though the Embassy has said that you can’t replace your transcript, I would recommend that you consider sending a copy of your newest transcript as well, along with an explanation that it shows that you retook and passed the AI exam. That should be acceptable as an additional clarification. (In your explanation, you should take care to explain the concept of make-up exams to pass courses and how that works at your university, since that does not exist in Japan like it does in other countries).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I plan to apply for the MEXT scholarship as an undergraduate next year. However, my IELTS score (8.5) will be invalid by February and the application process starts in May. And so, I wonder if it’s possible to use this 3-month-expired IELTS score (since taking IELTS again would cost me another 215 bucks) or my SAT score instead. If not then is there any other less expensive way I can use to showcase my English proficiency?
And another thing, one of the mandatory test was a Japanese one and my being only N3 proficient, I’m not sure what to expect. The test is not available anywhere for reference and so I would like to ask for any possible way for me to study or prepare for this.
Thank you!
Hi Nghia,
I am not an expert in the undergraduate scholarship, but I do know that IELTS scores are not required. Since it isn’t mandatory, it should not be a problem that it has expired. You will take both Japanese and English exams during the Primary Screening process and those tests will be used formally to determine your proficiency.
If you already have N3 level Japanese, I assume you have done some formal study or test prep for that in the past. Whatever you have been doing, I would recommend that you continue it at the next level! There are many guidebooks out there for the various levels of the JLPT that you could use, and that should help you even with the MEXT test.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis ,
I wanted to know that during the application process they ask for the original documents to you know so after the first screening do they return back the original documents or not cause I have read in their guidelines and it is written that the submitted documents will not be returned???
Hi Abishek,
They do not return original documents. So, if you have any documents that you cannot replace, be sure to submit a notarized copy instead of the original. (A notarized copy would be considered an original for all purposes). If you have any questions about exactly what a document needs to be to be considered “original” I would recommend that you double-check with the Embassy or Consulate or University where you are going to apply.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Plenty of thanks for providing such helpful tips
I would to ask you about the nature of English Exam for research students, as i will preform one on next Sunday.
any tips or information ?
Hi Omar,
You can find tests from previous years on the official Study in Japan site, so I would recommend taking one or two of those to see how you do and if there are areas where you need particular help.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I applied for mext scholarship but I haven’t been contacted yet I don’t know if it take Argos long to be contacted? or I didn’t make it to the interview stage, am a bit confused and nervous
Hi Harmony,
It really varies from country to country. Some respond quickly after the document review stage, but others can take a few weeks, based on what I have seen in the past.
I would recommend checking the website of the Japanese Embassy where you applied to see if there is any description of the schedule there, like when applicants will be contacted for the tests/interviews, etc.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
dear sir
thanks to you and your helpful tips regarding the research proposal i got accepted in the first phase, and tomorrow i will be attending the written examination
i want to know regarding contacting the professors and universities, am i limited to the universities i mentioned on my placement form, or am i free to contact any other university ???
Hi Rowan,
Thank you for your feedback and for your kind words!
You can contact any university, not just the ones on your list, but you can only contact up to three universities at a time to request a Letter of Provisional Acceptance. After receiving your letters, you will need to resubmit the Placement Preference Form with the university names updated to include the universities that gave you a letter.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I am currently applying for MEXT through Embassy Recommendation in Vietnam (already passed the documents screening stage, the written test and interview stage are still to come). There is another scholarship came up for 1 year Master degree program in France, starting this September and will end in September 2020. If I am chosen by MEXT, I will most likely be at Tokyo Institute of Technology, where according to the university’s MEXT instruction webpage, I have to attend at April 2020 for 6-month Japanese course, before enrolling in their Master program in October. I wonder if I could ask them to exempt me from this course and let me come in October (after I finish my course in France)? The program is taught in full English so I don’t think this is a problem.
One more question. What if i cancel my Embassy Recommendation application and instead apply for the University Recommendation scheduled in September 2019? From the instruction at Tokyo Institute of Technology website, I am forbidden from applying for both methods during the same fiscal year (from this year April to next year March). However, If I choose to cancel (i.e not participating in the written test in the Japanese Embassy in my country), will I still be considered by MEXT as already “applied” even though I did not make it to the final recommended list to MEXT by the Embassy in my country?
Thank you very much!
Hi Duc V. Trinh,
When you filled out your application form, did you say that you want to arrive in Japan in April or October? If you said that you wanted to arrive in September/October, and make sure to apply only to universities that have a start date after the program in France ends, then there should be no problem with your schedule. (It is possible to arrive in the fall and do the 6-month language program, as well).
The Japanese language prep course is primarily designed for students studying in English, not Japanese. It is not academic Japanese, it is designed to teach you Japanese for daily life so that you can manage your affairs while living in Japan. So you are actually the target for that course, not someone who is likely to be exempted (unless you have some Japanese ability already). But since there is no reason that you can’t start that course in the fall, that should not be an issue.
If you did fill in your application form that you were willing to arrive in April, I would suggest you contact the embassy where you applied to see if it is possible to change that date later.
If you choose to apply via the University Recommendation, know that it is typically much more competitive. But if you withdraw your application for the Embassy Recommendation MEXT Scholarship, then you would not be considered to have “applied” so you would be able to apply for the University.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Thank you so much for your valuable information. I did choose April to come but as you suggest (and I have asked someone with MEXT before who was in the same situation), it is possible to ask to postpone the date to October.
However, since you clarify that I could still apply for the University, I will cancel the Embassy Recommendation and apply to University Recommendation this fall, because I want to apply directly to PhD (the program in France offers the Master degree, the level at which I applied through Embassy Recommendation). Surely it will be much more competitive, but I won’t have to enter another 2.5 years for another Master degree. I will prepare again and wish myself luck.
Hi Duc V. Trinh,
The best time to try to postpone your arrival date would be when you seek Letters of Acceptance from universities in Japan after passing the Primary Screening. If those letters give you an October arrival, then that would take precedence.
But it sounds like your mind is made up. It makes sense to me that you would want to avoid going for a second master’s and move straight to the PhD program, since you now have the other Master’s degree program in the meantime. It is more competitive to apply through universities, but if you have a clear strategy and focus on crafting an application to appeal specifically to the university (as well as building up a relationship in the meantime), then there should be nothing in the way of your success.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I am currently a MEXT research student at Tama Art University. Unlike many other graduate schools in Japan, art graduate schools usually require N2 or N1 level of Japanese, but Tamabi doesn’t. Also, Art universities strictly require an entrance examination.
I arrived in April 2018, completed my 6 months long Japanese language preparatory education, and started as a research student at Tama Art University. My department held entrance exams only in October and my professor advised me to take the exam in 2019. This year, they changed the exam to be held in January only. So, I will be taking the exam in 2020 January and the new semester will begin in April 2020. However, the scholarship extension period is in November, the international office told me that it is going to be fine but, my 1 year and 11 months long scholarship ends in March 2020. I got really confused after reading your post on scholarship extension, am I eligible to extend the scholarship?
Thank you so much for your time,
Hi Naz,
Thank you for sharing that information about Tamabi. I had no idea that they did not have the language requirement, and I’m sure that will be very valuable information to the many art program aspirants who contact me here!
If you arrived in April, then you have a maximum of 2 years as a research student, including the preparatory Japanese language program. It sounds like you’re going to make it within that limit.
You will have to apply for the scholarship extension first, in November, even without knowing at the time whether or not you will pass the entrance exam. Your scholarship extension, as far as I understand it, would then be conditional on you passing the entrance exam in January so that you can start your degree program in April 2020.
Long story short: Yes, you are eligible and there should be no problem, just make sure that you complete each process at its proper time and keep your International Office up to date on your progress!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you very much for your posts and books, they have been the best for me applying. I am from Nigeria and I have already applied for the embassy Reccommendation without forgetting to add your page as one of my references in my attachment, I hope that is not a bad one.
1. I wish to know if your documents are complete, can you be sure of being called for the interview. I would love to send my research plan so you can read through and see if it’s worthy or it follows the basic format.
2. Do you know what estimate of slots would be given to a big nation like Nigeria with over 180 million people. Not an accurate figure though, just an estimate you feel would be okay judging from other countries.
3. How long after deadline do they inform candidates that passed document review and how many days do they inform you to prepare for first screening?
I would love to get a reply from you soon, thank you.
Hi Alfred,
Thank you for your kind words. I don’t think anyone has ever told me that they mentioned me in the references section of their application before. I’m flattered!
1. Submitting a complete application package does not necessarily guarantee that you will be called for the interview. In most cases, there is a selection phase based on the documents, particularly your grades and the quality of your Field of Study and Research Program Plan, as well as potential local requirements (such as limiting to certain fields of study – but you would have that information already from the embassy’s website). I do offer a Field of Study and Research Program Plan review service, but it is on a fee basis, since it typically takes me several hours, and I don’t think it would necessarily be that beneficial for you at this point. If you are interested, though, you can find out more at the Coaching link at the top of the page.
2. I do not know the numbers for individual countries, but it is not based solely on population. I would suggest that you look at the Embassy’s website for news articles from February-March of this year (or look for other press releases about the MEXT scholarship around then). You might be able to find an article there about sending off MEXT scholars to Japan, and that could tell you how many were selected last year.
3. This varies based on every embassy and consulate, so I cannot say for sure. I would recommend that you look at the application guidelines on the Embassy’s website to see if they indicate when the document screening results will be released or when the interview would be scheduled.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Alfred, am Abraham from Nigeria. Pls have you been selected for the first screening phase of the application process? Pls i have some questions, especially concerning the embassy here. I will be very glad if you reply. Thanks.
Hi TranSenz,
You are doing a great job. I regret not having seen this site until today. I have just submitted my application for the 2020 scholarship, and I guess seeing your article now on Field of Study and Research plan, I would say I did not do a particularly good job. However I am Keeping my fingers crossed.
I would like to ask though about the first screening test. Is JAPANESE a compulsory language test for Research students. If it is (or even if it is not) can you refer me to an online platform where I can learn Japanese?
Thanks
Hi Joshua,
Thank you for your kind words! I hope that the document screening goes well for you, even though you are concerned about your FSRPP. I think the people who follow that template are a significant minority, so you should not have anything to worry about.
The Japanese language test is mandatory, but it is not important to your screening unless you are applying for a course taught in Japanese. You can even turn it in blank, with just your name.
Unfortunately, I do not yet have an online platform that I can recommend for learning for Japanese. I have been looking for something, since it’s a pretty common question I see, but so far have not found anything that I feel comfortable endorsing. Perhaps someone else can add a comment here with their suggestions.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Joshua, please have you been contacted by the Japanese embassy in Nigeria, for an interview or examination.
Dear Travis,
Firstly, thank you very much for your very detailed information on the MEXT scholarship. I have applied for the MEXT research scholarship 2020, and have come as far as the interview stage.
However, I have some trouble with my university selections. I have applied for English literature major for graduate education of 3 universities and e-mailed all to confirm that their master’s programs are in English. Out of 3, only one has responded so far saying that all entering students are expected to study literature in both english and japanese. I am wondering if the universities I have written on my plecement preference form do not have graduate program in English, which I assume would lead to my failure, can I apply to MEXT Scholarship the next year? Or would I be disqualified from doing so as I have failed due to my own mistake in university selection? Moreover, do we have a chance to reselect our university preferences if we pass the interview?
Also, I have N4 level Japanese right now. Considering my current Japanese level, do you think I would be accepted to study in this university that has both English and Japanese classes? Or is it neccessary that all the classes should be in English?
I am sorry for the long post and too many questions, but thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Nilay
Hi Nilay,
Congratulations on making it to the interview stage!
You are not limited to only applying to the universities on your placement preference form. You can apply to others, as well (though you can only be actively applying to three at any one time). In the end, you will have to resubmit that form along with your Letters of Acceptance, and at that time, you can only list universities that have agreed to accept you.
So, in the meantime, I recommend you go back to doing your research on your universities. When you are looking at their websites, check the application guidelines for regular, fee-paying students. Those guidelines should indicate whether or not you are required to submit proof of Japanese language proficiency, which would, in turn, indicate what language they are taught in.
With N4 level Japanese, you would have to find a program taught entirely in English. In general, you would need at least N2 for most programs taught in Japanese (or a combination) and would probably need N1 for something as complex as literature, but again, you can find those requirements in the application guidelines on the websites.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
I’m currently an undergraduate in a Canadian university. My major is in Nanoscience, and I’m pursuing a minor in Physics with also a heavy emphasis in Chemistry. I’ve already found researchers that I wish to work in their labs, some at Kyoto university and a few at University of Tokyo. To note, I wish to pursue my graduate studies in researching Quantum Optolelectronics (Quantum Dot Solar cells and Quantum computing), and semiconductive Nanostructures,
You’ve mentioned a lot about receiving a LOA from the universities in Japan to obtain the scholarship and to gain admission. However, do I still need to take the entrance exam for the graduate schools I am interested in? Also, I am interested in pursuing both my master’s and PhD in Japan if I get accepted. So how would I be able to transition from just a “research student” into a degree program if I am accepted?
Also, what are your thoughts about my ambitions?
Thank you,
Scott
Hi Scott,
Your ambitions in terms of your degree progression are consistent with what most MEXT scholars pursue!
You need to get a Letter of Acceptance from Japanese universities if you are applying through the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship.
Depending on the university, they might consider the screening of your documents to be your “entrance exam” (entrance exam does not always mean an actual written test or interview). However, others will require you to take the actual exam.
In the latter case, they would accept you as a Research Student, at the LoA phase, and then you would have the opportunity to take the entrance exam either before you start your actual studies in Japan (by coming to Japan on your own) or after you arrive and enroll at the university as a Research Student. (More about that possibility in my article about the Secondary Screening).
Once you arrive in Japan as a Research Student, you should talk to your advisor about taking the entrance exam and talk to the International Center about applying for an extension of your scholarship to move up from research to degree student.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
Thank you so much for your help! My confusions have been cleared up.
Regards,
Scott
Dear Travis,
Thank you very much for all your posts. They are all very helpful and I hope you can keep continue the great work. I just wonder whether MEXT will monitor our grade every semester or not for master study. What if a MEXT scholar failed a class which impacted the GPA. Will the scholarship be ceased by MEXT?
Thank you very much for your time. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Hi Tiara,
Thank you for your kind words.
Yes, your academic progress during your scholarship will be monitored and reported by MEXT.
While I have not seen any indication that your scholarship would be revoked if your GPA falls below a certain level, for example, there is a clause that if you become unable to finish your degree in time because of poor academic performance, your scholarship would be cancelled. For example, if you failed a course and had to repeat it, and that meant that your graduation would be delayed by a semester, then in that case, the scholarship would be cancelled immediately.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I think your application sample is old, In application form they ask about What was first trigger for having interest in japan 2- why do you choose japan?
Can you help me that I didn’t find in sample these Questions
Hi Jawad Ahmad,
Yes, the form I have is from last year. I have been working on my updated form guidelines, but did not finish it in time for the application deadline this year.
I do not have sample answers for those questions yet, but my recommendation is to try to relate your initial interest in Japan to what eventually made you decide to study there!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Respected TranSenz,
I just wanted to know that in Embassy Recommendation MEXT scholarship application, do we need to submit the Placement Preference form ?? Because I’m not thorough about it. Please can you let me know about it in detail?? Just a query about Placement Preference form only. Please do reply me soon, I’m waiting!! Thank you!
Hi Priyadarshini Dwivedy,
Yes, you should submit the Placement Preference Form, but the embassy website in your country will have more specific instructions.
I was planning to write an article about how to complete it, but unfortunately fell behind, so I could not complete it on time for most deadlines.
What specific questions do you have about it?
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi,
Thank you so much for this information. I just wanted to know about the results and the time of results of 1st screening of Embassy recommendation. Can you please say about the dates??
Hi Priyadarshini Dwivedy,
The application deadlines and results release dates are different for each embassy/consulate (sometimes different between different consulates in the same country) and there is no way I can keep up with them all. The best place to get the information relevant to you is the website of the Japanese embassy or consulate that serves your area.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Are there any available statistics on the number of applicants compared to the number of scholarships awarded? I saw somewhere that for undergrad, there are 460 scholarships, but I’m not finding any info on how many people apply. Any help greatly appreciated!
Hi Dina,
No, there are no statistics on the number of unsuccessful applicants.
However, the overall number doesn’t really affect you. The slots are pre-apportioned to specific countries, so you only need to know the number of places available to your country, not overall. The only way I know of to get that information is to look at old news articles on your embassy’s website that might announce how many scholarship winners went to Japan in previous years.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear TranSenz,
First of all, thank you for all the information you’ve provided. It’s really helpful.
Secondly, I want to ask several questions. My first question is that Is having both Japanese and English language certificates considered an advantage when applying for MEXT? my GPA is rather low ( only 7.7/10- I barely pass the GPA bar set in my country which is 7.5/10 but I’m still in the upper third of my class of over 100 students) so I am very intimidated when preparing my file. I have the JLPT N2 and IELTS 7.0 but this year, I have a very strong opponent. She comes from the same class as I and her GPA is 0.3 higher than me ( she has a 6.5 Ielts certificate and no Japanese). I’m very worried about my opportunity of getting a scholarship because I know that the Embassy will choose at maximum one of us in the screening session. Oh I forgot I major in Dentistry.
I also have another question. I attended an exchange program at a university last year and contacted to several professors there. I asked one of them for a LoR (he was my supervisor in that exchange program) and he sent me his LoR saying that he will accept me if I get the scholarship. Am I allowed to include that in my file? ( I’ve already asked my Dean to sign me one)
I thank you in advance for reading my questions this far and I am looking forward to your kind answer.
Hi Nguyen Linh,
I am sorry to hear about your direct opposition with your opponent. It’s really tough when you know it’s a zero-sum game.
One reassurance I might offer is that when you convert your grades to MEXT’s 3.0 system, you might find out that your GPA looks better than it did in your home country.
But GPA is only one factor. Having n outstanding Field of Study and Research Program Plan is most important. Since you are already in contact with a professor in Japan and he has agreed to accept you, that should be a strong mark in your favor (yes, do include that letter, it can’t hurt even though it can’t replace the required letter). If that professor is also willing to take a look at your Field of Study and Research Program Plan, that could be even better.
Don’t be intimidated just by the GPA difference! You can still make up ground in other areas.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear TranSenz,
Thank you so much for your kind answer. I will try my best knowing that I have the strength to go until the end of the application process because of your amazing website.
Best regards,
Nguyen Linh
Hi Travis
Thank you for all your answers giving on this website
Am from Cameroon, maybe my question is stupid, but I want to know : after your arrival in Japan, when do you start to receive money from MEXT?, I mean, I want to know if I will take to my own expenses some needs before MEXT start giving me money?.
Hi Nitcheu,
Actually, that’s a very good question.
You receive your first stipend payment from MEXT about 2 months after you arrive, because it takes time to set up your bank accounts and set up the payment processing.
You do recieve back-payment for the monthly stipends that you missed in the meantime.
Because of that delay, MEXT recommends that you bring about $2000 US Dollars with you when you arrive to cover your expenses until the first payment. Personally, I would suggest a little more than that, if you can. Initial expenses like securing an apartment can be fairly high.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Ask for help on chemistry lessons for students of the baccalaureate
Hi Hassan,
You can find examples of old tests for the undergraduate scholarship application process at the link below:
http://www.transenzjapan.com/tests/
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, I hope you are doing well!
In the Application Form, I am a bit confused about how to score my Japanese language ability. 0 means no ability, right? I actually learned basic grammar and I can read/write in Hiragana, Katakana and a few Kanjis. I can also hold basic daily life conversations. Should I score my ability with a 1 or a 0? Thanks in advance.
Hi Aahd,
“0” does not mean zero ability, but the level you described would be either 0 or 1. There is no precise definition. If you feel comfortable holding daily life conversations to the point that you would be able to, say, go shopping in Japan, or accomplishing other basic tasks, you could go with 1.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis
I did my BBA in 2012 and my percentage is 68.9 and GPA is 2.9 so ,am I aligible for MBA?
Secondly , what is the requirement for Afghanistan student
Thanks
Aimal Zaheer
Hi Aimal Zaheer,
Is that your GPA converted to the MEXT scale, or your GPA in your local country’s scale?
I have an article about how to convert your GPA to determine if you are eligible, so I recommend that you read that for more information!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
Thank you in advance for all information you provide.
I have a question about the possibility of going abroad internships when we are a MEXT scholarship holder.
Recently, I have been waiting the MEXT scholarship results for October 2019.At this point I have confronted with a short term research grant in Germany for next year, which it covers the December 2019 and May 2020. The applicants can stay during 1-6 months. I was trying to set a convenient time discussing with my advisor recommending me for MEXT and other Prof. in Germany. Deadline for this program is 30 April 2019. My question is that If I am selected, will I be allowed by MEXT for this internship program in Germany during at least 1 month and what would be longest duration time for this sort of visiting research program?
As I have got a short time to submit my application, I need to confirm that immediately.
Thank you
Hi Buket,
I assume you applied for the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship, is that right? Have you heard back from the university in Japan to confirm that they nominated you to MEXT or not?
If the university confirms that they have nominated you to MEXT for the scholarship, then there is no reason to think that you will not receive it. On the other hand, if they did not, then the application is already over.
You can be disqualified from the MEXT scholarship if you intend to participate in fieldwork or an internship overseas during the course of your MEXT degree. At the very least, you need to check in at your university in Japan once per month to prove you are still present and studying and, of course, you would not be able to miss classes for a long period of time.
During a school vacation, you might be allowed to be outside of the country for a few weeks (I would assume less than a month) for research.
I hope that helps!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
I apologize if this has been answered already (though I was unable to find a clear answer) but I appreciate any insight you can offer: I am looking to apply for the Embassy Recommendation application cycle (set to be released April 2019). I am curious what the guidelines are for the Letters of Recommendations you need to secure (who should they be from, how any are necessary, are their key points that need to be touched on in the letter, etc). I found some information but it seemed to apply specifically for the University Recommendation cycle. Thank you for any insight you can offer!
Best
Sam, New York
Hi Sam,
Typically, for the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship, the guidelines for the Letter of Recommendation are relaxed. (It is the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship that has stricter requirements). As of last year, it was a freeform letter and could be written by your supervising professor, Dean of your faculty, or President of your college. There was a sample format available, but that is not required.
Only one letter is required, and there are no particular specifications for what must be included, but I would recommend that it include the statement that the person highly recommends you for the MEXT Scholarship, a comparative evaluation of your academic merit (e.g. “He is one of the top 5% of students I have ever had the pleasure to work with in my career”) and perhaps one or two of your significant academic accomplishments, such as awards, presentations, etc.
I hope that helps!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I am an Indian national presently in Germany, I would like to apply for MEXT scholarship.
Can I do it from Germany?
Hi Sai Krishnan Ganesh,
For the Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholarship application, which starts soon (usually in April), you may be able to submit the initial application from outside your home country, but you will have to visit the Japanese embassy or consulate closest to your residence in India for the tests and interview later in the process.
For the University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship application, which starts in the fall, you can apply from anywhere.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I am from Cambodia. I had done my MSc Mathematics in international program taught in English at IIT in India. I have two questions about MEXT scholarship for long time and i want to approach you and i hope you reply my inquiring. For BSc mathematics in my home country Cambodia, my GPA was acceptable, but for MSc mathematics in India my GPA was not good at all; it was around 65%-70% (only good grades related to my research topic) but apart from course works and thesis work in the institute, i earned two mathematical internships during my MSc studies in on my research interest (thesis work) from two different good reputational institutes in India and also I had one-year experience doing rigorously on my thesis work for a whole final year of MSc. Now i am looking for good PhD program in Japan to further my research work in MSc.
1. I am so worried about my low GPA so that in my above case, may you clarify for me whether I am eligible for PhD program in MEXT scholarship scheme or not?
2. If eligible, since i had done my MSc in international program which was fully taught in English, will i need to summit IELTS/TOEFL score?
Hi Vanny Doem,
For the MEXT scholarship, only the GPA from the last degree program matters in terms of meeting the eligibility criteria. The internships will help, but they don’t effect your GPA. That said,
1. What matters is how your GPA is related to the expectations of the university. I know there are some university systems where a 75% is a very good grade! Your GPA will be converted based on its relationship to the grading system at your university, not based on an absolute scale or comparison to Japanese grades.
2. For your English language proficiency, MEXT would accept the fact that you did your previous degree in English as sufficient proof of your language ability, but individual universities that you apply to in Japan are able to set their own requirements. You would have to check with the university you apply to, directly.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Thank you for your support on our MEXT application.
I have one question: Are there any rules regarding the fines if a MEXT scholar decides to drop out of their programs and leave Japan, at the middle or at the end of their program due to illness/or inability to complete the program on time? Does the student need to pay back the scholarship amount? What are the procedures involved?
I look forward to your answer!
Thank you very much.
Hi Laura,
No, there is no rule or penalty saying that you would have to pay back the scholarship if you had to drop out because of inability to complete the degree.
In the event of an illness that required a long-term hospitalization, there may be a special exception to allow you to complete it. But in the case of losing the scholarship due to poor academic performance leading to the inability to complete your degree on time, you would lose both the scholarship and the MEXT-funded ticket back to your home country.
In terms of procedures, you would have to talk to the International Office, or whatever office manages your monthly signatures, about the situation and they would get you started with the paperwork.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis
Thank you for all the effort you’ve put in doing this. Really appreciate it.
I’ll have to apologize in advance because I’m gonna bombard you with questions because I’m totally new to the whole MEXT Scholarship, though I’ve been doing some reading for the last couple months.
1- I’m from Sudan, but currently living in China studying Chinese language trying to get a scholarship using the CGC program. I haven’t started the procedures to apply for that yet, can I still apply for MEXT? And if so, do I need to go back to my country to apply, or can I tell any of my family members or friends to apply for me?
2- I graduated with a Bachelor degree in Telecommunication Engineering back in 2013. though recently, I got interested in programming and am planning to take a Master degree in Software Engineering. Since I’ve read that you need to apply for what you’ve studied before or something close to it, can this be considered something close to what I’ve studied, or will I immediately get rejected for it? and if it’s the latter, would I be able to apply for the Doctoral degree for MEXT if I studied my Master with the Chinese scholarship?
3- What’s the difference between Research Students and Graduate Students? I’ve seen these two terms thrown interchangeably at some places, and differently at others, so it’s a bit confusing. From what I’d assume, Research Students are ones who apply for specific research on a certain field of study, and Graduate Students are the ones who would study for their Master or Doctoral degree normally as they did for Bachelor (attending classes, being tested, etc).
4- I’ve done some self-studying in the past years in Japanese, so I know a fair number of things about the language (if I had to rate it using JLPT standards, I’d say that my Listening is almost N2 level and Reading is somewhat shy of N3, but my Writing and Speaking are N5 level because I had no partners to practice with), and I would like to study Japanese first before starting my Master program. but I’ve heard that if you’re applying for the Master degree, you’re most likely won’t get a semester of Japanese language beforehand. Is it better to apply as a Research student instead of a Master student for that?
Again, sorry for all of these long, and seemingly stupid, questions. Not the best when it comes to academics, but just wanted to inquire about some info.
Again, thank you.
Hi Muhannad,
I will do my best to answer your questions below:
1) Yes, you can still apply for MEXT. There is no rule against applying for government scholarships in another country at the same time. Of course, as soon as you find out the results from one, you should withdraw from the other.
To apply for the Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholarship, you are going to have to be physically present at the Japanese Embassy in your home country at some point. You may be able to submit the initial documents by mail (check with the Embassy – procedures can vary by country), but at least at the interview and test stage, you will need to be there in person. If you apply for the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship, though, you would not have to be present in your home country until after you are a confirmed scholarship recipient and are applying for your visa. Nobody else can do the procedures at the embassy on your behalf.
2. It sounds to me like Telecommunications Engineering and Software Engineering could be close enough that you could make a logical connection between the two – especially if your software interest was related to telecommunications, or your did some work on software during your telecom degree. Ultimately, it is going to be up to you to make that case in your Field of Study and Research Program Plan.
3. There are two different definitions of “Research Student”. When you see the “MEXT Scholarship for Research Students” that refers to all graduate level students (Masters, Doctoral, and non-degree students at the Master or Doctoral Level). However, when a university refers to “research students” they usually mean “non-degree” students. In most cases, that would be a pre-graduate student. In general, you would apply to be a Research Student (pre-graduate student) through the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship so that you could take the entrance exam after arriving in Japan and then matriculate to the degree program. I explained more about the status in a recent article about the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship.
4. In my experience, placement in the Japanese language program has nothing to do with whether you are a research or degree student. If you apply for the Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholarship for a degree taught in English (or a research student program where your primary research language is English), you are likely to be placed in the Japanese language program. If you apply for a degree program taught in Japanese or for the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship, you would not be placed in the Japanese language program.
I hope that helps!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
My name is Hamzah. I am currently working as a government employee in a research agency in Indonesia.
I am fascinated by your blog! If there is time I would like to consult to you regarding my dilemma.
I just received the announcement from Tsukuba University that I have passed the Master degree entrance exam to the MEXT U to U scholarship right after I began work (February 2019).
The dilemma is that there is a 1 year probation in my workplace before I can go continue my study abroad. I am currently negotiating my way to depart in October 2019 while simultaneously keeping my job security. However, if worse comes to worse, I would either keep the scholarship and lose my job or vice versa.
With that said, I am trying to approach another method. Is it possible to postpone the MEXT scholarship that I received in 2019 to 2020?
Thank you for your time!
Hi Hamzah,
Unfortunately, no, it is not possible to defer your scholarship (or to defer admission to a Japanese university, in general). If you decide not to accept the scholarship and arrive in October, you would have to withdraw this year and apply from scratch next year. It goes without saying that doing so would seriously hurt your chances of being selected by the same university a second time.
I do not envy you your situation but wish you good luck with your decision.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi, thank you for this helpful page. Currently I’m master student at Japanese university with self financial support and I will finish my course on March 2020 and I want to apply for mext scholarship embassy recommendation in April 2019 to start mext scholarship in April 2020 Am I eligible for application?
Hi Mary,
Based on what you wrote, I do not have any reason to think you would be ineligible, but I do not have enough information to say for sure whether you are eligible or not.
My most recent article about the eligibility criteria for the MEXT Scholarship was based on the University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship application guidelines for this year, but in most situations, the same criteria should apply to the Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholarship, as well, so I would recommend reading that article to make sure you meet the criteria there.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you for your reply. Actually, I have another question. Do you have any idea about the English exam regarding the source from which to study?. Also, what is the required score to pass the exam?. Thank you very much.
Hi Mary,
My best suggestion to you would be to refer to the former tests, available on the government’s official Study in Japan website. If you go through those tests and find an area that you struggle with, then you could focus on materials to work on that area.
https://www.studyjapan.go.jp/en/toj/toj0302e-32.html#1
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Currently I am a first-year MA student in my home country and I am planning to apply for the MEXT University recommendation programme, which will start in October, 2019.
Could you please give me a piece of advice on what should I mention in Application form, in particular in Academic record section, if I don’t have intention to continue my Master’s (in case I receive MEXT Scholarship).
Should I mention my Master’s there? If yes, then is it appropriate to tick Withdrawal Status [退学] (as for 2019 Year MEXT University Recommendation Application form) and remain with the Bachelor degree in this section? Will I still be eligible?
Thank you in advance for your help in this matter.
Chris S.
Hi Chris,
If your plan is to withdraw from the Master’s program you are in now, then I would recommend that you fill in your application and Field of Study and Research Program Plan as if your bachelor’s degree was your most recent program. Only completed degree programs (or programs that you intend to complete) should be in that section. You could include the Master’s if you intend to take a leave of absence to study in Japan under MEXT then come back to finish it, though.
On the other hand, if you are a year into the Master’s already, why not put off your application for a year to finish it then apply for the MEXT scholarship for a PhD?
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis
Recently I am planning to apply MEXT Scholarship for graduate program through Japan embassy recommendation , So could you tell me when the application process start exactly ?
Hi Mega,
I covered that in my article introducing the basics of the MEXT Scholarship, so I would suggest that you start there!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello TranSenz Japan team, thank you so much for all the useful information and tips. They are hard to come by and very much appreciated.
I am Canadian and applying for the 2020 Embassy Recommended Graduate Studies Scholarship
and I have a few questions concerning the application.
1 I am a Canadian but I majored in Design in Beijing, China. Since this government scholarship is aimed at mutual benefit and cooperation between the two countries, would they have a preference over Science and Technology to Arts and Design? And would my background and major in a country that isn’t Canada affect my chances on applying for the Embassy Recommended scholarship?
2 I currently live in Tokyo because I am studying Japanese. Would I have to send my application material to the Embassy in Toronto? On the embassy website it says “You must submit them to either the Embassy or Consulate General which is closest to your home city.” My concern is that I have not lived in Toronto for quite a while. I’m wondering if that might be a problem.
3 If I am applying for a Master’s program and not a non-degree research program, do I contact the professor after the application has been successful, or during the application process?
4 Does the research plan have to be written in Japanese or English?
Sorry for all the questions, any help and suggestion would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!!
Ye Yuan
P.S. So sorry about the repost I accidentally left the comment on the wrong FAQ page.
Hi Ye,
Thank you for your kind words!
I saw your question on the other post, but this seemed like a more appropriate place to answer it (since I am still working on the FAQ page for the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship FAQ).
1. I have not seen any particular bias for one field over another. You mentioned in a separate email that you bought How to Apply for the MEXT Scholarship (thank you, by the way!) and in that book I talk about the Japanese government’s goals for the scholarship. With regards to developed countries, including Canada, I have seen a trend of MEXT supporting “soft power” and promotion of Japanese culture. So, an Arts and Design field, that you could then leverage to promote cultural exchange between Japan and Canada, would be perfectly appropriate. Having earned your undergraduate degree in another country should not impact your chances negatively, and you might be able to use it to your advantage to show how you can bring even more cultures together.
2. Yes, you would apply to the embassy or consulate in Toronto, if that is where your Canadian residence is. You will also have to visit the Embassy in person at times during the application. Living abroad – particularly living in Japan to study Japanese – should not be a problem, provided that you plan to return to Canada before the scholarship starts.
3. I recommend contacting the professor as soon as possible after you have a solid draft of your Field of Study and Research Program Plan.
4. You should write the FSRPP in the language that your degree program will be taught it.
I hope that helps!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you so much for the quick reply!
In regards to your second answer: “You will also have to visit the Embassy in person at times during the application. ”
I am currently enrolled in a Japanese language school and they are very strict about attendance, so I am wondering if it is possible to send my application and materials directly from Tokyo and (if all goes well) only go back during the interview and written examinations?
Also, at this language school, the end of the term is March, 20, 2020. Although I think that I would be able to leave earlier if the application went through, in your book you wrote that departure needs to be at least two months in advance. Would this be a major problem and would I need to explain this in detail during the application process?
I have a few more questions that came up through the reading of the book:
1 The universities that I am applying to are all private universities, would that affect their decision due to the budget cuts on funding?
2 If my MEXT application is not successful, (or if the school does not issue an LOA), would I still be able to apply as privately funded student?
3 Is it very difficult to extend the scholarship from non-degree research student to a degree-seeking student? I tried to look for further information in this area but I could not find specific application and evaluation information.
Again, thank you for all of your help!
Best regards,
Ye
Hi Ye,
As far as I know the interview and language tests (often held on the same day or close to one another) should be the only time during the MEXT Scholarship application process that you have to be present at the Embassy (document submission should be possible by mail). However, this can vary by country if Embassies decide to conduct their own additional processes, so I would recommend that you check with them to be sure.
The requirement to go home approximately 2 months in advance is a requirement for the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship. As far as I know, it does not exist for the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship. Since you can show that you are in a program that ends in March 2020 and would definitely be returning home after that program is over (before the scholarship begins), I do not anticipate any problem in your case. The only challenge I can see is that if you were trying to arrive in Japan in April 2020 to start your MEXT scholarship, you might not have enough time to apply for your new student visa in Canada.
I do not think that you need to go out of your way to explain this in the application unless they ask. Simply showing that you will complete your studies in March and return to Canada should be fine.
1. There is no official consideration that says that applicants who specify only private universities would have a lower chance, so there is no reason it should affect you negatively.
2. Yes. You can still apply as a privately funded student (although that would be a separate process that you would have to start from scratch). I have never heard of an applicant who passed the screening being unable to acquire at least one LoA, so you shouldn’t need to worry about that. It’s all about passing the Embassy’s Primary Screening.
3. No, it is not difficult to extend from Research Student to Degree-Seeking student. It is not guaranteed but as long as your performance has been as expected, you should not have any trouble. I know there is very little information on this and it is on my list of articles to write in the near future!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi, Travis,
Thank you for your detailed answers! They were very helpful.
Ye
I’m on the stage of preparing for the upcoming scholarship application for 2020. I already decide the three universities I’m applying for. I have a rough idea about my research plan as well. Yet, I started to doubt my chances as I’m going for the Nagoya, Osaka, and Tohoku English-taught Programs in linguistics, since I have no JLPT certificate for now. However, my research will require Japanese language Knowldge. I’m in N2 level and I’m definitely will be in N1 level when I arrive in Japan for my research, but do you think I will have any chance demanding a scholarship as a research student in English-taught programs to conduct a research (written in English) related to Japanese language? Will it matter if I have no proof of my Japanese knowldge upon application? The programs do not require it, but I can’t help but to think that my case will require it even if I go for English-taught program. Do you think passing the MEXT Japanese examination with good score will make up for that.
Hi Alyazeya,
It sound like you’re in a great place for your preparation! Starting early and giving yourself enough time to create a strong application is essential to success.
It looks like last year, for the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship, at least, they did not require you to have to enroll in a program taught in Japanese to study Japanese linguistics, so you have that going in your favor. Also, MEXT finally clarified the level of Japanese language ability that they expect you to have (for the University Recommended Scholarship, at least) if you are going to enroll in a course taught in Japanese: N2. (Of course, each university can set a higher standard. . .)
For the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship, you will take a Japanese language proficiency test at the Embassy as part of your application, so that will be what they use primarily to determine if you have high enough ability, but the universities may want to see JLPT scores when you apply for a Letter of Acceptance. That is up to each individual university to determine. Universities don’t really know what the scoring system is for the Embassy test, unfortunately, but if you have other proof, such as a long history of studying Japanese, that would be helpful.
My best recommendation to you would be to try to get more information specifically from the programs you want to apply to, by identifying a professor that you want to study under and attempting to get in contact and build a relationship. That would be your best source of university-specific information.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Will the MEXT Scholarship still be available in 2025?
I’m asking this question because I read an article saying that the Japanese government is trying to reach a certain target by 2020
Hi Momo,
The MEXT Scholarship existed long before that plan existed and I think it will continue into the future, long after the 2020 goal!
Of course, I am not a MEXT employee and have no direct insight into the Japanese government’s budgeting, but I see no reason why the scholarship would go away. It might get more competitive with fewer places in the future, but it should still exist!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I’m going to begin my master degree in Japan from April, 2019 (without scholarship).
However, I also would like to apply for MEXT university recommendation scholarship 2019 in another graduate school. In this case, am I eligible to apply for the MEXT scholarship?
(If I get the MEXT scholarship, I will absolutely stop going to previous master school and leave the student visa before the MEXT program begin.)
Thank you in advance,
Best regards,
Narin
Hi Narin,
Unfortunately, your the situation that you describe is specifically prohibited by the MEXT scholarship eligibility criteria.
You cannot be attending a Japanese university at the time of application – or intending to enroll in one as a fee-paying student after the application – unless you can show that you will complete the program (e.g. graduate, not quit) and return to your home country before the start of your MEXT scholarship.
If you are enrolled and plan to drop out of your program only if you earn the scholarship, that is specifically prohibited.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you for creating this website. It is so helpful!
My name is Mari and I’m planning to apply for the MEXT scholarship for graduate students. I just finished my degrees in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry from Australia. Could you help me with the grade conversion? I think you mentioned that we need at least 2.3/3.0 to be eligible for MEXT scholarship? Am I correct to say that a ‘Distinction’ grade in Australia counts as 3.0 in the MEXT grading system? Just slightly confused with that because in Australia the Distinction grade ranges from 75-85% and in the table you showed for the 5 level system, this could be between 2.0 to 3.0? 🙁 …Also for the recommendation letters, we are only required to submit one, yes? Or do people typically submit more than one? I understand that we also have to take language exams – I have only been self studying Japanese (for approx. a month now) and was wondering if you could recommend the level of Japanese I should be at to pass the Japanese portion of the test (Level1,2,3 etc.).
Do you also know whether there are a lot of applicants from Australia or how many slots are available for Australian students?
Thanks a lot for your help.
Cheers,
Mari
Hi Mari,
I wrote an entire article about how to convert your grades that should help you with the process. One of the important points to consider is that you cannot simply convert your overall grade. That will not give you an accurate score. My book also goes into further detail with conversion charts for multiple countries’ systems.
You are only required to submit one letter of acceptance, unless you are working full time, in which case you would need a second letter from your employer.
You do not need to pass the Japanese portion of the language test unless you are applying for a degree program taught in Japanese (in which case, you would need N2 level or higher).
Unfortunately, I have not been able to find information about the number of scholarship slots awarded to Australia in the past, or the number of applicants.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks very much Travis!
Hi Travis!
I finished my MS degree last March 2017 from Tokyo Tech under the MEXT scholarship.
I am planning to continue to PhD and apply for the MEXT scholarship again.
I understand that to be eligible for the scholarship again I must have completed at least three years of education research after the first scholarship ended.
Can I apply for the MEXT Scholarship during 2019?
Thank you!
Hi Ahj,
You can start your application in 2019 for the scholarship starting in 2020, provided that you have been consistently enrolled in studies or working as a researcher since April 2017.
Since your last MEXT scholarship’s final payment was in March 2017, the earliest you would be eligible to start would be April 2020 – and that is assuming that you have either been enrolled in a degree program or working as a researcher or instructor from April 2018 (through March 2020, inclusive). A more realistic target for trying to start another MEXT scholarship might be April 2021, to give yourself more time to reasonably accomplish the three years of experience you need to have.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear TranSenz
I have a question that is there different deadline for each semester in Japan. Ex: Spring semester in April 2020, fall semester in October 2019
Cause now I’m exchange student for 1 year in Saga University and finish in next March. So I really want to stay for Master Degree here. My plan is apply the MEXT scholarship in October 2019 (fall semester). But I don’t know it’s still under deadline or not. And if over deadline I will apply for the Spring Semester in April 2020.
Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and very useful information.
Nguyen Hoang Nam
Hi Nguyen Hoang Nam,
Thank you for your kind words!
Unfortunately there is only one deadline per type of application per year for the MEXT Scholarship application, regardless of what semester you want to start in.
For the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship, the deadline was May or early June of 2018 for scholarships starting in 2019 (the deadline varies on the embassy, but there is only one deadline regardless of whether you want to start in the spring or fall).
For the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship, typically you can only start in the fall. That deadline varies by university and is usually in December, but I do not know of any universities still accepting applications for scholarships starting in 2019.
My best recommendation to you would be to try for the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship when the application process next opens in April, for scholarships starting in April or Sept/Oct 2020.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello
Can I apply while being at the last year of my undergraduate degree?
Thanks.
Hi Leul,
Yes! The application process takes a year or more, so I would recommend applying during your final year of undergraduate so that you would be able to start your scholarship directly after graduation. You can arrive in Japan in April (primarily via Embassy Recommendation) or September/October (via Embassy Recommendation or University Recommendation), so choose your application timing based on what works best for you.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I am from India and I have passed the first screening for MEXT Embassy recommended research scholarship 2019. I have also secured a Letter of Provisional Acceptance from the University of Tokyo (Graduate School of Engineering). I have applied for the scholarship term beginning in April 2019.
A friend of mine contacted the Embassy of Japan in India regarding the approximate schedule of the declaration of the second screening results. They told my friend that provisional result will be declared in mid Jan and final result in Feb/March. I was confused because the second screening result is the final result so I could not make sense of another provisional result being declared in mid Jan. However, in the official MEXT research scholarship 2019 guideline document I found it mentioned in topic number 11 “Second Screening and University placement” point number 6 –
“Applicants will be notified by the Japanese diplomatic mission of the final results of the Second Screening and the result of the university placement for successful candidates from November to February the following year.”
This finally made sense to me of what my friend was told by the Embassy of Japan in India. I guessed that by provisional result they meant the result of the Second Screening which tells if a candidate has been finally awarded the MEXT scholarship. And by Final result they meant the university where the candidate is placed out of the choices they filled in the placement preference form.
I need your clarification regarding the manner in which second screening results are declared for the reasearch scholarship.
Hi Afraz Khan,
The release of results varies by embassy, so unfortunately there is no general rule that I can refer you to. I think your understanding of the Secondary Screening/Placement results release is correct based on what I have heard from past applicants from India. As far as I know, they all received their results by email, if that helps.
However, you may find out unofficial results sooner directly from the university where you will be placed, especially if you are arriving in April. I have often heard that universities start reaching out to successful applicants with information about housing arrangements, etc., before the embassy releases the final results. In that case, if you are contacted by the university, then you can consider is guaranteed that you will be placed there.
The Embassy does not release the results until they are available for all applicants at that Embassy. So, if there is trouble placing even one applicant, everyone’s results will be delayed until that person is resolved. In the meantime, the universities will think that you already know the results and start contacting you.
I hope that helps make it a little more clear.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you Travis. This does helps!
Hi dear Travis.
Thanks a lot for all of the useful information you have provided in this website.
I want to apply for research student program (in materials science and engineering) through embassy recommendation for the year 2020 and then continue my studies to a Master’s degree.
I had some questions and I would genuinely appreciate if you could help me with them.
1- I have no knowledge of Japanese language. I read above that people like me should apply for the courses which are thought in English. How can i find them on university websites? Are they just under the program called “Global 30” or Are there other courses which are thought in English? If I apply for an English course, can I still attend those one-semester Japanese language classes?
2- Regarding IELTS, I realized that it is necessary for the time I want to get the “letter of acceptance”. What score do i need to get? i cant find any information about it in universities’ websites, But i saw in a blog that said U Tokyo ,for example, needs a 7 or titech needs a 6.5 . How should i find out about this criteria?
3- how should i give the result of my IELTS test to universities? should the IELTS center itself send it or should I scan the printed certificate and send it to them?
4- Regarding the “Recommendation letter”, I’ve got a letter from one of my tutors (not the adviser of my B.S project) and a separate letter from the Dean of Engineering school saying that he acknowledges that i am applying to MEXT scholarship. Is this good enough? or do I need a letter exactly from my adviser?
5-Rgarding the letter of acceptance, do universities send a printed letter via post to candidates or they send it by email? how should candidates submit the letter to the embassy when they obtained it, should they email it, post it or bring it there themselves? ( I am asking because I live in a small city far from capital city and going there is not easy for me)
Thank you in advance,
best regards,
Atefeh
Hi Atefeh,
1. I have an article specifically about how to identify universities that teach your degree program in English (as well as potential advisors there) that should help answer that question.
2. If there is no requirement explicitly stated on their application information page for Letters of Acceptance, then there is no official cut off. However, to find what their unofficial requirement might be, look at the application guidelines for regular, fee-paying students for your graduate school. The requirement should be there, if it exists.
3. You would attach a copy of your score report to the application that you submit to the embassy (while not required, the application form instructs you to attach score reports if you have them). If you do not have it in time for the embassy application, then submitting a copy to the university should be fine.
4. The letter from the Dean should meet the requirements, but if you want to submit something more descriptive, then I would recommend getting one from your advisor. At least as of last year, that was specified.
5. They send them by post (most embassies require the original), but some will also send a scan by email, first, in case the original takes a while to get there or gets lost in the mail. The embassy will give you instructions on how to submit the LoAs (that policy is going to be established by each individual embassy, not my central MEXT).
I hope that helps!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Dear Travis.
Thanks a lot for you kind, fast and informative response.
I checked out the links for finding an English course. Each of them gave me different information. (https://www.jpss.jp/en/univ/english/) directed me to Waswda, Shibaura and Nagoya unies. while the excel file in this link (https://www.jasso.go.jp/en/study_j/search/daigakukensaku.html) narrowed my choices down to Hokkaido, Titech and Kyushu unies. the other link gave me a different list as well.
which one is correct?
Hi Atefeh,
As far as I know, all are correct, but none are comprehensive. So, if a university is on at least one list (even if it is not on the others), then it should have a program in English in that field. Each list was compiled by different organizations and different means.
The best way to double-check is to look at each program’s website one by one, once you have decided which ones appeal to you.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I passed the first screening for MEXT Embassy recommended scholarship 2019. I have also secured a Letter of Provisional Acceptance from a professor at the University of Tokyo (Graduate School of Engineering).
My background:
Earlier this year in April 2018 I was offered an admission letter by the same professor for a special graduate program at the University of Tokyo called the IME program. Unfortunately at that time there was no scope to support my PhD study in that program due to unavailability of scholarships. I had to let go of that offer. However in June 2018 I applied for the embassy recommended MEXT scholarship. After my interview and before the result of the first screening I contacted the same professor to confirm if he would accept me as a PhD student if I passed the first screening. He kindly again agreed to supervise my PhD study if I passed the first screening.
Matter of concern:
I received the Letter of Provisional Acceptance from the Dean of the Graduate School of Engineering, UTokyo on 6th September, 2018.
I emailed my prof on 26th September, 2018 to thank him for granting me the Letter of Provisional Acceptance (yes, I was a bit late in doing this). I had also sent him a follow-up email on 22nd October, 2018 asking him which of his research literature I should focus on before I arrive in Japan.
I did not receive any reply from him which is understandable as he might have been busy.
So, I emailed his administrative assistant on 5th Nov, 2018 but I didn’t get a reply from her as well.
Although I have received a Letter of Provisional Acceptance I am concerned because I did not receive a reply from my own prof to any of my emails after I was granted the LoA.
I am waiting for the results of the Second screening which will be declared in January, 2019 in India. My friend, who is already a MEXT Embassy scholar in TokyoTech advised me to keep in touch with my prospective PhD advisor after getting the letter of provisional acceptance.
Seeing as how the professor had given me acceptance letters twice this year (once in April for the IME program and later for the MEXT Embassy recommended scholarship) I did not approach any other professor or university. I mentioned the University of Tokyo as the only university in my placement preference form.
I have applied for a PhD position in my professor’s research group. On his webpage it still says that PhD positions are available.
My queries:
1. Is it possible that a professor may select someone else even after granting an LoA to me?
2. What should I do in this scenario?
I apologise if I sound rather panicked but I have listed UTokyo as the only university in the MEXT Placement Preference form because of the initial strong correspondence with my professor.
I will be very grateful for your help.
Hi Afraz Khan,
Thank you for sharing your experience. I am happy to say that I do not think there should be any problem with your application processing.
Although you told me above that you only wrote the University of Tokyo in your application, even if your professor was aware of that, at this point, MEXT has not released the results of the Secondary Screening or placed you at a university (they should be doing that soon). So the chances are very good that the professor does not want to continue following up until he is sure that you will be placed in his university/lab.
Once the secondary screening results are released and your placement is formalized, then I would anticipate more communication from his side!
In answer to your questions:
1) It is not a matter of the professor choosing another candidate. Once you pass the Secondary Screening, MEXT will contact the university to ask them to formally accept you at that point. They can decline, but that rarely happens. However, since you only have one university on your list at this point, even if they did initially decline, MEXT would most likely negotiate with them to reconsider, since they have nowhere else to place you.
2) Continue your research on your own while waiting for the results of the Secondary Screening and placement, then recontact the professor.
I do not think you have anything to worry about – you are just stuck in the slow churn of Japanese bureaucracy.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you Travis for providing more insight into how the selection procedure functions. This certainly makes sense.
In your reply you mentioned that the University may decline MEXT’s request to place a candidate, although that happens rarely. What I could not reconcile is the fact that when the university/Graduate School grants the Letter of Provisional Acceptance after examining the candidate’s documents then later during the placement talks with MEXT why might they decline to accept the same candidate?
Maybe, the possible reasons could be that the particular University is low on the placement preference form of the candidate. I don’t really know and would like to know more from you about this seeming discrepancy.
Hi Afraz Khan,
Honestly, I don’t know, since I have never seen an example of that happening. I have only heard of it being a possibility.
The only reason I could think of would be unforeseen personnel changes – if the professor that was supposed to supervise you suddenly leaves, is hospitalized long-term, etc., and there is nobody else that can take you on as an advisee, that might be a reason. Yes, that’s an extreme example, but I really can’t think of anything else at the moment.
Universities should never know where they are on your Placement Preference Form, so that should not be a factor.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you Travis this certainly helps me a lot!
Good day Travis..
Please I would like to know if they is any scholarship available for undergraduate program for 2019 session in medicine..
Hi Abu bashirah,
For the most part, the undergraduate scholarship is only available through the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship application process, which has already ended for 2019 entrants. Your next chance to apply would be in April-May 2019 for scholarships starting in 2020.
I know that at the graduate level, you would need to be fluent in Japanese to apply for a medical program, but I do not know what the rules would be for the undergraduate scholarship, since that it outside my area of expertise. I would recommend that you check the application guidelines closely when they are released next April.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Sir,
You said we can get direct admission to master’s without becoming research student. Do we have to give an extra entrance exam for applying directly for master’s degree at the university? Also if we fail the entrance exam , will our scholarship be cancelled?
Hi Hironmoy,
The Entrance Exam is not always an actual exam that you have to sit for. In some cases there is an exam, but in some cases it is just a document screening.
In either case, if you were applying to go directly into the Master’s program via University Recommendation without becoming a research student first, then you would have to pass that exam before the university recommended you to MEXT, so if you were to not pass the entrance exam, you would not be nominated for the scholarship to begin with.
If you are applying via Embassy Recommendation, the entrance exam process and your research or degree-seeking student status is a little more complicated, but I cover it in detail my most recent article about applying for Letters of Acceptance. Look for the section titled “Caution: Arrival Date in Japan and Status in the Letter of Acceptance”
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I applied last year for the MEXT Embassy recommended scholarship but with no sucess. I wish t0 try one more time but there’s a question that has been bugging me since even before I applied, I asked the Japan Embassy in my country for information on this but honestly it wasn’t much help.
So, the scholarship says that I have to have completed 16 years of school to be elligible to study in Japan for a MA, but in my country majors are covered by the bologna agreement, therefore as of my graduation I only have 15 years of school completed. I was told I had to apply as a non-degree student so I could get a post graduation before I applied for a Master’s degree. My question is, how do post graduations work in Japan? Do I choose a Master’s degree but don’t complete it, so it’ll count as a post-graduation? Are there specific post graduation courses? I’m sorry if this seems like a silly question but I’ve been so confused about this. I don’t know if this makes answering easier but my major is Asian Studies and I’d like to pursue Japanese Studies.
Thank you for your time and for everything you do with this website!
Hi Teresa,
I am sorry to hear about your struggles with the application last year.
The embassy (and universities) will never give you feedback on what you did well or what you need to do to improve unless you fail to meet one of the eligibility requirements. So, your situation there is not unusual, I’m afraid.
I have known many applicants who graduated from universities with a three-year bachelor’s degree (15 total years of schooling) who were able to start a Master’s degree right away in Japan under the MEXT scholarship, but it sounds like whoever you talked to was being extra strict.
Basically, what you would have to do would be to apply as a “Research Student” (non-degree seeking student). You could also consider this status “pre-graduate student”. Under that status, you would be affiliated with the graduate school, could take classes, and could be researching with a professor, but you would not be earning credit toward your degree. (Once you matriculate to the degree program, by passing the entrance exam, then you should be able to transfer the credit you earned as a research student to count toward your degree, so you really don’t lose anything!)
You should apply for the MEXT scholarship as a Master’s level Research Student. You can get the scholarship to cover your expenses during that time, and once you pass the entrance exam, you can extend the scholarship to cover your degree, as well!
I hope that helps!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much, this was really helpful!
Good morning Mr Travis, I am a Ghanaian who wants to apply for the scholarship next year, 2019. Is it possible ? And if so will I be able to use my Wassce results?
Hi Reigner Attuah,
It sounds like you are applying for the undergraduate scholarship. While my expertise in that scholarship is limited, I know you can only apply via the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship. The next application process will begin around April 2019 with the scholarship and studies starting in 2020.
I do not know how your WASSCE results would affect the application, since that is likely to be determined by the local embassy. It would not be part of MEXT’s guidelines since it only applies to a few countries. I’m afraid you would have to find the instructions specific to Ghana on the Japanese embassy’s website, though you might have to wait for the new version to be released in April.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Can I ask if I still can avail the scholarship now?
Hi Jamaica Grace,
The application for the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship should be open now (November 2018), depending on the university, for 2019 start. The Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship should start accepting applications in April or May, depending on your country, for the scholarship starting in 2020.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi,
I’m applying for the research scholarship next year. I would like to major on Japanese linguistics. Do non-degree seekers need to be in N1 level by the time they apply? Is it necessary to have the JLPT certificate to prove thar I’m on that level, will the universities I’m applying for or MEXT scholarship asks for one, if not how should I prove it or how they will ask for a proof? They say it is not a requirement to have any certificate on JLPT, so how come they need N1 if I’m seeking for Japanese linguistics major as non-degree student or research student?
Hi Alyazeya,
Unfortunately, you would need to have native-level (most likely N1) proficiency in Japanese language to study Japanese linguistics either as a non-degree or degree student because without a high level of Japanese ability, it would not be possible to conduct meaningful research in that field.
The statement that you do not need Japanese language proficiency to apply for the MEXT scholarship only refers to the scholarship, itself. You also need to meet the language requirements of the program. Fields that require Japanese language ability to conduct research (or that are taught only in Japanese) still reserve the right to require proof of language ability.
Unfortunately, the JLPT is the only commonly accepted test of Japanese Language Proficiency that I am aware of.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much for your reply.
I’m acting upon this information for the time being and trying to study for N1 and take the test next July. I’m not quite sure I will pass, but will that affect my chances of getting accepted in any university? Is there no chance that I might get accepted based on my previous research works, my research plan, my university grades and my current level in Japanese (N2), because I’m quite confident with what I might offer as researcher. MEXT scholarship offers 6 months for learning Japanese language before starting as a research student or during this time, right? so is there a chance that I might get accepted with a condition to pass N1 during these 6 months?
Also, if I take the test next July, I will need to wait for the result to be announced anyway, will the universities accept to wait for the result?
Hi Alyazeya,
If you can find a program in your field of study that only requires N2 level, then you would be able to apply for that, but Japanese universities are not going to give you a conditional decision based on your N1 test next year or otherwise make any considerations based on a score you do not yet have. At least, not for the MEXT scholarship application process. For the MEXT scholarship, it is not just a matter of the university taking a risk on your ability, they are required to pledge to MEXT that you have sufficient ability, as well.
And to be frank, the university probably has dozens – or more – of other candidates who do meet all of the requirements, so there is no incentive for them to make an exception.
The 6-month language training period only covers basic skills for day-to-day life. It is not academic Japanese, so it would not help in getting you up to N1 level. Given your ability, it is possible that you might even be exempted from it.
You would need to have your test results before the application deadline. Universities will not wait. My best recommendation to you would be to find a linguistics program that will accept you with N2 level.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I am applying for a Doctoral program at Tokyo Institute of technology under University recommendation (SGU) scholarship starting in April 2019. Can I also apply for a similar program but at University of Tokyo starting in October 2019 simultaneously?
Cheers for the Good blog!
Hi Kaustubh,
Thank you for your kind words.
You are only allowed to submit one University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship application per year. So, if you are applying at Titech, you can’t apply at Todai for the same year, even if one is an April start and one is October.
That said, almost all University Recommended MEXT Scholarship programs start in October and you mentioned SGU, which is not related to the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship, so that might by a different scholarship category (SGU Domestic Selection) and therefore might be OK. I would have to see the guidelines for the Titech program to be able to tell for sure.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Helo, I really really want this scholarship m really embitious to do something but not have any proper opportunity, I don’t know the deadline nd requirements for the scholarship plz plz plz give me some guidelines about this opportunity……
Hi Shiza Amjad,
That’s exactly why I created this website. I have in-depth guides to nearly every part of the MEXT Scholarship Application Process, so you can choose what area you most want to learn about and start there. Or, if you want a start-to-finish walkthrough, then I have compiled the best of my guides, in order, in the Mastering the MEXT Scholarship series of books – starting with How to Apply for the MEXT Scholarship. You can find all the guides and the books on the page above!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
We REALLY appreciate your efforts, Thank you for your helpful posts.
I would like to ask about : I was refused two years in a row by MEXT Embassy recommendation, and now I’ll try with University-recommendation. The thing is when I wanted to get a recommendation letter from the dean of my university, the Dean’s office refused to sign the letter telling me that I must send their email to the university that I wish to apply to, and then they will send the recommendation electronically!!! I don’t know, what do you think I should do?
I already have a recommendation from my professor and was signed by the Higher Education office in my university , do you think is OK ?
The last thing I want to ask :
Does the Japanese universities give a conditional admission letter like other countries ? because if things doesn’t work out, I plan to apply for another scholarship in which the conditional admission letter is required.
Thank you so much for your help.
Hi F.M.W.,
It might actually be possible for your Dean’s office to send the Letter of Acceptance directly to the university. I’d recommend that you contact them to check.
When I processed these applications, the Letters of Acceptance were about the only thing that we would accept separately from the rest of the application. I know we accepted a few each year directly from the recommenders.
If you explain that that’s the only way the Dean issues recommendation letters, and that it would be coming directly from an official university email account, they may take it.
Otherwise, I don’t think the letter from the professor is likely to be accepted. If it were countersigned by the dean, that would be a different story.
Conditional Acceptance: As far as I know, no, Japanese universities do not grant conditional acceptance letters. You either get an acceptance letter (and in that case, if it is not acceptance via the MEXT scholarship, you would have to pay the non-refundable admission fee almost immediately), or not.
I hope that helps!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis san,
How you are doing good.
Let me give you a background before asking my question.
I am planning to apply for MEXT next year. I have a B. Tech undergraduate degree in Information Technology and I have been working as a Japanese Translator for the past two year and have a JLPT N 3 certification. Japanese is my 3rd language. I would be writing my N2 but I don’t think I would be able to clear N1 so soon.
My question is, I am planning to get an MBA scholarship through MEXT and apply for an English program in Japan. Would that lower my chances?
My research would be more related to my career work so far than my undergraduate education. Would that be a negative point?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Pallavi,
One of the requirements of the MEXT scholarship is that you have to apply in a field that you have majored in during a past degree or a related field. Going from Information Technology to and MBA might be a bit of a stretch, so you’ll need to think carefully about how you are going to justify that.
Unfortunately, even if your career was in a different field, MEXT wants to see the connection with your degree to know that you have the academic background necessary to undertake advanced studies in the field.
The biggest challenge to your chances is going to be whether or not you can show the relationship between the degree fields. Applying for a program taught in English will not hurt your chances. Having some Japanese language ability should help you stand out during the primary screening phase of the application.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Sir,
Actually i want to apply for Mext Scholarship 2019 and download documents from this link
[Edit: Link removed]
but in the guideline form the result date of first screening mentioned as 24 August 2018
so i confused either i download correct form or not
but
when i saw this link
https://www.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/admission/scholarship.html
I also confused which documents necessary to be download or which documents to be sent to JAPAN
Kindly help me regarding to this issue….
Hi Sumiya,
Thank you for your question. I removed the link because the site that you referenced was clearly giving incorrect/incomplete information and I do not want anyone else getting misled.
You should always get the application instructions and forms from the embassy or the university where you intend to apply, since they will have the most complete and accurate information. I try to provide supporting explanations here, but you also need to be referring to the actual application sites.
There are two ways to apply for the MEXT scholarship: via Embassy Recommendation and via University Recommendation. I outlined the difference between the two in this article, so I would recommend you start there, if you are unsure which to pick. The deadline for the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship for 2019 was back in May/June, so it is too late to apply for this year. The deadline for the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship for 2019 should be coming soon, though it varies by university.
The University of Tokyo link you posted was for the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship for 2019, so if you follow the instructions there to apply to Todai, you cannot go wrong!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I passed the first screening for MEXT Embassy recommended scholarship 2019. I have also secured a Letter of Provisional Acceptance from a professor at the University of Tokyo (Graduate School of Engineering). Earlier this year in April 2018 I was offered an admission letter by the same professor for a special graduate program at the University of Tokyo called the IME program. Unfortunately at that time there was no scope to support my PhD study in that program due to unavailability of scholarships. I had to let go of that offer. However in June 2018 I applied for the embassy recommended MEXT scholarship. After my interview and before the result of the first screening I contacted the same professor to confirm if he would accept me as a PhD student if I passed the first screening. He kindly agreed to supervise my PhD study if I passed the first screening. After the first screening I submitted all my documents to the University of Tokyo and the same professor granted me a letter of provisional acceptance with my status being an international research student.
Seeing as how the professor had given me acceptance letters twice this year I did not approach any other professor or university. I mentioned the University of Tokyo as the only university in my placement preference form .
I have two queries:
1. At this juncture when I am waiting for the result of the second screening what do you think are my chances of finally getting the scholarship keeping in mind that I have only listed one university in the placement preference form because of the strong communication with the professor.
2. During this time of wait should I keep in touch with my professor? I have already sent him a short email thanking him for granting me the letter of provisional acceptance.
Your help will be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Afraz Khan.
Hi Afraz Khan,
1. If you have passed the Primary Screening and submitted at least one Letter of Acceptance, you are practically guaranteed to receive the scholarship. Having only one university on your Placement Preference Form should not affect that.
2. Yes, I recommend that you keep in touch. Sending the thank you letter was a great start. Since the outcome is nearly certain, I would recommend that you continue to remain in contact with your professor to get his/her guidance on what research, studying, or preparation work you should be doing now before you arrive.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Thank you so much for your suggestions! Your good work in guiding numerous students across the globe regarding higher education in Japan is deeply appreciated by us all. Keep going!
Afraz
Hello Travis,
I have some questions regarding the travel expenses.
The scholarship also covers a round-trip air ticket.Does the embassy (or the university) handle the process of purcaching the ticket or can the participant do it by herself? Also if there are no direct flights to japanavailable in my home country will the scholarship still cover the flight to another country where there are direct flights? Does the scholarship also pay for the taxes that are included in the airfare(ticket)?
Hi Maria,
MEXT contracts the ticketing process out to a travel company, typically, and you will not have very much say in the scheduling. The university will tell you what day you need to arrive or they may let you choose between two days.
MEXT will pay only for the international portion of your flight. So, they will pay for a flight from the closest international airport to your home, in your home country, to Japan. It doesn’t matter if it is a direct flight or you have a layover in another country on the way, they will pay for it either way.
You will be responsible for the airport usage taxes, but you won’t have to pay them until after you arrive in Japan. From what I understand, typically you will get an invoice to pay those taxes about a month after you arrive.
I hope that helps!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis
Good day to you . I have an query regarding the MEXT Embassy recommendation university placement . I have been passed the primary screening and received three letter of acceptance . the universities are
1. Kyoto University ( public)
2. Waseda University ( Private)
3. Kyoto institute of Technology ( National )
is it possible for me to get waseda if i put waseda on preference no. 1 ? Waseda is a private university. option 3 is my least preferred and if possible would not like to put the name on the placement form .
Thank you for your kind assistance.I would appreciate your immediate help as my submission date is very close.
Hi SJ,
Kyoto University is a National University, not a public, so if that is your top choice, you would have a very high possibility of being placed there.
If you put Waseda as your first choice, it is possible that you would end up there, but you might also end up at your second choice. MEXT says that they may pass over your first choice if it is a private or public university and instead try to place you in your highest-choice national university, but I have not been able to find any particular criteria that they use to choose which students that will apply to.
I do not think MEXT would skip over your second choice if it was a National University and go straight to your third. The only situation I can see where you might end up at your third choice would be if the second choice university declined to accept you in the end.
If you order the schools Waseda – Kyoto – KIT, that gives you the best chance of being placed at Waseda and minimizes the chances that you would end up at KIT.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis ,
It is great to have your kind suggestion . Thank you for correcting me. I think your order makes sense & this information would be very helpful to me .
Thank you again and my best wishes to you.
Have a nice day.
-Sj
Hi,
I have a general question I have done my BSc (Hons) four year course (8 semesters) with CGPA 3.46 out of 4.00. I have a transcript of all combine four years. How can I provide the CGPA transcript of last two years? I’ll wait for your humble reply.
Thanks in anticipation.
Hi Sharjeel Ashfaq,
You should submit your transcript for the entire four years. As long as it is clear when you took each course, that will be enough for the university or embassy to calculate your grades for only the last two years of courses.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I am a little bit confused about a certain point and I need your advice about it.
I hold a pharmacy diploma and in my country we study 6 years to get the diploma which is equivalent to a bachelor degree in japan. And therefore, I have chosen to do a master degree in my application form during the submission ( Embassy Recommandation )
While requesting my letter of acceptance my supervisor told me that I can directly start into a doctoral program because the 6 years that I did are sufficient to enroll into a doctoral program and is asking me now to choose between master program and doctoral program.
But the problem is that in the documents submitted to the embassy, I did a two years research plan that applies to a master degree, And I am afraid that it causes me problems during the second screening if they see that I hold a doctoral letter of provisional accepts but that I did a master degree research plan.
Do you think that choosing a doctoral program will cause me problems?
Thank you,
Best Regards,
Ishak
Hi Ishak,
The secondary screening is not competitive and it will not be a problem if you submitted a 2-year research plan but plan to enroll in a 3-year doctoral program.
The secondary screening really exists for MEXT to double-check the embassy’s work and make sure that no rules were violated.
I do not think a doctoral program will cause you problems at all, especially since it’s the university making the recommendation.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
This is atsede Gebreegziabher and I need to ask you How I will
receive the letter of acceptance from universities. Am I going to
receive the letter in Hard copy through postal address or I can
receive it scanned letter or soft copy of it.
please let me know if you have something to say.
Hi Atsede Gebreegziabher,
The universities should send you the hard copy of the letter by post. However, if it looks like the hardcopy may not arrive in time, they may send you a scanned copy first. You will need to ask the embassy where you applied if they will accept the soft copy while waiting for the original to arrive.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
I applied to the MEXT Specialized Training College scholarship this year in Sweden, and I’ve passed the first screening. The embassy said that the score on the math test was a bit weak so the chance of getting the scholarship might be a bit lower, but that I did great on the interview so the interviewers and the embassy really wants to recommend me anyway.
So my question is how much of a lower chance do you think it might be? Or rather what sort of impact might it do on the second screening?
My friend said that it might depend on your subject of field and I applied for Animation (3D), so it doesn’t feel like it should matter that much? I am also 23 (soon 24) and have experience living in Japan for 21months. I was told that I did the best out of all applicants on the Japanese test (I only really had trouble with the C part), and the English test was really easy so it might’ve been a 満点 haha.
Not in any way want to seem braggy just wanted to give a sort of view on how my application went.
Thanks in beforehand, and sorry for the long text.
Hi Alexander,
My area of expertise and the focus of this blog is on the MEXT scholarship for graduate students.
Unfortunately, I do not know anything about how the scoring or evaluation system for Specialized Training College scholarships, so I cannot guess how subject tests might affect your evaluation. It sounds like the system is completely different from the scholarship for graduate students. (At the graduate level, each country has a certain number of slots, so if the embassy nominates you, you are practically guaranteed to receive the scholarship, since there are no further competitive screenings).
I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help. Perhaps another reader on here has expertise in the STC scholarship and can give better advice.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I am in Canada doing my undergraduate. I was thinking of applying for MEXT Medicine Scholarship Undergraduate program. What is the minimum GPA for MEXT undergraduate applicants? Do you know anyone who studied Medicine in Japan? Do you have any advice?
Hi Haley M,
The minimum GPA is 2.3 out of 3.0 on MEXT’s scale, so you would have to convert your grades to that system (you can find an explanation of how to convert grades here).
I have never heard of anyone successfully studying medicine under the MEXT scholarship. You would have to be native-level fluent in Japanese to be able to get in to a medical program because all of the license testing, etc., that you would need for practical training parts of the program must be acquired in Japanese. That rules out most applicants.
If you are interested in medicine, then I would suggest that you consider applying for an academic degree in Life Sciences to conduct research related to your medical interests. However, if you really want to go for an MD, then Japan and the MEXT scholarship may not be your best option.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Thank you so much for taking the time and replying to many of these comments.
So I’ve been been recommended by the embassy and have sent my documents to the schools that I hoped to apply to (Keio, Tokyo). I have a question about receiving the LOA from the schools that I applied to. I sent in my documents around 2 weeks ago, haven’t heard anything back from them yet. I know it takes some time to process all the documents, but do you think it would be inappropriate to ask and check if all the paperwork is going smoothly so far? Just a little anxious.
Thank you so much!
Hi Mike,
Congratulations on passing the primary screening!
Did you send the documents by email or post? The instructions from MEXT this year said to send them by email, but the universities might have old instructions on their websites. (It goes without saying, but double-check the instructions for applying for an LoA on the universities’ websites to see if they mention anything about when and how to expect a reply to your application).
If you sent the documents by email and have not heard back, I think it is a good idea to contact the universities and make sure the email arrived. Sometimes emails with large attachments can end up being blocked.
If you sent the documents by post, first check the tracking information on the package to make sure it arrived, then I would suggest emailing the university to confirm that your application package was complete and politely ask about the processing time for the application.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I sent the email by email and they confirmed that they received it. It’s been several weeks though, I think I’m going to just (of course politely) ask about the processing time for the application.
If you have any objections to that based on your own experience, please let me know before I accidentally send a rude email! 🙂
Many thanks for your help.
Hi Mike,
I do not think that it is rude for you to ask them about the processing time, as long as your email itself is polite!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
From your experience, when do universities usually get back to the applicants regarding the LOA?
I sent in my documents almost 6 weeks ago, and have yet to hear anything back from the universities I applied to. (After my last question to you, I politely asked and they basically said things usually take 3-4 weeks, please don’t email us again until we email you).
From talking to other students who applied to the same university, they haven’t heard anything back either but they submitted their documents much later. At this point I’m getting a little worried, if you could give me your thoughts on this (especially if you think something is wrong), I would really appreciate it!
Hi Mike,
When I used to handle LoAs, there were times when it took us nearly 2 months to get back to applicants. It all depended on the timing of the documents’ arrival and the individual graduate schools and their faculty meetings schedules. (There were also times where if a document set arrived on Monday, we would be able to get it approved by the following week, but if it arrived on Tuesday, it would miss the last faculty meeting of the semester, so we wouldn’t be able to reply for two months.)
As long as the university has acknowledged that they have your documents and are processing them, you have nothing to worry about. In general, the fact that it is taking them a long time is not any reflection on your application and it does not indicate that they might reject you any more than a quick reaction time would. It is just that universities can be very large and bureaucratic, so slow to get things done.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Mr. Travis
I intend to apply for the research MEXT Scholarship through the university recommendation , but it seems that Japanese universities only recommend international students coming from their overseas partner institutes. Maybe I have get something wrong and the exchange agreement is just priority and the scholarship is based on merits.
However could you please help me regarding these questions? (I would like just further clarification)
1. Am I eligible to apply for research MEXT Scholarship via university recommendation as an Iranian applicant?
2. Is it necessary that my domestic university has an exchange agreement/ collaboration with Japanese Universities and if so, do they have an exchange agreement with “Allameh Tabataba’i University” in Iran?
I am just worried that I miss the deadline so maybe that is why I become too hasty.
Regarding the embassy recommendation MEXT scholarship, I cannot apply this year because the application period has been over (It is on early May in my country every year). Therefore, the university recommendation track is the only way for me now.
So it would be appreciated to help me and send more information.
I am looking forward to your reply.
Regards
Paria Fadaei
Hi Paria Fadaei,
I saw you had asked the same question on another post and answered it there first.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I have some questions about the visa application form. I already successfully passed the MEXT Scholarship (University Recommendation) & I have to go to the embassy to finalise my visa for October 2018 departure. I tried contacting the embassy but they weren’t the most helpful, so I thought I’d put my questions out here.
Apologies if the answers are pretty obvious, but it would be a wasted journey for me if the form was filled out incorrectly!
1. I assume I have to wait for my flight and accommodation information to be confirmed by the university before completing the form as it asks for date of arrival & address for duration of stay?
2. Is my intended length of stay whatever is indicated on my Certificate of Admission (1 year) or since I am planning on taking the entrance exam for the doctoral course would it be the total length of time I am expecting to stay (3 years)?
3. Is the guarantor/inviter in Japan my academic supervisor &/or the university itself?
I apologise if you’ve touched on this elsewhere on your site but I wasn’t too sure where it would be found!
Many thanks,
Dale
Hi Dale,
Congratulations on earning the scholarship!
When you went to the embassy, did you inform them that you were a MEXT scholar? There is a special visa application process for MEXT scholarships winners, since you are essentially an invitee of the Japanese government. A few of the questions you mentioned should not be necessary for MEXT scholars or the Embassy should be able to give you specific guidance on how to fill it in as a MEXT scholar. When I was working with MEXT scholars, none of them ever contacted us with these questions (whereas non-MEXT scholars contact me constantly with them, now), so I can only assume the Embassy offers specific guidance.
1. No, you do not have to wait because this does not need to be your final answer. Your best guess is fine for now. Look up a possible route and fill in that information.
2. It should be the length of stay on your acceptance certificate. You will extend your period of stay in Japan once you officially extend your enrollment and MEXT scholarship.
3. Please check with the Embassy for this. In general for students, your reference in Japan is that university (not an individual), but it might be different for MEXT scholars.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks Travis,
I contacted the embassy again and they basically relayed the information you confirmed to me above, although they informed me that my name wasn’t on the list of government scholarship recipients. Hoping that this is resolved by the time I actually head to the embassy!
Many thanks,
Dale
Hi Dale,
During the application process, did the university ask you which embassy was closest to your home? Typically, your name is only placed on the list for one embassy or consulate, so only that location would have your information and you would only be able to apply there.
There is another possibility – were you selected for a Top Global University category scholarship? (You would know that you are in that category if MEXT is not paying for your flight ticket to Japan). In that case, you might be subject to a different application process or have a later application date. Unfortunately, I haven’t worked with that process directly, so I would recommend that you check with the university that nominated you and ask them if they have any guidance for your visa application.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Mr. Travis,
Thanks for your helpful information.
I am now contacting with my professor at kyushu university and I intend to apply MEXT scholarship through university recommendation in 2019.
Because of lacking knowledge in Japanese, I still can’t find the 2019 application form for MEXT scholarship through university recommendation.
Would you mind sharing me the 2019 university recommendation application form?
This will be the best support for me at the moment.
Once again, thank you for your kindly help.
Best Regards,
Truong Gia Huy
Hi Truong Gia Huy,
It’s not a problem with your language ability – the form and instructions most likely are not out yet.
The exact timing and process for the University Recommendation MEXT scholarship varies significantly from university to university, but it looks like Kyushu University opens for applications in December. At least, that’s what their website indicates now, I would recommend that you follow up with them directly later to be sure.
Their site also indicates that they only nominate students from partner universities, so if your university does not have a partnership, then you might want to follow up on that, as well.
Typically, the official MEXT application form for the University Recommendation MEXT scholarship only comes out after universities have stopped accepting applications, so they will likely have some other forms for you to complete in the meantime. You would need to get those from the university, itself.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Mr. Travis,
Thank you for your great guidelines! Would you be so kind as to help me to understand one thing?
I’m interested in postgraduate scholarship. So I have some work experience, I’m going to improve my English and Japanese as well, I have numerous recommendations, and I have a good idea for my future research, BUT my university grades are not the best one. And I’m curious is it possible to get a scholarship if my grades are not so good?
Thank you in advance!
Hi Alina,
Your grades do have to meet the minimum requirement when converted to MEXT’s 3.0 scale. Sometimes, you may find that grades that do not look so good in your home country actually convert fairly well, so do not give up hope!
Higher grades does make you more competitive for the scholarship, but it is still possible to earn it with lower grades if you have an outstanding field of study and research program plan and do well in your interviews. You’ll just have to work harder to make sure that you do the best you can on the parts of the application that are under your control.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Mr. Travis,
Thank you so much for your reply!
Well, yes, this looks not so scary 🙂 Thanks again!
Mr. Travis,
And I have another question. I’m going to enroll in a master’s degree programme. However, my point of interest not in the same field as my bachelor’s degree. To be more clear, I have a bachelor’s degree in Japanese translation, but I’m interested in business administration as I’m working in this field currently. Is it possible?
Sorry for bothering you again! 🙂
Thanks in advance!
I’m sorry for bothering you!
Hi Alina,
One of the eligibility criteria for the MEXT scholarship is that you have to apply in a field that you majored in previously in university or in its related field. So, whether or not it is possible to apply in Business Administration depends on how well you can justify to the screening committee that it is related to your previous Japanese translation studies.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Thanks for all your amazing guidelines. They were so very helpful to my while preparing my documents. I’ve submitted them last week and I’m waiting for the Japanese Embassy in my country to call me for exams. How long do they take to do so?
And my other question is how much score in the English language test is enough to get to the Interviews stage? I know it is a 100 points total.
I wish you could help me with these question.
Thank you again for all your efforts.
Sincerely,
Ed
Hi Ed,
Thank you for your kind words! I’m very glad to hear that you found the posts helpful!
Unfortunately, the way that universities handle exams and the timing of the Primary Screening varies wildly from country to country, so I can’t give you an answer. The best I can do is suggest that you check the embassy’s website and the guidelines posted there to see if there is any information about when results will be released and exams scheduled.
The scoring policy for the exams also varies from country to country, and, of course, it depends on whether you’re applying for a degree program taught in Japanese or English.
Since your questions are specific to your country/embassy, I’m afraid I don’t have enough information to be able to help.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi TranSenz,
I wanted to thank you for all your guides regardint the MEXT scholarship, they’ve been a lifesaver. I recently found out about the scholarship before scrambling to apply this cycle, and all the posts on your website have been a fantastic source of information.
I wanted to ask you for some advice regarding my next steps in the MEXT application. I been lucky enough to recieve news this past week that I’ve been selected for the embassy recommendation.
From my end, it seems like all I have to do now is [1] get letters of acceptance (I’ve been able to get a yes from two universities of my choice so far) and [2] submit those to the Japanese consulate and pray for the best? Is there anything else you would caution me about at this point? I’m planning on sending out the documents to the universities as soon as I receive them back from the consulate.
After that it sounds like I just wait for secondary confirmation and placement (by the way do you know when this usually occurs? I saw that it said after December, I just wanted to know the latest they could notify me).
Again, thank you so much for website, I definitely couldn’t have gotten this far without your help. I hope you’re doing well yourself!
Hi Jay,
Congratulations on passing the primary screening! Thank you very much for your kind words, too. It means a lot to me to be able to help in some small way.
Your understanding is correct – all you have to do now is to contact universities to request Letters of Acceptance, then submit those letters, along with your potentially revised Placement Preference Form (if you change your order of preference based on your interaction or based on the letters you receive) to the embassy.
My only caution to you would be to apply for the Letters of Acceptance as early as possible and to make sure that you are applying according to the university’s instructions.
As for notifications, typically, the Secondary Screening is concluded by early November and MEXT starts contacting the universities then to confirm that they will accept you. However, there is no real consistency on whether or not they will notify you first that you have passed the Secondary Screening or will wait until they have your placement confirmed. The placement confirmations can come as late as December or even early February in some cases (I assume the Feb cases are when MEXT has to contact multiple universities to find one to accept the candidate).
In the meantime, you might get unofficial information from your professor or the university saying that they’ve been asked to accept you. While not official, you can generally treat that as true.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear TranSenz,
Thank you so much for the initial reply.
Two more quick questions:
[1] How long does it usually take to get the LOA? I’ve been following up with my embassy and they told me they would get the documents back to me the week after next weekend. I’ve been in contact with the universities on my placement form in preparation to send them the documents as soon as I get them. I just wanted to make sure that there would be enough time.
[2] If I say on the form that I want to do a PhD (I’m still a little iffy on this, I mainly applied I wanted to work with a professor on a particular research project, not necessarily for the degree) , will I still get the two years as a research student (non-degree) prior to the beginning of the PhD program? I was just wondering if they try and get you in after your first year, or if you still had the option to take the two full years before beginning the PhD course.
All your help is greatly appreciated. I hope you have a great weekend ^^
Hi Jay,
1) It depends. The guidance MEXT gave universities this year was that they were to get LOAs back to applicants within one month, and no later than September 25. But each university is going to have its own processing time and processes – and it may even vary by graduate school. August is summer vacation for Japanese universities, too, so responses are likely to be slow then.
All you really need to worry about is being sure that you contact the universities by the August 24 deadline. Of course, earlier is better. If you can get them your documents by the end of July, then you might catch the professors before they go on vacation.
2) Your length of time as a research student is not fixed in advance (aside from the maximum time of 2 years if you arrive in April or 1.5 years if you arrive in September). It will be up to you and your professor to decide when to take the entrance exam if you arrive as a research student.
I hope that helps!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Sir,
I want to apply by University recommendation as for now the embassy recommendation is over what are the important things that I will be needing. Also if I’m an average student, but very passionate about studying in Japan. Will it be a problem for me to get University recommendation?
Hi Anushriya Bhardwaj,
The University Recommendation scholarship is very competitive, so you will need to work hard to ensure that you can beat out all of the other applicants.
The most important things to have are good grades and an outstanding field of study and research program plan, plus meeting all of the other requirements, like having English language proficiency test scores.
The articles I linked above should help you get started.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Sir, I’m currently a 4th year student of Bachelor of Technology, specializing in Electronics and Instrumentation from Banasthali Vidhyapith, Rajasthan,India. I’ll be completing my 16 years of education on June’19. I want to do MBA from Japan using MEXT Scholarship.
I haven’t done any research work in my bachelor’s, just a project.
I wanted to asking which category do I exactly fall. I don’t know under which of the program should I fill the MEXT application. Kindly guide me for the same.
Hi Anushriya Bhardwaj,
It sounds to me like you should be applying for the MEXT scholarship for research students (graduate students) for a Master’s degree or Master’s level research student.
One of the requirements of the MEXT scholarship is that you apply in a field of study that you have majored in at university in the past. If your bachelor’s degree is in Electronics and Instrumentation, then applying for an MBA does not seem to be related.
You do not need to have completed research in your bachelor’s degree to apply for the MEXT scholarship for graduate studies.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Sir,
Well even if I apply for M.Tech in Japan, I have absolutely no idea where to get started with my research plan. I haven’t done any sort of research before. So do you think the project that I’ve made in B.tech will help me turning it into a research? Will that work?
Hi Anushriya Bhardwaj,
I’ve written about the structure of what a Field of Study and Research Program Plan should include, which might give you a hint as to how to get started. I am currently working on some resources about how to develop your research question to get started, so look for those to come out in the future!
In the meantime, I would think that some of your current professors could be a great resource to help you determine a research topic and plan, as well.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
sir,
I am applying for mext scholarship in 2020, so i have been gathering information on it. This year in India, the embassy of japan released a preliminary form which needs to be submitted before document screening. It said “course applied-Research/masters/phd”. I have some questions regarding it.
1) Does applying directly for masters is the same as going to research and then applying for masters? Do I have to give an extra exam?
2) If I am unable to qualify directly for masters then can I still go as Research student and then apply for masters?
I asked the embassy but they told me ” if you want to apply for masters, then write masters” but they didn’t clarify the above mentioned questions.
Hi Hironmoy,
I haven’t seen the extra document from the embassy in India, so my answers may not be specific to that document.
1) There is no difference at the Embassy level between applying for research student status or directly to the degree. The difference would come in your interaction with the universities. They may ask you to undertake an additional exam or screening to accept you as a degree student versus a research student. I wrote about the timing that this screening could occur in my recent article about applying for Letters of Acceptance.
2) This will be up to the university to decide when they issue you a letter of acceptance, as I cover in the link above. Regardless of whether you ask the university to accept you as a research student or a degree student, it is ultimately their discretion as to which status to offer you a LoA for.
I hope that helps!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey Travis
How the first/ initial screening is done? How we get to know that it has been done? How much time the Embassy takes for initial screening?
Hi Sadia Fida,
It depends on the embassy. Some embassies move quite quickly between the stages of the primary screening and others take much more time. For example, I know some embassies may take two weeks to finish the document review and decide who gets invited to the exams, but others will give an answer within days.
I would recommend that you check the website of the embassy/consulate where you applied to see if the application guidelines there give any information about when the document screening results will be out and when the exams and interviews will be held.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
I am Nigerian, I applied for Mext scholarship 2019 embassy recommendation as a research student.
Please how do I know if I passed the document screening?
Hi Ajayi Tolulope,
Each embassy has its own results announcement procedures, so I would recommend you check with them directly. You may find the answer in the application guidelines. If not, you can contact them to ask when it will be released.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I just found out about your blog and I dare say it’s very informative! Thanks a lot for your efforts and help.
My name is Khlood, I am from Egypt! Recently, I have been in contact with a professor from Kumamoto University, his secretary emailed me to apply for SGU scholarship, according to the MEXT grade conversion I did on my own, I am ineligible, but they said they couldn’t calculate my GPA from my transcripts and asked me to provide a letter stating that I am considered at the top 25% and send all original documents- which I did, I am not sure if the university will accept it, and if they did accept me and submit my papers to MEXT, would they refuse me if they manage to calculate my grades? or is the decision based solely on the university recommendation? I should note that I was rejected before at the Embassy and University MEXT as well from another university.
Anyway, what I am confused about is, what does JSPS have to do with this scholarship? as the secretary said the student’s affairs office told her that if I passed the internal selection, they will recommend me to JSPS, and if JSPS wanted more documents they will let me know, but they’re not sure when.
I am not sure whether the JSPS or MEXT are intercalated or is that a different procedure.
I got so confused and tired to the point I just want any sort of reply ASAP! And I am not even sure if the results will be out in August as you mentioned before and I get accepted there would be enough time to issue a visa and such since paperwork take FOREVER in Egypt! If I get accepted, that is!
Sorry for the rant!! I know that there might be nothing you can help me with but I think I just wanted some…consolation, perhaps?! Or just some pointers on what to do!!
Hi Khlood,
Since I have never seen your transcripts, I cannot give you a meaningful answer on the grade calculation. But if the university said that they cannot calculate your grades and asked for the letter, then I would trust that they know what they are doing.
There is another category of the MEXT scholarship that is related to JSPS. As far as I know, it has nothing to do with SGU, but I haven’t done enough research into it to be sure. Unfortunately, that is out of my area of expertise. All I can tell you is that the scholarship category does exist and that it is a link-up between MEXT and JSPS.
The results for that scholarship category should also be out by the end of June (but as with everything else related to MEXT, may be late).
I’ve worked with many scholarship winners from Egypt in the past and they started their MEXT visa application process in mid to late July and had no problems arriving in Japan in time, so I wouldn’t worry about that.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey Travis 😄,
I recently applied for the Japanese mext scholarship in my country Zambia . However during my application process the doctor said it was not necessary to have my medical report typed so he filled it in by pen . Do you think that this can jeopardize my chances ?🤔😭
am worried because the report stated that it should be typed .
Hi Chipo,
The form says that you should fill it out in print or type in Japanese or English, so handwriting (print) should be fine. “Print” in this case refers to writing letters individually and clearly as opposed to “script”. (All capital letters is preferred, but that won’t hurt you if the doctor didn’t do that).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
With Your help, I managed to pass the first screening. I am motivated and ready for the exams, but I need some help in clarifying some stuff. Im an undergraduate student, applying for humanities. I did past exams from the MEXT site, and I scored 95%-100% in english, 25-30% in math. When it comes to Japanese, I only know katakana, hiragana and basic kenjis aswell as phrases for every day life ( such as asking for directions, greetings etc). After seeing the Japanese exams, I am afraid I could turn in a blank paper. My question is: What scores exactly are needed to pass? I read that in humanities, english and japanese is more important than math, Should I then study hard Japanese to get atleast 10% or should I ignore it and focus on math to get 50%? Will 100% from English and 50% from Math compensate for my blank test from Japanese? I really enjoy learning that language but I have hard time understanding the exams. Thanks for your time and help.
Malak.
Hi Malak,
Congratulations on passing the document screening!
Unfortunately, I do not know what the required passing scores are for the undergraduate exams. Perhaps someone else here with experience in the undergraduate application can comment with more information!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi, I am applying for Embassy recommended MEXT scholarship, my transcript of undergraduate degree does not include total and obtained marks, just grade, total cgpa and percentage, can you please tell me what should I write in marks obtained section in Mark sheet?
Thank you.
Hi Ifrah,
You need to submit some official documentation from your university that shows your performance in each of the courses you have taken, individually. Maybe that document is not called a transcript in your case. If you do not know what document is appropriate for your specific country and education system, I recommend that you contact the embassy for clarification. They should know your system better than I do.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi.
I am a Nigerian. Where do submit my MEXT application?
Thank you
Hi Adejoh Bank,
If you are applying for the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship, then you would submit it to the Japanese embassy in Nigeria.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Good day Mr. Travis.
My problem for the undergraduate form is the section for academic record.
After filling my primary education, lower secondary education and upper secondary education details, is it relevant for me to fill the section for tertiary education?
Hi Okpechi Anthony,
If you do not have any tertiary education, then you would not fill that in on the form. I think most applicants for the undergraduate scholarship would not have any tertiary education experience, so that would not put you at a disadvantage.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey Travis,
I’m looking to apply for the 2019 intake for MEXT scholarships. Being from the UK, my exams don’t finish until the end of May, which would mean that I would be unable to be in Japan for the 1st of April for the Preparatory Education. Does this mean I will have to wait until the 2020 intake? Unfortunately my Japanese is not good enough for direct placement!
Is there any way for me to go next year?
Thanks
Hi Jenson Hanna,
If you are applying for the 2019 intake, you can select a fall semester arrival, which would be after your exams, so you should still be eligible to apply!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis
Thanks for your time and information you’ve been sharing here to help people. I’m a Nigerian and want to apply for Masters. Pls I need a breakdown on how to get the fillable forms, I just got to know about this scholarship yesterday and the deadline is on the 8th of June. Thank you.
Hi Daniel, success ugochukwu,
You should get all of the forms from the website of the Japanese embassy in Nigeria.
Since they may have additional requirements or instructions, it is important that you get it from them directly.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi,
Thanks for the elaborate article. Just need to know that in case, where my university name is bigger than the space allocated in the typed format, what should I do? It doesn’t give me an option to go to next line and doesn’t let me complete it either. Should I print the form and hand write it? Note: Everything else is typed!
Hi Sahar,
In excel, you can change the font size or change a cell so that any overflow carries on to a second line. I recommend trying both of those to get the name to fit.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello!
For the graduate research programs, does one have to select a program under the Global 30 Project in order to receive the MEXT scholarship? Or can one apply to any university as long as other criteria like availability of a PI are fulfilled?
I’m terribly sorry if this question has been answered before.
Thanks in advance
Raagini
Hi Raagini,
You do not need to limit yourself to Global 30 programs. Any degree program at any university in Japan is available.
Unforatunately, I do not know what a PI is.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Your blog has an infinite wisdom, Thank you with all of my heart,
In the guidelines document, 10. ACQUISITION OF ADMISSION LETTERS, there is a contradiction here.
They say the applicants who have passed the First Screening shall directly contact the Japanese universities after Fri., August 24, and they also say August 25 or after is not permitted.
I need more elaboration on the deadline, how can we just have one day to request the issuance of admission letters?
Hi Fadi Bakoura,
I think you might have misread the guidelines, but the English wording is confusing. It says you must contact the universities “after the notification of the First Screening results by Fri., August 24 (Japan time).” (*Emphasis added) That means after the results of the Primary Screening but before (by) Aug 24.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello,
what if someone applies without no TOEFL AND IELST test’s scores.
Hi Aris,
You do not need TOEFL or IELTS to apply for the Embassy Recommended MEXT scholarship, but you might need them to get a Letter of Acceptance from a Japanese university and you would need them to apply for the University Recommended MEXT scholarship application, so I would recommend taking one of the tests.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey, Travis!
I am applying for MEXT embassy recommended scholarship for 2019 intake
Do I need to give the GRE exam for this? is it a necessity of is IELTS score enough ??
and if GRE is compulsory what is the right time to take the exam ?
thanking you
-Aishwarya
Hi Aishwarya,
The GRE is not required for the Embassy Recommended MEXT scholarship application, but some universities may ask you to submit GRE scores when you apply for an LoA or if you apply for the University Recommended MEXT scholarship. You’d have to check the individual university web pages for details.
If you find out that the GRE is required for your university, I recommend taking the test as soon as possible to make sure that you have your scores in time.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey Travis !!
I have an URGENT QUESTION
should I contact more than one professor from the same university……….. since the professor that I have sent the mail to hasn’t replied yet.
how long should one wait for a reply? (as I don’t wanna be rude)
And also one of the professors that I have mailed is an Adjunct Professor……..will that be a problem… I mean is it necessary to only have Professors/Associate Professors as a supervisor?
Hi Aishwarya,
Considering that you do not need to have a professor’s reply until after you pass the primary screening, it is not that urgent, so please don’t worry so much. You can list professors on your placement preference form even if they have not replied.
Typically, I would recommend that you wait a week before sending a reminder. I do not recommend contacting multiple professors from the same university unless one has already turned you down and you need an alternate.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis
Thanks for your extraordinary efforts
Regarding the recommendation letter from a dean or an advisor, According to Embassy of Japan in our country, we must submit 1 original recommendation letter and 2 copies. but my supervisor just puts one original in the envelope and closed the envelope. The problem is my advisor is overseas because I graduated from overseas university, so it is difficult to ask him again to send me another envelope by post. it takes so long time and the envelope might be delivered after the deadline.
What should I do in this case? Can I
Thank you
Hi Omar Yahya Al-shargi,
Thank you for your kind words!
For the letter of recommendation copies, my best advice is to call the embassy or consulate and ask them for guidance. In the past, I have heard different instructions given in different countries, so it’s best to see what they want.
The most common answer I have seen is that they will tell you to open the letter and make copies yourself, but some other countries will tell you just to turn in the single, sealed copy. In any case, you should not need to get extra copies from your Dean or Advisor.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis
Your blog really helped me through embassy recommendation application process.
I have completed my 16 years of education that is Msc(internationally equivalent to bachelors)so i applied for MS PROGRAM right?
In my country placemmet preference form is optional so i dont need to fill it.Is it effects my application and selection or not?
Secondly i have done thesis in my bachelors program but there was no any publication so what can.i write in thesis portion in application form just thesis title is ok?
Thirdly, i am little bit confused about my study plan in Japan will u please guide me to answer questioned in study plan like present field of study ?
I have not been involved in any study since 6 years and my thesis in bachelors is not too good.waiting for ur response
Thamks regards,
Sundas
Hi Sundas,
You had asked some of the same questions on another post and I answered them here.
For the Study Plan, I wrote a detailed article about how to complete that form last year that is still valid. You can find that article here.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I want to pursue PhD in Political Science. How to get University recommendations?
Where i can get the details of Professors and their contact address?
Apart from MEXT , how can JASSO be utilised for getting scholarships??
Hi Abhishek,
Here’s a link to my most recent article on How to Apply for the University Recommendation MEXT Scholarship and the article on How to Find Professors.
The JASSO scholarship is not awarded prior to enrollment, you can only apply for it if you have already enrolled in the university as a self-financed student. Each university’s application process in that situation would be different. Essentially, though, you would have to be one of the top international students to qualify for the scholarship!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi, Travis, I’m an Indonesian student and have found your blog very informative. I just have one simple question which I can’t seem to find any clear answer online. I am applying for the undergraduate SGU MEXT scholarship and I already got the university recommendation and they are preparing to apply me for the scholarship. I just can’t seem to find any details on the next steps and the announcement date for the scholarship.
I know your blog is mostly about the Graduate scholarships ( I still found it very helpful) but I’m just wondering at what time do they usually announce their scholarship. I just can’t seem to find any clear information out there.
Thank you very much
Hi Bondan,
While I specialize in the graduate scholarship, not the undergraduate scholarship, the Top Global Universities application process and timeline is the same for both, so I do have a little bit of information about that.
The final results from MEXT for the Top Global University scholarship slots are expected to be released in early August to the universities.
After that, if you are outside Japan, you will need to apply for a student visa at the Japanese embassy or consulate nearest your home in your home country (you will have to give this information to the university). There is a special application process for MEXT scholarship recipients.
Finally, you will have to purchase your ticket to fly to Japan! Unfortunately, for Top Global University scholarship recipients, MEXT does not cover the flight ticket.
I hope that helps!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
In Undergraduate application form, how specific should I answer ‘What academic field would you like to study in Japan?’ should I elaborate it to the most specific or just a branch of science (e.g biology) or more specific (e.g ecology, anatomy etc)?
Hi Fauzi Akbar,
I do not have any expertise in the undergraduate scholarship, so you may want to consult with other sources as well.
In the application guidelines, there are a list of the fields that you can choose, so I think you have to fill in the form with fields from that list! Please refer to the guidelines for more details.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Actually, There is two question related to that. The first is what academic field, the second is what major. the list of field is used to fill what major, but I dont know about academic field. below this academic field question, there are questions about impression about japan and future study plan, so I get the impression that this question is asked to measure character, passion, etc. But i realy dont know.
Hi Fauzi Akbar,
Sorry, I don’t have any expertise in the undergraduate scholarship yet and have never looked at the application form. I’m afraid your question is outside my area of expertise, but maybe someone else can offer an answer.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Good Day!
Thank you for all those useful advices! Can you tell when I can expect the final results this year after starting process in Tsukuba University?
I participate in Special Programm for Central Eurasia Students and my study will start in September, so official results day (november-december) useless for me.
Hi Vershinin Ignat,
Unfortunately, there is no information available about when individual universities will release their results. MEXT has said they will release results to the universities by the end of June, but they are routinely late, so early July would not be a surprise.
Typically, universities contact students shortly after they get the news from MEXT.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello!
In the Research Application document, on page 4, what do I need to write on question 12 Field of specialization studied in the past（Be as detailed and specific as possible.)?
Another question: what should be answered and how long should the answer be on the Placement Preference document the questions 5.1 (Field of Study in Japan) and 5.2 (Detailed field of study)?
Hi Felippe,
For the Field of Study in Japan, I recommend writing the name of the department and graduate school that you want to study in at your first choice university. For the Detailed Field of Study, write the specific research question that you plan to explore.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Felippe,
I’m working on an article now to go through this year’s application form step-by-step and answer each question, but in the meantime, I recommend that you refer to the article I wrote about the application form for the 2018 Embassy Recommendation MEXT scholarship, where I address that question.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks for the answer! Do you think it is necessary, in this field, to describe the major using something like 2 lines or not?
Hi Felipe,
There’s no specific length requirement. In general, one to two lines should be fine, but if you have done more research, then write long enough to get the message across. Rather than the field, you should be describing the particular areas of the field that you have done individual research in – I recommend focusing on the research that is related to what you want to study in Japan.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
Thank you so much for your support and help. Actually I would like to know if I’m eligible for the MEXT scholarship even if I don’t have any research experience or have not done any significant project till my third year in my bachelors engineering. I have a above decent cgpa of 8.48 out of 10. The thing is I love Japan and everything about it. That has been the motivation for me. But, obviously I will write my research proposal. So i wanted to ask, can I get the scholarship only on the basis of research proposal and my keen interest in Japan and it’s culture.
Thank you again.
Expecting your reply at the earliest.
Hi Shivam Vidhate,
Yes, you do not need to have research experience or significant projects on your resume to be eligible to apply!
A solid research proposal and good GPA, as well as a strategic and professional approach to the interview process should make your application go smoothly.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much for your reply!
I want to prepare myself for the English language test, what sources can I use?
Hi Fatma Emam,
Have you taken the practice tests? JASSO makes the old tests available at:
http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/en/toj/toj0302e-32.html#1
If you’ve taken those tests, then I recommend that you find textbooks or workbooks that focus on the areas that you have struggled with.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey! I’m currently doing my diploma in Software Engineering and I did some digging on doing my degree but I only saw Information Engineering that is most related. Are they the same or is my course not eligible?
Hi Low Yiyuan,
Yes, Software Engineering is a subset of Information Engineering in most programs I know of, so you should be fine!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks for the information. However, I just missed the application deadline for the year 2019. May I know when can I start applying for the year 2020?
Hi Low Yiyuan,
I’m sorry to hear that – that’s an early deadline in your country!
There will be a chance to apply for the University Recommendation MEXT scholarship for 2019 later this year, but unfortunately, the application timeline varies by university, so I can’t tell you exactly when it will begin.
The Embassy Recommendation application process usually begins in early to mid-April each year. If you’re subscribed to my mailing list, I send out an announcement as soon as I see that MEXT has released the application guidelines each year.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
hello Travis,
how are you
i want to ask you
do you know some one who has 2.7 out 3 based on the MEXT scale
get the university recommendation???
i thank there will be a lot of applicant who has 3 out of 3 ,,,,,,
i am asking about master degree
Hi Susan,
There are no separate categories for Master’s and PhD applicants. You would be competing against applicants for both degrees.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Susan,
GPA is not the only criteria. If your GPA is a little lower than others, you can still with the scholarship over someone with a higher GPA if your field of study and research program plan is stronger. Still, I think your chances would be better with the Embassy Recommendation, as they are for everyone, in general.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
hello sir i am applying for masters do i have to fill university preference?
Hi Sitesh Chaudhary,
Yes, you do! You need to fill in the universities and professors’ information in the Placement Preference Form.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis, thank you so much for all the info you put up.
I am right now preparing the documents for the extension of the MEXT scholarship so that after a few months of being a non-degree-seeking student, I can move towards a PhD program.
My question is: if a student fails to secure an extension, can she/he try again in the next round?
For example, if I am not awarded the 3-year extension for the PhD starting October, I would apply for the 3-year extension for a PhD starting April (if possible).
Thank you very much!
Regards,
Joan
Hi Joan,
Your scholarship extension would have to be effective in the same semester that you matriculate to the PhD program from research student status. If you were to advance to the PhD program but fail in your scholarship extension application, then I’m afraid that you would lose the scholarship at that point, since your existing scholarship only covered research student status.
On the other hand, if you don’t pass the entrance exam to advance from research student status to PhD, then in that case, my understanding is that you can keep trying to pass the entrance exam (and applying for the extension each time).
In practice, though, I have never seen a MEXT applicant fail to pass the entrance exam or not receive the extension when they moved from research student to degree student status, so you should be fine!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis
in MEXT embassy scholarship preference placement form. can i choose a M.Sc. program from a department and an adviser from another department?
i want to choose water engineering program in Civil Engineering department but professors with the same research interest are only in Chemical Engineering department or even in Chemical Science (not Engineering) department.
Thanks a lot
Hi Mohamed,
Your advisor has to be from the same department that you will be enrolled in. So, you would either have to change your department that you are applying to or choose a different advisor as your primary advisor and then try to collaborate with the professor in the other department on the side after you arrive.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
This is Anika Uddin Hridy,from Bangladesh.
I want to know one thing that is I have seen that from today we are able to do apply for MEXT 2019.
Here,I want to mention that,my husband is eager to apply,he is a graduate from IUT in the dept EEE,later on he has done a masters degree from a public university in business administration and now he is doing masters in Governance and development studies.
My question is where he will be able to have PhD on development studies or such related subjects?
He is willing to have PhD in these subjects, he has good IELTS score (7.5) and currently he is doing a govt job under Bangladesh govt,and such type of degree will enrich his career profile that’s why he is willing to do so.
Pls let me know about your answer. I will be waiting.
Hi AU Hridy,
If your husband will finish his masters in governance and development studies before coming to Japan to start the PhD program, then yes, he would be able to apply for a PhD in development studies.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, I cannot thank you enough for your help and assistance. I just would like to ask a question regarding MEXT scholarship undergraduate program. In the application form, there is a section about language ability. Do we have to take TOEFL or any assessment equivalent to TOEFL to prove that you are proficient in English? To be specific, is it a requirement to take an English proficiency exam. Thank you!
Hi Johnny,
You do not need to have a TOEFL score, etc., to apply for the Embassy Recommendation MEXT scholarship. Since you are applying for the undergraduate program, you should not need one at all. (Applicants for the graduate scholarship may be asked to show language proficiency test scores later in the application process).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello sir
I want to ask you
Is an online master acceptable to get mext scholarship for PHD ? If it is acceptable will the online degree be disadvantage for me in the selection process??
Thanks in advance
Hi Iman,
You are still eligible to apply for a PhD with a Master’s earned online or by distance education. The biggest “disadvantage” you will face is that all of the same requirements still apply to you – you are going to have to acquire a letter of recommendation from the university where you did your online degree as well as all of the other paperwork.
As to the degree being online rather than face-to-face, it’s only a disadvantage if you let it be one. If you have a strong justification for it, then you should have no problem.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis ~
I hope you are doing well.
First I would like to thank you for doing this, I really appreciate it.
I have a couple of a questions i hope you can help with.
My plan is to apply as a research student (non-degree) and then to extend it to a degree one (masters). I’m hoping to strengthen my Japanese during the research period in order to get into masters.
1- Do you think the 6 month Japanese language programs is enough to start conducting your research ?
2- Most of the departments that are close to my thesis topic are not English based programs, i feel like its perfect for what i want to do but i don’t want to put myself at risk of not being able to communicate with the professor. Do i have to pick an English based program if my Japanese level is low – intermediate ?
3- After getting accepted into a university to conduct my research in and then if i wanted to extend it to a degree program, do i have to enter the same university i conducted my research in as a non degree student ?
Thank you so much for your time.
Hi Njood,
Thank you for your kind words!
1. The 6-month Japanese language program is designed to get you up to speed to be able to hold basic daily-life conversations in Japanese, such as talking with your landlord or bank. It is not designed to improve your academic Japanese so that you can get into a Japanese-taught degree program.
2. The universities are going to decide your acceptance based on your Japanese level at the time that you apply. If your Japanese is not at least N2 level for STEM programs or N1 level for humanities/social sciences (each university will set its own standards, of course), you would have a very hard time getting into those programs, so I would recommend choosing a program taught in English.
3. In general, yes, you would have to extend at the same university unless there was some overwhelming reason why it was impossible for you to pursue your degree there (such as the professor retiring).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
That was very clear and helpful, thank you so much !
Hello Sir!
It is very first time or rather first scholarship I am intended to apply for and I am pleased to have found such an excellent blog. First of all I must acknowledge your effort, guidance and keen insight. Thankyou!!
Sir, I have number of questions to ask, Hope you’ll answer and make the procedure even easier for me to apply.
I am English Linguistics student and intended to do Masters in Applied Linguistics, so my questions are..
1. As English Linguistics is not one of ‘Priority Graduate Programs’, still I can apply for the scholarship?
2. I have no knowledge of Japanese Language but I have keen interest to learn it, so no knowledge of Japanese Language will affect the selection process?
3. What thing needs to be concentrated or done first ‘Embassy’s first screening test’ or ‘Contact the University’s Professor as Research Supervisor for LoA’?
4. For choosing University for Scholarship, the university should be public or private?
5. In ‘Placement Preference Application Form’ Is it fine to mention University name, and Professor name even before contacting them?
Thank you for your time and consideration!
Hi Elsa,
Thank you for your kind words!
1) You can apply in any field that is taught in a Japanese university, as long as you have the language ability to enter the program. It does not have to be a PGP (and for the Embassy Recommendation application process, PGPs don’t matter at all).
2) There is no requirement to have Japanese language proficiency unless you are applying for a program taught in Japanese. Having the willingness to learn is all that is required.
3) The first thing you need to do is to apply for the Embassy’s Primary Screening. You cannot officially ask for a Letter of Acceptance until after you pass the Primary Screening.
4) You can choose from any university that teaches your degree program in English, but you have a better chance of getting placed in your first-choice university if it is a National University.
5) Yes.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Sir,
My problem referred in the previous comment got solved as the website got updated yesterday.
I would like to ask about the English exam scores to be submitted to the universities. I have checked Kyoto university guidelines and they mentioned if the exams scores could not be submitted in time a letter to that effect can be submitted. Can u explain about that.
Thank you
Hi Shahma KP,
That would be up to the discretion of each individual university, so I cannot guarantee that every university would accept the same thing.
When we accepted alternate letters at the university I worked at, we would ask the head of your university’s English department to give you a one-on-one examination of your ability and write a letter that compared your ability to scores on the TOEFL test for each skill level.
I don’t think I’ve ever come across a higher requirement than that, so if you acquire that kind of letter, it should be fine. But please do refer to the individual university’s site.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis;
I am going to apply mext scholarship via embassy recommendation and I am little bit confused about non-regular (non-degree) course and master’s degree course. I could not understand the differences. I made a two-year timetable according to embasy’s announcement. I guess that allocated time is not enough for me. Maybe more than 2 years I will work. So, I do not know which option I may choose. Could you explain the differences between non-regular (non-degree) course and master’s degree course?
Best regards
Hi Cisem,
Typically, you would enroll in the non-degree program for up to 2 years before matriculating to the degree program. Once you are in the Master’s Program, you only have 2 years to complete your degree. If you think you need more time, I would recommend that you apply to start as a Research Student then move into the Master’s Degree Program later.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis;
I am little bit confused about Non-regular (Non-degree)course and Master’s degree course. What are the differences between them?
Thank you for your help
Hi Cise,
A Non-degree course does not result in a degree. You only take classes and do research, but you get no certification at the end. A Master’s degree course results in a Master’s degree at the end.
Typically, scholarship winners start as non-regular students for a semester then take the entrance exam and start the degree program.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
sir,
Thank you for the mail. I have been visiting the websites and trying to get updates. But the application form for MEXT 2019 for Indian students are not updated in the website. The site is http://www.in.emb-japan.go.jp/Education/japanese_government_scholarships.html. I called Japanese Embassy and they informed that the admission for Indian students is open for 2019. Can i fill the forms of 2018? I will be grateful if you reply.
Thankyou.
Hi Shahma KP,
It looks like the Indian Embassy has a preliminary application form at the link you sent that you would have to complete first.
I could not read the file, but all of the forms were titled “2019” so they look like they have been updated!
One you move on to the final forms, the application forms that I linked to in this article are from the official MEXT website, so I do not think there would be any problem if you used those.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis from Vietnam,
I would like to ask that when I write the Application Form for MEXT 2019, in the Name Section, because I am Vietnamese, so the “Native Language” section would be filled in by my name in Vietnamese. But the problem is the “Alphabet” section, I don’t know whether should I write my name in this section by Vietnamese or English. Please help me Travis!
Thank you so much.
Hi The Dang,
Your name in your “Native Language” would be in Vietnamese, but in the Alphabet line, you should use only Roman alphabet characters. If you look at the bottom of your passport, you will see your name written there in English characters surrounded by several < symbols. Write it that way in the form (but without the “<” symbols or other letters and numbers down there.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much Travis! 🙂
Hi Travis,
First I would like to thank for your help and guiding to the MEXT. I really appreciate your effort. I sent the questions to you through “contact me” already, but it seems I sent to the wrong place….sorry ^.^
I’m planning to apply a master degree via Embassy recommended for MEXT 2019.
Again my questions are:
– With the application form, what kind of form do I have to submit to the embassy ( soft or printed version)?
– About acceptance letter, do I have to fill the form and send to university or I have to send in original version from embassy without filling anything to university?
– And for abstract of theses, I have written it as book, but it wasn’t published. So, do I have to submit it along with my application form?
Thank you.
Hi Panha,
Sorry I did not get back to you on the contact form, yet. I have been getting too many questions there to be able to keep up in a timely fashion. Asking in the blog comments is always going to be faster.
– I have just published an article about how to apply for the Embassy Recommendation scholarship for 2019 that I think will answer your first question.
– You do not contact universities for letters of acceptance until after passing the embassy’s Primary Screening. But when you do, you would send them the blank Letter of Acceptance. They will fill it in. I have written more about that process in this article, but it looks like the deadlines have changed this year, so I will be updating that soon.
– An abstract is a 300 – 500 word summary. You do have to send the abstract. Don’t send the whole book!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi! Thanks for this wonderful blog, So helpfull.
I have a specific question: if, say, for personal reasons we have to go back to our country before the end of the scholarship (the research one), after 6 month or a year, are we expected to pay back MEXT? Thank you!
Sylvain
Hi Sylvain,
If you quit the scholarship for personal reasons, you do not have to pay back the money to MEXT.
I hope you don’t end up having to do that!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Neither do I, thank you for the information though!
S
Hello again!
I have another question that involves sorting documents for the application. It states I need to submit one original and one copy of everything.
Should these be sorted as both the original and copy together and labelled the same in one stack, or one stack of originals and one stack of copies? If it is the latter, I am assuming paperclips should be used?
Thanks again!
Also – The application states it needs one original sealed recommendation letter and one copy. Should I ask for both a sealed and unsealed letter from my recommender? I can’t copy it myself without breaking the seal on the envelope for the original. Thanks!
Hi Michael,
For the letter of recommendation, I would recommend that you double-check with the embassy/consulate for their guidance. I have heard multiple sets of instructions in the past. Some embassies have said to open it and make copies. Others have said to just submit the one original.
This year, the application guidelines themselves do not appear to require that the letter of recommendation is sealed. The sample template on MEXT’s website says that it should be, but you do not need to use that template and the instructions on that sample are from previous years when it was required to seal it.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Michael,
The guidelines call for one original and two copies of each document.
MEXT’s guidelines do not specify either way. I would recommend checking with your embassy/consulate to see if they have specific instructions, too.
If not, then I would recommend that you submit the original and two copies together. Number each original/copy and keep them together in the stack.
In my opinion, administratively, it is easier to take three documents together and separate them into three piles than it is to collect from three piles and shuffle them together.
Yes, I would recommend paperclips!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi I am BS Telecommunication. My cgpa is 2.87 out of 4.oo .Am i eligible for Mest Master scholarship 2019. Waiting for your positive response. Thank you
Hi Numan Khan,
Unfortunately, you can’t simply convert your cumulative GPA from one scale to the other. You have to convert your grades for the last two years on a course-by-course basis.
I talk about the conversion in my article about eligibility, so you can check there for more information, and will have GPA conversion charts and tools in my upcoming book to help make that process easier.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSez
Dear Travis
First of all thank you very much for all the support and information, it has been very useful.
I will be applying for 2019 MEXT scholarship (embassy recommended).
I wanted to ask one thing regarding LOR’s, I will be graduating in May 1st week, will it be ok if my LOR is dated in May ? or does it have to be a very recent one at the time of application. And shall i start contacting professors from now itself ?
kindly help me with this process.
Hoping to hear from you soon.
Hi Aishwarya,
A later dated in May should not be a problem! As long as your letter is original and refers to the 2019 MEXT Scholarship, that should be perfectly acceptable.
You can start contacting professors in Japan as soon as you like, but you cannot ask them for Letters of Acceptance until after your pass the Primary Screening. In the meantime, I recommend that you focus on building relationships and trying to figure out which professor would be best to supervise your research.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much for such a speedy reply.
I wanted to ask you……..,..(this might sound a bit silly) but can I use the same Letter of recommendation while applying for universities as well as for the MEXT scholarship process? ( i mean same LOR one for scholarship application and other for the university…..and will the university mind if LOR is dated in May 2018?)
And how many LOR’s are required?
And while writing an email to a professor shall I tell my research plan only or should I tell about my academic achievements…is it a good idea to attach a resume as well in the first mail?
Kindly help me with this.
Hoping to hear from you soon.
Thank you
Hi Aishwarya,
If you are talking about applying to universities for the Letter of Acceptance later in the MEXT scholarship application process, then yes. Actually, you would have to use the same documents that you submitted to the embassy for the primary screening.
If you are applying separately to the university as a self-financed student or for the University Recommendation MEXT scholarship application, then I do not recommend reusing the same letter. In that situation, they would look down on it being a copy and not specific to their university.
You only need one letter of recommendation from your university, plus one from your employer if you are working full time.
I do not recommend putting too much information into your first email. The longer it is, the harder it is for the professors to reply. You want to start a conversation and a relationship, not get everything done in one message. Express interest in the professor’s research and in working with them, give him or her an overview of what you want to research and how it would work with their own research, and ask if they would be able to supervise you in the future.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey Travis !
How should i build a relationship with any professor….. i mean what exactly should i include in the first mail so as to get a reply. I do have a good academic record and projects done in my UG.
And I wanted to ask you one more thing…the preliminary application form just came out a few days ago in my country…it says that we are supposed to “describe the research i wish to carry out in Japan” now since i would like to pursue masters in power electronics should i write regarding that and the projects that i have done or the ideas for projects that i would like to implement. And in the “present field of study” part should i include all projects and internships that i have done in that field or about my UG studies?
Applying from India.
Eagerly waiting for your reply.
Hi Aishwarya,
It is difficult to describe the best way to reach out to professors in such a small space as this. It is a subject for a whole article (or, indeed, for a chapter in one of my upcoming books). The basic rule of thumb is to be polite and respectful of the professor and his/her time and to write an email that is easy to reply to (short, to the point, invites a reply).
For your questions on the field of study and research plan form, I would recommend my detailed article on how to complete the Field of Study and Research Program Plan.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Good Day.
I’m a fresh graduate of Bachelor of Science in Biology from Philippines, I would like to ask if I can apply for the MEXT to pursue MS in Microbiology?
Thank you
Hi Rocel,
Yes. In general, any field of study is available as long as you can find a program in Japan that teaches it.
The Japanese embassy in your country may impose additional limitations on the field of study, though, so I would recommend that you contact them to see if there are any restrictions.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey there! I am applying for the embassy scholarship. I already have a university and a supervisor who said they will accept me. Should I mention this somewhere on my application documents or will it improve my chances? I know it may hurt applying to other universities, but if it guarantees passing the interview stage it may be worth it. Applying from the US. Thanks!
Hi Michael,
Yes, having a connection with a professor in Japan who is willing to supervise you will provide an advantage, especially during the interview process. You will certainly want to bring it up then!
In the mean time, the best place to list that would be in the Placement Preference Form. There’s a specific table to list what universities and professors you want to study with.
You could also refer to your research interest with the professor in the Field of Study and Research Program Plan, but that gets a little risky, because you’d be sending that plan to every university in Japan that you apply to for a Letter of Recommendation.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey Travis,
Thanks so much for your help. I love this website!! Thanks for helping all of us so much 🙂
I have one more question, I read somewhere that chances are lower to get the mext if you are in Japan when they make the decision?
In my case, I have a work visa valid until the end of this year and I got the university recommendation. I wrote in the documents that I would go back to my home country in July 2018. I really don’t want to mess this up since I have gotten so far. Do you think it would be better to go home now? Like in may? Cancelling my visa is a little risky, but if it helps with the mext, I would do it.
Best regards,
Anna
Hi Anna,
Thank you for your kind words!
If you have already been nominated by the university to MEXT – congratulations! – then you have passed the point where “chances” matter. Your scholarship award is all-but guaranteed at this point! MEXT is only double-checking the university’s work.
There is no part of the scholarship application process where chances are lower if you are in Japan. If you are living in Japan, there are certain criteria you have to meet – like leaving the country and giving up your residence status before the scholarship starts so that you can return as a Student – but you’ve met those by committing to leave in July, so you should have no problem.
At this point, I do think you need to change anything!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi,I m Afra from bangladesh…I’ve a question for undergrad. candidates is it possible to sent the documents direct to university?If i apply under embassy it’ll be a little tough for me that;s why am asking
Thank u
Hi Afra Anan,
For the undergraduate scholarship, in general you can only apply for Embassy Recommendation. As of the 2018 application cycle, there were only 7 programs in Japan that you could apply directly to as an undergraduate scholar. You can find them on page 3 of the document below:
http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/ryugaku/boshu/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2017/12/01/1398647_1.pdf
For all other programs, you can only apply via the Embassy.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey Travis, thanks for all the great information!
I just have one question about the letter of recommendation when applying through the embassy/consulate. In the previous guidelines, it states that a recommendation is required from the president/dean or advisor of the last university attended. I graduated from my university about 5 years ago and I am certain that my previous advisor is no longer in the department. I am unsure how to go about getting a recommendation from the president/dean. The professor that I worked with most extensively throughout my time at the university is no longer at the university either, but I still maintain contact with this professor.
Is it alright to have this professor write a letter of recommendation for me to submit to the consulate with my application? Or is it absolutely necessary for me to get a signed recommendation from the president/dean?
If you could clear this up for me I would greatly appreciate it!
Hi Andrew,
In cases like yours, it should be acceptable to have your former advisor write your letter of recommendation. The professor should explain that he or she was your academic advisor during your studies and that he or she has continued to stay in touch with you and monitor your progress since. I recall accepting letters like that in the past.
I would double-check with the Embassy once they open the official application process, but you should be fine.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis
Me too am interested about MEXT scholarship but for undergraduated student! And if possible send me application form for that
Hi Kelly,
Unfortunately, I do not have a sample application form for the undergraduate scholarship yet.
I have focused on creating resources for the graduate scholarship, so most of what you will find on this page is about that. I may create some resources and specific articles about the undergraduate scholarship at a later date, but I already have my writing schedule set for the next several months, so I’m afraid it will not be in time for this year’s application schedule.
I recommend that you consult with the local Japanese embassy or consulate about the application process.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear sir,
thank you so much for this informative content.
I have an urgent question which I cannot find a clear answer to, so I’m hoping you could maybe help me out. I received the great news that Keio University will sponsor my MEXT, but I stumbled upon this paragraph:
[5] If an applicant is, in principle, currently enrolled in a Japanese university or other type of school with the resident status of “College Student,” or will be enrolled in a Japanese university, etc. as another source or self-financed international student between the time of application for this scholarship in his/her country and the time the scholarship period is due to begin. This does not apply to current self-financed international students at Japanese universities who will complete their courses of study and return to their countries before the end of the current fiscal year;
I have a Japanese work visa and I was about to enter Osaka school of music, a 専門学校
in principle, my plan was to enroll at OSM and then return home in July, give up my current “college student visa” in order to re-apply for it with the MEXT. Now I’m not sure if I can do that any more but I have to make a super quick decision since the program is about to start.
Thank you so much in advance!
oh I just wanted to add: the above paragraph is one of the conditions which make you NOT eligible
Hi Anna,
Based on that criteria, you would not be able to enroll at OSM between the time you apply for the scholarship and when the award starts.
If you enroll at OSM before submitting your MEXT scholarship application and you are enrolled in a program that has an end date before July of the year your scholarship would start, that could work. But enrolling in a program after submitting your application or enrolling in a program that does not have a completion date before July of the year your scholarship starts (even if you intend to drop out then) would make you ineligible.
Auditing individual courses while on a work visa shouldn’t be a problem.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello there Travis,
I believe your guides are very helpful to those who would want to do their masters in Natural Science or Liberal Arts. The thing is, I am very interested in applying for Masters in Fine Arts in Japan. But it’s really hard for me to answer my research theme after arrival in Japan and Study/Research Proposal questions. As far I know Masters in Fine Arts is a practice-based degree that are highly involved with creative work projects and performances. Which will accompany more on advanced piece of work and creative projects in the final year. There’s not much of a thesis or research to think about. I have prepared portfolios and my projecrs for the interviews. But how do I fill those questions based on Masters in Fine Arts? Do I still have to follow your examples above and prepare a research thesis even if I won’t be doing it at all? Or is there other ways to write it?
Hi Nazu,
Even as a fine arts scholar, you are going to be going through the same application process as everyone else and your reviewers may not necessarily be experts in your field, so it would be to your advantage to write your plan in a way that looks familiar and is easy to understand to them.
I am also not an expert in fine arts, so my understanding is limited, but I assume that you will need to practice and master new techniques and produce works to demonstrate your mastery. You will also have to understand the meaning behind certain elements of the work, right? Understanding, mastering, and applying techniques would be your research and production. Your works will be your thesis. Try to think about it that way and write the plan in a similar pattern to what I described the Field of Study and Research Program Plan article.
If you want an example of how a past fine arts student wrote his Field of Study and Research Program Plan, and completed his entire application process, check out Lars Martinson’s excellent blog!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello sir! thanks soo much for the great job your doing may god bless you .ı would like to know when i will be asked to submit in my trans cript and other documents like passport copıes and birth certificate .because i saw the appication form its not asking for the them yet
thanks!
Hi Isaac,
I’m not sure what application process you’re applying for, but I’m guessing that you’re looking at applying for the Embassy Recommendation?
MEXT has not released the application guidelines yet for this year, so the official application process has not yet started. Some embassies may be running a pre-screening process for applicants. In that case, they could ask for a separate set of documents and then only ask for the full set once the formal screening starts.
Typically, the Embassy Recommendation application process starts with the guidelines release in April, so it should be soon!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis
First at all, I thank you so much because recently, I have learnt many things from your useful posts of your blog about the MEXT Scholarship (I didn’t know that there are two ways to apply to it)
I have been reading your posts and the information on the Japan Embassy’s website in my country (I’m from Colombia), and in that page, one of the requirements about health, says:
“Candidates must be well enough physically and psychologically to carry out their studies in Japan.”
After reading that, I think it is ambiguous, because it says nothing about the candidates that could suffer from any serious disease (like Cancer) who are also being treated and have that health condition under control. They deal with it succesfully and that allows them to live a normal life with certain restrictions. For that reason, I would like to know if a person like that could be an eligible candidate for the scholarship? That doubt came to my mind because I’m one of them. Let me explain that to you.
In the second half of last year I was diagnosed that I suffer Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, and since that time I have undergone a treatment for this disease which has resulted in a great improvement of my health. Currently, my health condition is stable, however, I must continue with the treatment that entails medicines use, tests samples taking and medical controls attendance with rheumatology and nephrology specialists, mainly. In addition, I have a specific diet and have to be careful with prolonged exposure to sunlight.
My question is if my current condition is an impediment to be eligible for the scholarship.
Hi Jhon Fredy Pardo,
Thank you for writing in and sharing your concern!
The requirement sounds vague, but ultimately, either the Embassy or the University will ask you submit a Certificate of Health completed by a doctor. That certificate includes multiple test results you have to submit and, at the end, there is a check box for the doctor to certify that he or she believes that you are physically and psychologically fit to carry out your studies in Japan. If the doctor checks that box, then you meet the eligibility requirement.
Of course, you would have to work with that doctor ahead of time to plan for how you will continue your treatment in Japan and you will also need to go through the procedures to import medications to Japan, but that would not make you unfit. As long as the doctor is comfortable with your plan, then you should be fine.
Personally, I would recommend that you consider limiting your application to universities in large cities where there are more likely to be hospitals with English-speaking medical staff, if you need ongoing treatment. English ability is not widespread in the medical profession in rural areas.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you for the information, I have another doubt, Does the embassy or University give the certificate of healt’s template ?
Hi Jhon Fredy Pardo,
The embassies typically uses MEXT’s template and universities sometimes use it too.
Here’s a direct download link to the excel form from MEXT’s website for the 2018 application cycle, if you want to check it out in advance:
http://www.mext.go.jp/component/a_menu/education/detail/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2017/04/21/1384499_06.xlsx
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I am Duygu, I have written to you before about the field of study. This time I would like to ask you something different. I will be applying through Embassy Recommended Mext.
I have been through many universities for my field of study and I managed to narrow down to 6 universities. As I read your articles, I decided to contact the professors, not for Mext directly but to learn if my research idea is on the same page with the professor or if s(he) is interested. During the professor research, I hit a wall. I can’t find e-mail addresses of professors and in some universities, I can’t even find the names of the professors. Before you ask, I checked both English and Japanese pages of the same websites. I have managed to find professors name for 4 universities but I can’t find the professors or lecturers’ names in the department in 2 universities. On a side note, I could only find 2 professors’ ( from different universities ) articles to check their works ( articles, reviews, etc.) if they are the one I am looking.
I would like to know if it is a good idea to ask to the administrative offices for the e-mail addresses. I don’t wanna spoil anything with one e-mail before it doesn’t start.
Thank you for your time,
Kind Regards,
Duygu
Hi Again Dugyu,
Of course I remember you!
I’m surprised the universities wouldn’t have their professors’ names, at least, listed. If you can’t find them on the website, I’d recommend that you try to get a hold of the promotional materials for the graduate school you are interested in. Almost every recruiting pamphlet I have ever seen lists the names of the faculty members.
If the university has an online syllabus, you might be able to find names there, too, based on who is teaching the courses.
If that still fails, and you are willing to tell me the names of the universities, I can try to take a look.
Contacting the administrative offices is not a bad idea, if you have the names of the professors. But I would not recommend that you ask for the professors’ email addresses directly. Instead, explain that you are trying to get in touch with the professor and ask if the office will forward a message for you. If the professor writes back, then you have the contact info you need!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you for your quick answer. Like you suggested I tried to check syllabuses and found some names. The ones I couldn’t find, I will wait for the Mext application announcement’s time as they may put it for international students.
If you don’t mind I have one more question. As you know there is a school search list in excel format on Jasso website, if a school or a department is not listed on that list, can’t we apply to that school or department?
Thank you again,
Have a great day,
Duygu
Hi Dugyu,
The JASSO list should be fairly complete for programs taught in English, though it could be out of date. If you find a degree program in English that is not on that list, of course it would be OK to apply there.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis. Thank you so much for this blog! I’m in the middle of writing my application (embassy-recommended, applying this year) and reading this has been so helpful, but I do have a few questions.
Info: I want to study traditional Japanese painting. I have a background in art (academic and personal), and am currently finishing an undergraduate degree in Japanese language and culture and writing a thesis on the depiction of reality in Japanese arts.
Here are my questions, numbered for convenience:
1. Do you think there is any problem with me applying for Japanese painting Master’s if I’ve never studied it before? Since the universities do accept MEXT students I don’t see why it would not be possible and I doubt anyone has experience in it if they’re from outside Japan…
2. I have already been a MEXT scholar (last year) as part of the Japanese studies scholarship. Do you think this might detract or aid my application?
3. I’m a bit concerned about my research plan. I have all the bits together (what I want to study, why in Japan, why it’s important, timetable, etc.), but, since I want to enter the Master’s program and the main part of the Master’s program is creating artworks, how am I even supposed to title my research theme? (As far as I understand it, writing a thesis is optional, artworks are the main thesis in the programmes I’ve been looking at). I’m currently planning on making the theme the extension of my undergraduate thesis. Do you have any advice concerning this? Also, do you think the guy who did calligraphy research made a good proposal? (I’ve read his blog too and I’ve seen that you mentioned it too).
4. Considering the nature of my study plan, do you think it’s necessary to contact professors? (One university I’m applying to has no info about it, one says it is advised to write a name of the professor you want to supervise you but says nothing about contact, and one says to describe reasons for choosing a professor, but says it’s not necessary to contact them). Personally, it seems very daunting and I would rather skip it and contact them after I pass the embassy examination or even after getting the LOA… I can’t pick them based on research, since they are all painters…my reason for choosing one of them as an advisor would be purely based on their artwork, so I don’t see a point in contacting them beforehand.
5. Art universities have entrance exams in January/February. Is it possible to be a research student for a year and a half (almost two if arriving in April) and then take the entrance exam and prolong the scholarship for the duration of the Master’s? I’m asking because I feel that it might take me longer than one year to learn about Japanese painting techniques (since I’ve never used them before) before applying for Master’s, and would therefore need to write my timetable accordingly…(basically I’m asking if it’s possible for it to be 2+2 years instead of 1+2).
I’m sorry for asking a lot of questions. This is a bit of a special case and I really have no idea who to ask! I’m also planning on sending an email to the universities to ask them some general things, but I wanted to check here too…Thank you so much in advance!
Hi Kii,
You referenced Lars Martinson and his excellent blog in the middle of your questions. I would suggest that you read carefully through the steps he took and why he took them, as I think it could be especially helpful in your situation. His approach was clearly a good one: it succeeded.
Please keep in mind that I have zero expertise or knowledge of your field and take my comments with a grain of salt if I’m off in terms of your field.
1. For any field of study, you need to relate it to your previous studies for MEXT’s purposes. You’d also need to have a strong enough/similar enough background to satisfy your desired preofessors’ qualifications. I don’t know enough about painting to know what that might be.
2. Being a MEXT Japanese Studies Scholar all by itself will not help or hurt you – it’s how you present and sell that experience in your application process that matters. It is certainly something you can leverage, especially when it comes to the interview.
3. Here is where I think you would be best served by referring to Lars’ experience. His program was in art as well and he focused on learning techniques and how to apply them in creating his work, if I remember correctly. If your final project for your Master’s degree would be artwork, then you would need to explain how you will build up the background and techniques to create your portfolio, instead of how you would research academic sources to write a thesis. The basic pattern would be similar, though.
4. Yes, I absolutely think it is necessary to contact your prospective advisors in advance. (Again, refer to Lars’ experience). If you’re training under a master in acquiring a specific artistic skill, you are going to have a much closer relationship with your advisor than you would if you were studying art history, instead, for example. Beyond the requirements of the MEXT scholarship, this is someone you are going to spend the next 2-4 years in close proximity to. It is a good idea to make sure you get along!
At this point, though, you should not be talking to them about the MEXT scholarship or LOA, just trying to build a relationship as a student who is interested in studying under them.
5. If you arrive in April, the maximum amount of time you can be a research student is 2 years. If you arrive in the fall (September or October) it is 1.5 years. So, yes, your plan would work!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much for your reply and advice! I’m really apprehensive about contacting professors but I’ll do my best. I have a few follow up questions if that’s okay.
You say I shouldn’t be talking to professors about the scholarship or LOA but what should I say? Something vague like “I would like to study at your university and research [this and this]” and ask if they would be interested in supervising me? (I know it’s not as simple as that, but just as a general point 🙂 ) I will make sure to read the rest of this site for more info too.
And last question! I feel pretty confident about being able to write PART of my proposal in Japanese (for example, the research approach and the timeline is no problem at all, I already wrote most of it in Japanese) but the other parts, where I explain my research theme and research goals might be a little too academic for my Japanese writing skills. I’m confident I’ll be okay taking classes in Japanese and communicating with professors, but I feel that writing the application in English might be better.. what do you think? Does the application have to be in Japanese if the university has all-Japanese classes?
Again, thank you so much. You’re so kind to share all this knowledge with us. I’m sorry about asking so many questions.
Hi Kii,
It’s my pleasure to help, as much as I can.
When contacting professors, you’re not only telling them that you wan to study at that university, you’d be approaching them to express specific interest in their work and in studying under that specific professor. You should certainly make it clear that you are familiar with your work and give specific reasons why you want to study/practice under them. I hope that makes sense.
If you are applying for a program taught in Japanese, then in general, your entire Field of Study and Research Program Plan should be in Japanese, as well. If you’re not confident, then get someone to proofread it and edit it afterward. But it is likely that some of your classes in Japan will require you to write papers in Japanese, as well, which will certainly be academic and longer than this one, so you’ll have to get comfortable with it at some point. Better to start early!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis;
Thank you for this blog, because it helps me very much. I would like to apply MEXT via embassy recommendation. My question is about placement preference form for japanese government (monbukagakusho:mext) scholarship. I wanted to make a contact with professors, but some of them rejected me and some haven’t turn me back. I guess I have to write three universities, but I have no clue which way I have best chance to get acceptance letter from universities after primary screening. If I get acceptance letter from universities which had not written on the form, could I change them after primary screening?
Hi Cise,
Ultimately, it is up to the embassy in your country to decide whether or not you are allowed to change the universities on your Placement Preference Form after you receive your LoAs. In every case I have heard of, it is permitted!
In the meantime, I would recommend that you keep trying to connect with professors. You should not be asking them about the MEXT scholarship or letters of acceptance at this point, just trying to build a relationship and mutual interest so that you can ask later.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I will be 35 in January 2019. As the age eligibility requirements for MEXT scholarships shifts by one year,does this make me ineligible to apply for the university and embassy recommendation routes in 2019? Please correct me if I am wrong but my understanding is that students for the university recommendation route pick up scholarships the same year they apply(so applications made in January 2018 mature in October of the same year) ,while embassy recommendations go into mature following year( applications in Ghana in April 2018 as is the case, mature in April or October 2019). So therefore, does the age limit apply to both embassy and university recommendation routes?
Secondly, I have checked with some* universities and I realize that deadlines for university recommendation routes for MEXT scholarships have elapsed. Although I am still looking out, do you know of any universities in Japan which have deadlines for the university recommendation route still running?
Thank you very much
Hi Benedict,
For the scholarship beginning in 2018, the requirement was that you must have been born on or after April 2, 1983. So, if you apply for the scholarship starting in 2019, the requirement will be that you were born on or after April 2, 1984.
If you turn 35 in January 2019, that would mean that you were born in January 1984, so you would unfortunately not be eligible. The age requirement does apply to all application methods.
The deadlines for all universities for the 2018 scholarship have already passed. Universities need to complete their selection process and inform the results to MEXT by the middle of this month, so there is no possibility that they would still be accepting applications at this point.
I’m sorry I don’t have better news for you.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I need some help about MEXT application.
There’s a requirement grade point 2.30/3.00 or above.
I searched for some calculation method and got it.
However, I still have a question that the calculated credits are from only last 2 years or not.
For example, I took 4 years Bachelor’s degree, so the calculated credits should be at my 3rd and 4th year, aren’t they?
And… How could I show the evidence after finish calculation?
They mentioned that a transcript couldn’t define the grade points as MEXT needs.
Please kindly clarify, Thank you so much.
Hi Karn,
The calculated grades are from the last two years of grades shown on your transcript, except in some specific cases, such as transfer students, moving from undergraduate to graduate in the last two years, etc.
In your situation, as long as you have finished your 3rd and 4th year and those grades are on your transcript, then those would be the years used for the calculation.
MEXT/the embassy/the university will calculate the grades themselves. They do not ask you to calculate it and will not accept your calculation. That’s just for your own reference.
In order for them to make the calculation, your transcript will need to show the grading scale or system. In most cases, this is shown on the transcript, either on the front or back. However, if it is not, you would need a separate document issued by your university that shows the system.
I have another article that covers the grading conversion on more detail at: http://www.transenzjapan.com/blog/mext-scholarship-eligibility/
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis!
According to MEXT UG application form one has to mention their academic performance from elementary to higer education.
Do I need to submit all Marksheet from elementary to higher education or just secondary and higher education?