What if you could get paid to spend the next five years pursuing your Master’s or PhD?
- 143,000 – 148,000 yen per month stipend
- Zero tuition
- Round-trip ticket to Japan
(Figures accurate as of the 2014 scholarship period. See the MEXT homepage in Japanese for more details)
This is the Japanese Government Monbukagakusho Scholarship (MEXT Scholarship). As of 2014, there were 8,351 international students in Japan studying on the MEXT scholarship at all levels. By comparison, there were over 139,185 total international students in universities in Japan that year. It is extremely competitive, but there are ways that you can distinguish yourself from the crowd and increase your chances dramatically.
University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship: Research Students
This guide is for the University-recommended Monbukagakusho or MEXT scholarship. If you’re looking for the Embassy-recommended MEXT scholarship, please see my guide to selecting a Japanese University. You may also want to read through the section on the “Field of Study and Study Plan” in this series, as well.
There are several levels of MEXT scholarships, from undergraduate degrees and short-term Japanese language and culture study, to graduate studies. This series covers the latter category. It is for students who want to pursue a Master’s Degree or PhD in Japan and is primarily for students who want to do so in English. Most of the information on the scholarship is written only in Japanese, so my purpose here is to make it available to everyone.
Types of MEXT Research Student Scholarships
- General Category
- Available at almost any university in Japan to any applicant (except applicants from Taiwan). This category offers the most options and is the most competitive. However, for most applicants this is the only category you will be eligible to apply for.
- Priority Graduate Programs (PGP)
- There are a limited number of PGP programs approved by MEXT and each is approved for a 3-year period, only. Each PGP program has very specific criteria, including a specific field of study, scholarship slots per degree level, and in some cases nationality of applicant and/or program language.
- SATREPS and e-Asia Categories
- Both of these categories are administered by the Japan Science and Technology Agency and all applicants are related to ongoing projects and pre-screened by that agency. You can not apply for these categories outright.
That leaves us with General and PGP categories. However, for you, the applicant, the primary difference between these two categories comes in the selecting a university step. All the other strategies and instructions in this series of articles apply to all applications.
Scholarship Slot Availability
There are three kinds of slots we are concerned about: General Category, Top Global University Scholarship Slots, and PGP. I’m going to cover the PGP scholarships later, because it’s a very limited-eligibility category, and involves a lot of guesswork.
In the former two cases, it’s easy to get a rough estimate of the number of spaces available at any university.
General Category
The number of slots available dropped in 2016. The new numbers can be found here. The table below is no longer accurate as of 2016.
The number of scholarship slots per university is related to the number of international graduate students enrolled there as of the preceding year, based on the following table:
International Graduate Students | Scholarship Slots |
---|---|
0 – 25 | 1 |
26 – 300 | 2 |
301 – 700 | 3 |
701 – 900 | 4 |
901 – 1300 | 5 |
1301 – 1700 | 6 |
1701 – 1900 | 7 |
1901+ | 8 |
(Source: Notes for the 2015 University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship, accessed 9 Sept 2015)
Keep in mind that all numbers are subject to change. But the table above, at least, has been pretty consistent for a while.
JASSO publishes an annual list of the top 20 universities in Japan for accepting international students in English, but this list includes both undergraduate and graduate students, so I’ve gone through each university’s website from the list, as well as all of the “Top Global University” schools and looked up the number of graduate students- please see the table below.
Top Global University Project Slots
Update (Oct 2016): Based on further research into the Top Global University scholarship slots, it appears the original information in this article was only partially correct. It now appears that these slots are for MEXT Domestic Selection students and that the maximum number is the number of awardees enrolled at the university. I am sincerely sorry for the earlier error and will be following up with more information as soon as available.
MEXT Slots by University, 2016 (Unofficial)
Note: This chart has been updated to reflect the 2016 slot decrease.
University Name | International Graduate Students | Slots |
---|---|---|
The University of Tokyo | 2273 | 7 |
Waseda University | 2200 | 7 |
Kyushu University | 1830 | 7 |
Kyoto University | 1342 | 5 |
Osaka University | 1127 | 5 |
University of Tsukuba | 1207 | 5 |
Nagoya University | < 1300 | 5 |
Tohoku University | 1068 | 5 |
Hokkaido University | 1065 | 5 |
Hiroshima Univerisity | 996 | 4 |
Tokyo Institute of Technology | 879 | 4 |
Ritsumeikan University | 524 | 3 |
Keio University | 570 | 3 |
Chiba University | 641 | 3 |
Kanazawa University | 483 | 3 |
Meiji University | 352 | 2 |
Sophia University | 387 | 2 |
Toyo University | <353 | 2 |
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies | 218 | 2 |
Kumamoto University | 288 | 2 |
Hosei University | 271 | 2 |
International University of Japan | 281 | 2 |
Tokyo Medical and Dental University | 172 | 1 |
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University | 174 | 1 |
Tokyo University of the Arts | 139 | 1 |
Toyohashi University of Technology | <100 | 1 |
Kyoto Institute of Technology | 112 | 1 |
Nara Institute of Science and Technology | 192 | 1 |
Okayama University | 104 | 1 |
Nagaoka University of Technology | 184 | 1 |
International Christian University | 74 | 1 |
Shibaura Institute of Technology | 73 | 1 |
Soka University | <100 | 1 |
Kwansei Gakuin University | 124 | 1 |
Akita International University | <25 | 1 |
University of Aizu | <25 | 1 |
Kobe University | 1057 | 5 |
Hitotsubashi University | 468 | 3 |
Kansai University | 330 | 3 |
Doshisha University | 347 | 2 |
Nihon University | 204 | 2 |
Chuo University | 211 | 2 |
Yokohama National University | 203 | 2 |
Rikkyo University | 245 | 2 |
Osaka Sangyo University | 111 | 1 |
Takushoku University | <100 | 1 |
Josai International University | 38 | 1 |
Meikai Univerisity | 55 | 1 |
Japan University of Economics | <20 | 1 |
Tokyo International University | <25 | 1 |
International student figures are drawn from universities’ websites, but should not be considered official. Where universities do not publish specific enough information, imprecise figures are given above, as marked by < symbols.
Scholarship Slots per Graduate School
You may already be thinking that there are not many slots available, even if universities use their two extra university-funded travel slots. But the truth is, you’re competing for an even smaller number. That total number of University-Recommended MEXT scholarship slots gets divided among the graduate schools at the university.
Each graduate school evaluates applications separately based on its own criteria, and there’s no objective way to compare an applicant for a Master’s in Japanese applied linguistics with a PhD in Information Systems. So, universities have to divide their slots up among the graduate schools in advance.
This being Japan, they also need to do it in a way that could be considered fair and unbiased and, most importantly, immune to complaints and challenges. One way to do that is to assign the slots in order of the graduate schools with the most international students currently enrolled. After all, they’re the reason the university got so many slots.
So, hypothetically, first the graduate school with the most international students gets one slot, then the school with the second highest number, etc. If there aren’t enough to distribute one scholarship to each graduate school, then you could even see schools grouped to compete for one aggregate sot.
What this means to you is that you’re gong to have to be at the absolute top of your game to get this scholarship.
Of course, that’s the reason I’m writing these articles: to help you become that scholarship recipient.
Want to know more?
My ebook, How to Apply for the MEXT Scholarship has updated information on slot availability and competition levels, plus details on the application timeline, eligibility criteria, how to develop a successful applicant mindset, and how to craft your application strategy for the greatest chance of success!
Questions?
Before asking any questions in the comments below, please read through the MEXT Scholarship Application FAQ top page and specific FAQ pages to see what I’ve answered already and to find tips about how to get your questions answered faster.
You can ask your questions in the comments here, on the FAQ page, or by email and I will answer them by updating the FAQ and letting you know when the answers are available.
I’d also recommend signing up for my mailing list to get notified whenever I have updates to any of the FAQs or new articles about the MEXT scholarship!
Ads by Google:
Hi Travis,
Firstly, I want to say a big “thank you” for your wonderful website. Your websites resources made the otherwise daunting Monbukagakusho application process more palatable.
I was notified today by my prospective professor that I have been nominated by Tohoku University as a scholarship student to MEXT.
I can’t wait for the final confirmation in May!
Congratulations!
Hello Transzen,
I’m planning to apply for MEXT Scholarhsip – University recommendation this year but I have a few questions:
– Can I apply to both General category and PGP program in the same academic year? I’ve read some universities’ websites and only some have guidance on how to apply to university-recommendation channel; most would advise me to apply to the Embassy. E.g: Sophia University has the Top Global University MEXT, Waseda has the PGP MEXT – university recommended while Ritsumeikan only has the guidelines for MEXT-university recommendation. I wonder if I could apply to Sophia’s Top Global Uni MEXT and Ritsumeikan’s University recommendation/General Category at the same time (I checked the funding is different for these category).
– Some universities like Ritsumeikan waive IELTS test if applicants already conduct bachelor degrees in English, will I need to submit the certificate to MEXT program in the application for MEXT (along with the University application)
I really hope to receive your reply.
Thank you very much in advance.
Hi Thu,
You can only apply to one university per year for the University-recommended scholarship, regardless of general or PGP category. It doesn’t matter if the funding is different.
However, you can apply for the Embassy-recommended and University-recommended MEXT in the same year. As far as I know, you can also apply for the University-recommended and Top Global University MEXT in the same year because the TGU category technically counts as Domestic Selection MEXT, which is a different category.
Your general guideline should be to never have two active applications at the same time, if you can avoid it! If one application releases results before the next one accepts applications, then you’re fine.
I think Ritsumeikan only waives IELTS, etc., if you earned your bachelor’s degree in a country where the only official language is English (e.g. USA, UK, Australia, NZ, Canada). In the past I know they would not waive it for students from Bangladesh, India, or countries in Africa, even if the official language of education is English. I’d recommend double-checking in advance for your country.
You do not submit proof of English ability (or anything else) directly to MEXT. You just have to satisfy the university’s language requirement so they can certify to MEXT that you have sufficient ability to complete your degree.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Transenz,
Thank you very much for creating a wonderful website for us. God bless you!
I have a question that really bothers my mind several times because I kept on searching it in Google, but still, no results found…
1. For example, if an applicant gets the MEXT Scholarship, there should be a grade criteria in order to sustain the scholarship from MEXT, am I right Sir? In this case, what is the grade I have to maintain? Do I need to have a passing grade or a grade like A+,A, and B?
2. If there is a maintaining grade requirement, if an applicant exerts an effort every semester like he/she has always a grade of A+ or A, will he/she receive a recognition or awards for his excellent efforts of gaining these grades with hardwork? (Like Cum Laude, Honors, Dean’s List). I came across Ritsumeikan University’s website but still haven’t successfully found any info about this. In my opinion, gaining these awards, like, (Like Cum Laude, Honors, Dean’s List), at the end of every semester motivates the student to study harder and strive harder.
Thank you very much for your help always Sir.
Regards,
Kindg
Hi Kindg,
I’m glad you’ve found the site helpful!
1. MEXT’s rules state that if you become unable to graduate from your degree program within the designated time because of poor grades or taking a leave of absence, your scholarship will be cancelled. So, MEXT does not have a specific grade average that you have to maintain, but leaves it up to each university to decide. I recommend that you look up your specific program and find out what grade you need to achieve in each course to get credit. As long as you are hitting that mark, your MEXT scholarship should not be in jeopardy.
2. I’m not sure about awards at the graduate level. Typically, students in graduate programs are there to achieve a specific goal and getting high marks helps them complete that goal. For example, if you want to become a professor in the future or get a job that requires an advanced degree, you will likely need a strong recommendation from your advisor, which means that you’ll need to impress him or her. That should be enough motivation there to go for high marks!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear TranSenz,
Highly appreciate your efforts in providing us with valuable information on the way scholarships are distributed over universities in Japan. I was nominated by Nagoya University for applying at MEXT scholarship this year 2017 and as many other candidates, I’m so nervous when waiting for the final notification from MEXT. In fact, information of your blog did mitigate my nervousness.
I have some inquiries and need your clarification.
Firstly, as you wrote above, the maximum number of slots in General Category is 8. Let take my University as an example. There are 13 graduate school in Nagoya University. So there will be at least 5 schools will not have any scholarship every year, is this right? is this fact weird?
Secondly, my University did not mention about the fixed time of notification from MEXT while other universities said it would be in May, June, and so on. So will MEXT make the final decisions for all university at the same time or for each university separately?
Finally, is there any possibility that a University suggests the number of students which is larger than its assigned number of scholarship slots? In another words, is the process like that: Every year, MEXT assigns number of scholarship available for universities. After having this information, the universities start collecting candidate and restrict the number of nominated candidates to the number given by MEXT. This is to ensure that the number of nominated candidates is always equal to the number of scholarship slots given by MEXT.
I know the chance of success is very close for any candidates who have been nominated by Japanese Universities. However I still desire to learn about this procedure in more details. Thank you so much for taking time with my inquires.
Best regards,
Tran Viet Yen.
Hi Yen,
It is not unusual for a university to have fewer MEXT scholarship slots than graduate schools. In fact, I think that’s almost certainly guaranteed. It was the case for the university where I processed MEXT applications, too.
Typically, we wouldn’t even get qualifying applications for the MEXT scholarship to all of our graduate schools each year. For example, it was very rare to have anyone apply to degree programs that were taught in Japanese, so that eliminated a significant number of the schools. Even so, we did have more graduate schools with applicants than we did scholarship slots, so it was always tricky to decide who got slots and who did not.
But since you’ve already been nominated, you don’t need to worry about that! You have a slot.
MEXT makes the decisions on all universities at the same time. Based on what I’ve heard for this year, the confirmations will be in May for the General Category and August for PGP.
There is no chance that a university like Nagoya University would nominate more students than they have slots for. The process you described is mostly true. The universities will typically start collecting applications before they know how many students they can nominate. But they will certainly know the number before they submit the nominations and make sure not to nominate above their limit.
I have never heard of a nominated candidate failing to get the scholarship in the end!
Good Luck
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello,
first off, I’d like to thank you for this very insightful post. It helped me understand the process behind the whole MEXT scholarship process which, to be honest, still seems shrouded in mystery a bit too much.
I’d like to ask you whether it ever happens that a student fails their studies under the scholarship and if, than what the following process looks like. After receiving an e-mail regarding one of the Japanese universities recruiting graduate students for the MEXT scholarship I decided to give it a shot and I ended up being accepted and subsequently recommened for the thing. However, as a person who stresses a LOT, I have started doubting my own capability of completing the course (I applied for a Japanese literature course and while I do posses the N1 certificate, I still do not feel completely natural in the Japanese language). In the hypothetical situation that I failed the give graduate course, I would be required to refund the scholarship, right? Also, are there any repercussions for withdrawing from the scholarship now that I am already well under the final selection process? I was very much looking forward to returing to Japan, but now that I find myself in so much doubt, I’d like to know what my options are.
Thank you once again.
O.
Hi O.,
Thank you for your find comments!
I’ve never heard of a student failing their studies under the MEXT scholarship (losing the scholarship for having too low of a GPA), but I have seen students lose the scholarship for other reasons. The most common was not finishing their degree within the designated period. I also had to deal with a student who lost the scholarship due to committing a crime.
In both cases, the students were not required to repay the scholarship – even the one caught stealing. They simply lost all future payments and had to start paying tuition from that semester forward. So, I don’t think you would be forced to pay back payments already received just for failing a class. You would just have to suspend your studies at that point or find another way of financing them. And in that case, at least you would have the studies and experience you had completed to date!
I would encourage you not to give up. Your faculty members will be invested in helping you succeed while you’re in Japan and I’m sure you’ll be able to find extra support and tutoring if the language is what’s holding you back. If you think you might end up like the students I described above who couldn’t complete their degrees on time, remember that they at least got 2-3 years of fully funded studies. In most cases, they had enough saved up from their scholarship payments so far that they were able to pay their own way for a final semester to finish, too.
If you were to withdraw now, it would likely hurt your application chances in the future, but there are no other repercussions to you. The university would lose that scholarship slot for this year and another student would not be able to take it in your place, so they would not be likely to nominate you a second time.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you for your kind reply!
Hearing from you helped me to calm down a bit. The thing is: where I come from it is not unusual for people to drop out of school for failing their classes or having written an insufficient thesis. In fact, in the case of my undergraduate studies out of around 60 initial classmates only around 5 have made it to the final year, and they still need to write their thesis and pass the final exams. Taking this, as well as my current Japanese language ability into account I got pretty worried. Since I began writing my application very late without prior preparation, I don’t really feel confident about my rather vague Research Plan either. It seems like I have been accepted based on secondary attributes, such as current university or atypical country of origin, rather than my actual abilities or research prospects. I wonder if that could be possible.
Anyway, thank you once again for you response. I apologize for diverting the subject away from the topic of this article.
Hi O.,
That sounds like an incredibly difficult education system! But at least it means something when you make it through and graduate. There are other countries where they seem to give away undergraduate degrees like candy (some Japanese universities are guilty of this).
I don’t think the university would have selected you based only on atypical country of origin. It is possible that your current university played a factor, particularly if the faculty at the Japanese university were familiar with it and had positive impressions of its students in the past. But that should not have been enough to make a significant difference. For a scholarship like this, especially with the competition levels, ultimately, you would have had to have made it on your own merit!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi, Travis!
I would like to ask you a question about MEXT . I applied for PhD program and was recommended for MEXT. I sent all original documents to university but now I noticed that I made one mistake in “Academic background” of my Application form.
I wrote “Year and Month of Entrance and Completion” correctly. But I counted total years wrongly and wrote 18 instead of 17 in “Total years of schooling mentioned above”.
Can MEXT deny me for this mistake ?
Thank you in advance!
Arthur
Hi Arthur,
I do not think MEXT is going to deny you for a math error. Typically, the university should have found that during their screening and asked you to correct it, but I guess it passed their notice, as well.
Typically, if you were applying for a PhD, you would have completed 18 years of schooling to complete your Masters (under the Japanese system). If you have fewer years of schooling, than the university accepting you and nominating you for the scholarship indicates to MEXT that you meet their criteria for having equivalent academic ability to a Master’s Degree holder from Japan, so that should also not be a problem.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello, TranSenz,
Thank you very much for this helpful blog!
I have question about documents required for MEXT Scholarship
My situation: In December I applied for PhD program at Japanese university. In March I have received an e-mail from Uni that I have been accepted and nominated for MEXT. They also inform me that the result will be announced by MEXT in July-August.
Recently I sent all original documents to university. As far as I know when student applies for MEXT scholarship through Embassy, it is necessary to send Certificate of Health. But in my situation, Uni didn’t ask me to send Health Certificate or something like this. Is Certificate of Health required for University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship?
Thank you in advance)
Hi Maru-chan,
The Certificate of Health is not strictly required for the University MEXT application. As I mentioned in the article about supporting documents, there is no specific required format. MEXT only directs universities to ensure nominees are in sufficient health.
Typically, most universities will ask all incoming students for some form of certificate of health as an admissions requirement, but when they do this may vary. Your university could very well ask you to submit a medical certificate later.
It seems safe to wait for their directions, but if you are particularly concerned, it wouldn’t hurt to contact them and ask whether you will have to submit a certificate of health later.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Transenz,
I have read carefully about your writings regarding MEXT.
This year I got selection from Shizuoka university. So far I know from other friends, university selected 5 candidates. Usually this university got 2-3 scholarship each year. Now I want to know the possibility to be nominated by MEXT.
Thanks
Hi Madhabi,
The university should know how many scholarship slots it is able to receive and only recommend that number of students, so if you were nominated by the university, you should receive the scholarship.
I wouldn’t rely just on information from friends about scholarship numbers. There are a lot of things behind the scenes that they might not see. For example, the number of slots is based on the number of international graduate students enrolled at the university. If there was a change in that, it could mean more or fewer slots available. It could also be that the university was allowed more slots in the past but the students they nominated withdrew in the end.
I have never known a university to recommend more students than they were allowed.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis;
I hope you are doing fine! I read your blogs and are too helpful.
I have some questions for clarity, me and my friend from Ethiopia were recommended by Tottori University for MEXT, and waiting for the result for April 2017-result notification. Do you think we both have the probability to be approved by MEXT since we are from the same country and same professor?
Thank you!
Hi Christian,
Thank you for your kind words.
In my experience, universities know in advance how many scholarship slots they will receive and only recommend that number of students. So, even if you are from the same country and have the same advisor, if you have made it past the university’s screening, you should both clear MEXT’s final approval without a problem.
Please let me know how it goes!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis;
Thank you for your advise, I will let you know the out come at the end!
Regards,
Dear Transenz,
Your posts have been quite helpful and I would like to thank you for all the help.
I have been recommended by the university, however I did a 6 weeks student interniship in a defence research lab about which I informed the university. Can that cause problem in Ministry, what are my chances of getting the scholarship.
Regards,
Rishi
Hi Rishi,
A short-term student internship should not hurt your chances. If the university knew about it and recommended you, then I would think you have nothing to be concerned about!
Good Luck
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Transenz,
I am curious to know how Minsitry screening works. Does the university send over all the documents to the ministry for re-evaluation or is it just that the ministry looks for any plausible problems in the application. I have been nominated in PGP category.
Regards,
Rishi
Hi Rishi,
The university sends only a specific subset of the documents to MEXT, then MEXT conducts a final double-check of the eligibility criteria, etc., to make sure the university did its paperwork right.
I have never heard of MEXT rejecting an applicant that a university recommended.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi TranSenz,
I got a mail yesterday informing me that I was awarded the scholarship. I would like to thank you for all your help.
I tried looking up required documents for visa application but could not find them. Can you tell what other documents beside the one by MEXT will I need?
Hi Rishi,
Congratulations! I’m very happy to hear it.
There’s a special visa application for MEXT scholars, so you should get more information about that later. First, they have to provide a list of the awardees to your local embassy, if my memory serves correctly.
Don’t worry, since you’re being invited as a government-sponsored scholar, there should be no problem with your visa!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello TranSenz
I hope you are doing well. Your blog is very much informative regarding MEXT Scholarship, Indeed It creates easiness for the applicants. And I also See your blog and read the guidelines about how to apply and all conditions and terms. Thank you very much for your kind efforts.
Anyway, I’ve applied for PhD (Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies) in Kyoto University in MEXT. last month, my Sensei has congratulated and given me the email that I’m one of the candidates of Kyoto university and I’ve to wait until May,2017 for MEXT final result.
Would you kindly tell me about my chances or possibilities to get the scholarship finally? Based on your experience, did it happen that any student of Kyoto University didn’t get the scholarship from MEXT authority after getting the university recommendation?
Thanks in advance. Take care, Bye
Hi Kabbo,
Thank you for your kind words!
I have never heard of a student who was recommended for the scholarship not receiving it in the end, regardless of the university. Kyoto, especially, should know what they are doing with the application process, so there is no reason to think you wouldn’t get the scholarship.
I would say that your chances are quite excellent!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
First of all, I’d like to thank you for your amazing website! It has been very heplful to me so far and I appreciate your dedication.
Let me explain my situation first. I am a Dutch second year Bachelor student and next year, I plan to apply for a Masters degree in Finance at Waseda University so I can start in the Fall of 2019. Side note: I will study abroad in Hong Kong from February 2018 till June 2018.
My first question is: you mentioned that it is very rare to be offered admission at a university but not a scholarship. However, I got the impression from Waseda’s admission guidelines that tuition fees must be paid very shortly after being admitted. In order to apply for scholarships (I’m assuming University-Recommendation in this case), one would need a Student Visa, meaning tuition must be paid already. There is no refund for tuition and other fees. It looks like I would be stuck in Japan with thousands of dollars of tuition fees if I wouldn’t get the University-Recommendation. Am I misinterpreting this situation? Or if this is correct, can I avoid paying tuition by applying for an Embassy-Recommendation MEXT?
Secondly, if I were to apply for the Embassy-Recommendation next spring (during my exchange period), would it be possible to do the Primary Screening at the Japanese embassy in Hong Kong? Or must this be done in the student’s home country?
Finally, you mentioned that some students start as research students when they arrive in the “wrong” semester. However, Waseda states that after achieving the Embassy-Recommendation MEXT, students 1.5 years (!) as a research student before becoming a degree student. Is this just something only Waseda does? They also mention that one can start as a degree student immediately upon arrival by taking the graduate school entrance examination in between the placement by MEXT at Waseda (February) and arrival in Japan (September). Can I avoid this whole situation by applying to the University-Recommendation? Or should I simply look for another university in Tokyo?
I apologise for the many questions, but I’m really hoping you could help me out! Studying in Tokyo is my biggest dream, but after seeing all these problems, I’m starting to lose hope that it will ever come true.
Many thanks again for all your work!
Sincerely, Valerie
Hi Valerie,
I think you are misinterpreting the situation – in fact things should be much better than what you feared.
At almost all universities, there is a separate application process for applying for admission under the MEXT scholarship or general admission. If you apply for the MEXT scholarship-based admission, you’re applying for both admission and the scholarship at once, and it is very rare to get an acceptance offer without the scholarship nomination.
In any case, the university would let you know about your acceptance to the university and your scholarship nomination situation simultaneously. If they nominate you for the scholarship, then you should not be asked to pay the admission and tuition fees, since nomination almost always guarantees scholarship award.
You also wouldn’t get the student visa, etc., until later. There is a special visa application process for MEXT scholars, so you would need to have your scholarship decision from MEXT before you could start that application.
You do have to go through the primary screening at the Japanese embassy in your home country, so I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to do it in Hong Kong.
You can spend up to 1.5 years as a research student, but usually that length is only for students who do not plan to move on to a degree-seeking program. If you want to move on to a degree-seeking program, then it would typically be 1-2 semesters (up to 2 semesters for Embassy-recommended scholars who spend the first semester in a Japanese language program). Waseda might be different, but I don’t see why they would want you to wait that long to start your degree.
The “graduate school entrance exam” is usually just a document screening and, for MEXT scholars, it’s more or less a technicality, so I wouldn’t worry about it. I would recommend taking that option if you apply via the embassy route.
Please don’t get too stressed out, I think you may just be overthinking the situation. It’s not quite as bad as it sounds!
Good Luck
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you for your very useful and informative blog.
I applied for my University in round 3 of the application process (because I can applied for both admission and MEXT scholarship at once) and got recommended. From the information from your blog and what the University told me, that the official results from MEXT will be out in July, I believe this is a PGP program. The University told me that for now, I have to pay the Admission Fee and Tuition for the first semester and follow visa procedures like a non-scholarship student (with deadline like normal students accepted in round 3). And if I am officially be selected, I will follow another visa procedures as a gov-sponsor student and money will be refund after I coming to Japan. In your experiences, is this normal?
Hi hnl,
Actually, it sounds like your scholarship might fall under the Domestic Selection MEXT scholarship category for Top Global University selectees.
If you were recommended under the PGP category, then what the university is telling you would be unusual. PGP scholarships are finalized before admission so you would not pay the fees under that circumstance and you would come to Japan through the special MEXT scholars visa application. This would only make sense to me if the university was being very lazy with their paperwork and trying to run everyone through the exact same procedure.
For the Domestic Selection scholarship, usually, you are not technically confirmed as a MEXT scholar until you enroll at the university. So, in that case, it would make sense that you would have to go through the same procedures as a fee-paying student up to that point.
In either case, it sounds unusual to me, but it does not sound dangerous, if that makes sense. I don’t think the university is trying to scam you or anything like that. They’re just being overly bureaucratic, if anything.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
Thank you so much for sharing all the step by step in applying for mext scholarship with us in great details! It does help a lot during my apllication process.
I have posted question before and im not sure if you have receive it or not. I decided to ask here again by listing the questions i still have regarding the scholarship all together.
1. I managed to get the university recommendation by Tokyo Uni for MEXt to further PhD in Tokyo. I have also passed the screening for SATREPS category as my PhD project will be under SATREPS. They told me that the recommendation was sent to Mext on February.
I am now really confuse about when the date of final result by Mext will come out. The proffesor mention that it will come out end of Feb, however there is no news from mext until now. Some uni website i visited said the result will come out in May. That actually differs a lot.
Which one is actually correct because im actually really nervous about the final decision by mext.
2. I have used english test result from Uni english department like you’ve recommended and Tokyo uni accepted it and they proceeded with the recommendation to mext. However, if i did get the scholarship, do i still need to take a formal english test such as IELTS ? Or its no longer needed?
I’m really looking forward to your reply Travis!
Thank you !
Best wishes,
Lia
Hi Lia,
I have quite a backlog on here, so it takes me a while to research and reply to each inquiry.
I think I answered your questions before, but just in case I didn’t, here they are again:
1. You are right that it should have been the end of February for SATREPS. The results of the General Category are released in May, so that might have been the reference you saw. Everyone – successful or not – should get a message about their results. I would recommend that you contact the university where you applied and ask if they have heard anything about the results.
2. The English language ability check is for the University, not for MEXT. If Tokyo University accepted your department test result and didn’t ask you to submit IELTS, then you should be fine. MEXT only asks that the universities verify that you have sufficient English ability. It does not require a specific test format.
Good Luck! I hope you hear back soon.
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
I did get the update from university and they mentioned the final decision will comes out in May,based on last year.
Seems like it will be similar to the general category.
Travis, is there any delay for last year’s result from MEXT?
Hi Lia,
None that I heard of, but the results used to come out in April and now they’ve been pushed back to May, so that’s a “delay” already.
It sounds like last year’s Embassy MEXT results did come out a little late, but that seemed to vary from Embassy to Embassy.
Hopefully, with the new release date, everything will be on time!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
Once again, thank you so much for providing and sharing all infos with is! Its been such a great help!
I have one more question to ask.. I’ve used english test result from Uni english department like you’ve recommended and Tokyo uni accepted it and they proceeded with the recommendation to mext. However, if i did get the scholarship, do i still need to take a formal english test such as IELTS ? Or its no longer needed?
Your input regarding this matter will help since i am going to need to book for IELTS soon if its a yes!
Hi Lia,
Congratulations on earning the recommendation to MEXT!
At this point, you should not need the IELTS score. MEXT does not require it. MEXT only requires that universities verify that you have sufficient language ability to complete your degree program. If Tokyo University is satisfied with the proof you have submitted and has not asked you for a replacement, you are good to go!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I’ve been following your posts and I found them very helpful to me. I also learnt a lot from your interaction with other students here. However, I still have some concerns regarding my application, could you please help me with them?
I’m a second-year Master student in Waseda and I passed the school-screening in last December. I was told that the final result from the Ministry of Education would come at the end of February, but I still haven’t yet received any Email. I know sometimes they postpone the notification for a few days, but since I only have 6 months in school, would it be a reason the MEXT committee finds me ineligible in receiving this scholarship?
Thank you in advance for your nice help! I’m looking forward to your reply.
Best regards,
Sophie
Hi Sophie,
It sounds like you applied for the MEXT Domestic Selection scholarship category. That’s the only category of scholarship you would be eligible for if you were already in Japan and studying at a university. The scholarships I’ve described on this site are only for applicants who have not started their degrees or come to Japan yet.
Even if you only have one semester left, that would not make you ineligible. (And if it did, Waseda would have known that and wouldn’t have recommended you in the first place). I think the chances are very high that MEXT is just late.
My recommendation would be to check with the International Office, or whichever office at Waseda you applied through. They should be the ones that receive the notification from MEXT to pass on to you, so they should be able to tell you what the status is or follow up on your behalf.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thanks for your reply and suggestion.
I checked with the International Center and they did inform me immediately about the good news. It seemed that the announcement was delayed for some reason. Anyway, I’m thrilled to receive this scholarship.
I appreciate your guidance and patience! Good luck to everyone here!
Best regards,
Sophie
Hi Travis,
awesome website, thank you very much for all this valuable information.
I have just received an e-mail from Keio University, which accepted me for their PhD program, that I have been nominated for the MEXT. The attachment states that MEXT will do a final selection in May. Now I was wondering how the chances are to be selected by MEXT at this stage. If I dont receive the scholarship I cannot enroll. I really want to know if I will go to Tokyo in September before May. Could you give me any assessment of my situation? Would be very much appreciated! 🙂
Best George
Hi George,
I’ve never heard of someone being nominated by a university for the scholarship but not receiving it, so I would say that you have an excellent chance!
MEXT’s final screening is more or less a review to make sure the universities did their jobs right, it is not a competitive comparison at this point.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello George,
I am also in the same situation as yours. Mine also Keio University. Is there any way to contact with you?
Best Mika
Hi Travis,
I echo the many sentiments of thanks- it’s hard to find useful and relevant information about the MEXT program and this website is a treasure trove of information. I’m in a little bit of a stressful situation at the moment, waiting for results for my scholarship extension results. I applied in December 2016 to extend into a PhD program as I am set to graduate in March 2017. My school has submitted my application, and I have passed the PhD exam. I graduated with straight A’s, have published a paper and presented at a conference, so I feel that I am strong candidate for the extension. That being said, it is now February 20th and I haven’t heard about my results, and if I am not awarded the extension, I will have to think about next steps. I’m wondering if you have heard if the results have been released or roughly what time they are usually released? Are rejection notices sent out at the same time as acceptances?
Thank you
e
Hi Ag-econstudent,
According to the guidelines for this year, the results are supposed to be released by the end of February. That typically means February 28, in my experience. However, I’ve heard of MEXT being later than it’s deadlines in recent years.
Both successful and unsuccessful candidates should be notified at the same time. In either case, you will be notified by your university.
You had contacted me separately to ask about whether the results would depend on your school. Yes, each school has a certain number of students they can recommend for the extension. The number they can recommend is based on the average number of students they were able to recommend over the course of the three previous years, but the number will always be at least one.
According to MEXT, there is no guarantee that all recommended students will be accepted, as the number could change based on the budget, etc., but MEXT puts that catchall in every single document, so I do not think it is anything you particularly need to worry about.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Thank you for all the hard work you have put into this website. I’ve followed your website for about two months and I found it extremely helpful for me.
Even though I did not know about your website before sending my application, I still find much useful information and I read your blog almost every day to improve my chance of getting this scholarship and avoiding asking the same questions.
I would like to share about my situation. Last October I prepared my documents to apply for Master Course and send to only one University which is Saitama University, and luckily for me, I got accepted. Last week, they inform me that the President of the University will recommend me for Japanese Government. I have made several contacts with the university staffs and they are always enthusiastic to answer all of my questions.
They inform me the final result will be announced by MEXT in July. By reading all of your comments in your blog, I think my chances of getting the scholarship are pretty good, but still, what is your opinion? This also sounds a lot like PGP that you mentioned in the article.
However, I am not exactly sure whether this is PGP or General Category, should I ask the university staff the program I’m applying for is PGP or not?
Another question I want to ask you is: Will it be possible for me to start as Research Student for one semester before starting as Master Student? Because in the MEXT application form they gave me, I applied as Research Student but for Master Course. I have searched and some of the graduate school allow their students stars as Research Student for one semester. This confused me a little bit and I hope with your experiences you can give me some information.
Please answer whenever you have free time, I would be extremely appreciated!
Thank you so much.
Hi Thanha,
It sounds like you’ve been recommended for the scholarship under a PGP program. (General Category results are released in April/May, PGP in July/August). By the way, a lot of other commenters here have been saying they were told their PGP results would be out in August, instead of July. So, if yours come a little late, please don’t be worried. It doesn’t mean you’re rejected – it just means that MEXT is being slow.
It shouldn’t really matter to you at this point thought, because if you’ve been recommended for the scholarship in either category, you’re all but guaranteed to receive it. The difference between PGP and General Category matters more when you’re applying to the university, because it determines the number of candidates they can recommend. You’re already past that stage.
As for starting out as a research student or degree student, I think for all of the PGP programs I have seen, you have to start in the degree program. (Yours may be different – I can’t claim to have seen them all!) Typically, students would start as a research student if they arrive in Japan in the “wrong” semester. For example, some programs only let degree-seeking students start in the spring, so if you were to arrive in the fall, you would have to be a research student for one semester before you could start.
This should not be an issue with PGP programs.
If the university sent you an acceptance notice along with the announcement that you would be recommended for the scholarship, that notice should have mentioned whether you were accepted as a degree student or a research student. If you’re still unsure, you can always ask the university.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Thank you so much for your kind reply. It is very helpful for me.
I have asked the university and they said I must start as a degree student, not research student as you have mentioned. Thank you for helping me clarify this matter.
Thank you once again for all the hard work.
With best regards,
Ha.
Hello TranSenz,
Firstly, I want to appreciate your post. It’so helpful for me.
Secondly, I need your advice in my application. I applied MEXT scholarship through Uni Recommendation and passed the interview. They sent an email to me to notify that they will recommend me as a candidate to MEXT. I wonder do MEXT can deny my scholarship even I reached this step?
Thank you for your advice, bro!
Best
Hi dhtri255,
It looks like you posted this question a second time before I could answer the first. I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately and haven’t been able to keep up.
You can find my reply here.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis
I’ve followed your website since one month ago when I got the opportunity to participate in UtoU MEXT Scholarship at Akita University. Thank you, it’s helping me so much.
So, I have the information about 1 slot scholarship from the professor at Akita University. Then, He gave me 2 weeks to complete all of the requirement but the problem is I don’t have the TOEFL score from ETS certification. I’ve asked the professor and official in charge and they said it was no problem about that. Then after I submitted the requirements and conducted an interview with three professors, yesterday I got the information that I passed from the university screening and now my application was being processed by the official.
So my question is:
After passed the university screening, was it still possible for me to fail in MEXT Scholarship? (I’m just worrying my unofficial TOEFL score)
Best Regard,
Renaldi
Hi Renaldi,
I saw you had left this same question on another post so I answered it here.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello TranSenz,
Firstly, I want to appreciate your post. It’so helpful for me.
Secondly, I need your advice in my application. I applied MEXT scholarship through Uni Recommendation and passed the interview. They sent an email to me to notify that they will recommend me as a candidate to MEXT. I wonder do MEXT can deny my scholarship even I reached this step?
Thank you for your advice, bro!
Best
Hi dhtri255,
Congratulations on passing the university’s screening!
I have never heard of an applicant who was recommended to MEXT for the scholarship being denied by MEXT.
At this point, MEXT is essentially double-checking the university’s work to make sure you meet all the eligibility requirements and that your research is not risky (related to weapons or nuclear technology, etc.)
As long as those areas are clear, and there is no drastic slash to the budget for next year, I think your scholarship award is all-but guaranteed at this point! (Based on the timing, it sounds like you are in the general category, so you should find out the final results in April.)
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much Travis!
I so happy when hear that. Would you mind explaining more about general category? I applied the Human Biological Science of University of Tsukuba.
Thank you again Travis!
Best,
Tri
Hi dhtri255,
The General category is the for any applicant who does not fall into one of the special categories, like PGP. PGP programs, for example, have a specific number of guaranteed slots each year for one specific field of study.
Unfortunately, it can be almost impossible to know if you qualify for a PGP program or not. Not all universities list which of their programs are PGP. And even when they do, some PGP programs have extra eligibility requirements. You might have to be from a specific nationality, or it might only apply to Masters students, not PhD, etc. Those details are almost never made public.
The general program can cover any field of study and any (graduate) level.
The only way you can tell is after you are nominated for the scholarship to MEXT. If you get your results in April/May, that is the General Program. If you get them in July/August, that is the PGP. But at that point, it doesn’t matter. The scholarship contents are identical.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much Travis!
I want to get more advice from you with my case. I applied MEXT scholarship (University recommendation) at University of Tsukuba in September 2016. Then I was interviewed in November 2016. Unfortunately, they announced I failed in December 2016. One month later, they sent me another mail and said that there was withdrawal of candidacy. So they offer a place as a promising candidate to me and I will be successfully recommended as a promising candidate to Japanese Government. That’s my situation. They also said that my documents will be sent without any disadvantages. How do you think about my chance?
Hi dhtri255,
In your situation, it sounds like you have a very good chance.
MEXT will never know that you were rejected at first then selected as an alternate candidate. When the university sends in the nominations, you’ll look just like any other candidate on the list.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I got selected at Ritsumeikan University and I received an email saying they have recommended me for MEXT scholarship. The results of which would be out by the end of May.
I have applied to Kyoto University as well and waiting for their results which should be out by June.
I wanted to ask if I do get into Kyoto Uni, which would be a better deal Ritsumeikan with MEXT scholarship or Kyoto University on my own?
The courses and my research proposal to both were similar related to energy sciences and alternative energy. I just wanted to know if Kyoto University’s reputation is good enough to turn down MEXT scholarship?
I know this is totally conditional question and I need to be approved for MEXT as well as Kyoto Uni to have this dilemma, but its eating me my brains out right now. Please suggest.
Hi Gaurab,
I work in higher education, and most of us consider university “reputation” and “rankings” to be absolutely worthless. The measurements are arbitrary and do not reflect the quality of education that students receive. What matters more is what you make of the opportunities you have at your school and how proactive you are.
Don’t make your decision based on reputation, make it based on your research and career goals. Is the graduate school and professor at Ritsumeikan in a better position to help you achieve your research goals, or the school/professor in Kyoto? Is the difference worth giving up 146,000 yen per month (a liveable stipend) plus free tuition for 2-3 years?
Honestly, I don’t see how that could be possible. If you have the scholarship and don’t have to worry about money during your studies, that allows you to focus and make more progress toward your goals.
If you’re planning to work in Japan after graduation (assuming you’re fluent in Japanese), then you can also look at the universities’ differences in placing graduates in the kind of job that you want, but even that shouldn’t be significant.
It’s your decision in the end, but unless there is a significant difference in the specific research being done in your field of study, I would say the difference in reputation is not worth the cost of giving up the scholarship.
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
One more question Travis. In email they sent me, they said that I will receive official notification in around August 2017. Do you think this is too long time?
Hi dhtri255,
That sounds about right for the PGP results announcement date.
It used to be earlier, but over the three years that I handled this scholarship, MEXT’s announcements got later and later.
The good news is that, unless things have changed, then if you are nominated for the scholarship under the PGP program, you are considered to be provisionally accepted at that time and MEXT’s screening is just to double check that the university properly checked your eligibility, etc.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear TranSenz,
It’s me again. As you know, I applied MEXT scholarship through University recommendation (University of Tsukuba). I submitted all of required documents but yesterday, I received email from them and they need me submit another graduate transcript which must show the year/semester during which each credit was acquired. Unfortunately, in my university, department just submit marks at the end of the course, not the end of each year, so in my official transcript, it just show the mark of each credit in two years without the year or semester of that credit was acquired (this is my master transcript). Please help me qith your experience in this situation Sir.
Best,
dhtri255
Hi dhtri255,
I’ve run into similar situations in the past. Are you able to provide a list of when you took each course?
For example, a course registration record or even a signed letter from your advisor might work. Even if that document doesn’t show the grades for each course, as long as it shows the same course names/numbers that appear on your transcript, the university should be able to use it to match them up and figure out what you took when.
If you can obtain something like that, I’d recommend asking the university if they could accept it. Otherwise, you’re going to have to provide a document from the university explaining how your courses work. In a Japanese university, you take a certain number of courses each semester and there is a set time for each one with grades at the end of each semester, so that is the only system most people here understand. If yours is different, you need to help them understand and then maybe they can figure out an alternative method for you.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello, Travis!
I have a question whether it is possible for me to apply both university recommendation and embassy recommendation in the same year. I would like to apply for university recommendation first. If I fail, then I will apply for embassy recommendation. As I have noticed that entry time of university recommendation is October (this year) and embassy recommendation is April (next year). I want to make sure if it is okay to do so or I will be disqualified.
Sorry for my poor English. Thank you.
Haru
Hi Haru,
It’s fine to apply for both Embassy and University, but I think the timeline you described is backwards.
The October University-recommended application this year (2017) would be for programs that start in 2018.
The April 2018 Embassy-recommended application process would be for programs that start in 2019. If you want to apply through the embassy to start your program in 2018, you would have to do that this April: 2017.
If you apply for the Embassy-recommended MEXT scholarship first, you will go through the embassy’s Primary Screening process. The results of that process are available in July or early August. Then, you would need to get a Letter of Acceptance from a Japanese University. If you pass the Primary Screening and get at least one Letter of Acceptance, you are almost guaranteed to get the scholarship. You would know this by August or September – before the University-recommended application period starts. (So you would not need to apply for that)
On the other hand, if you did not pass the Primary Screening, then you would know that there is no chance of getting the Embassy-recommended scholarship, so you could then apply for the University-recommended scholarship without it being a “double” application.
If you do apply in the order you suggested, then the same idea applies. The University should tell you no later than February or April whether or not they have decided to recommend you to MEXT for the scholarship. In general, almost everyone who is recommended gets the scholarship. So, if they say they have recommended you, you would not need to apply for the Embassy-recommended process.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello, Travis!
First of all, thank you for your blog. It helped me a lot when I was preparing documents for Embassy recommended MEXT scholarship, but what is more important it had helped me to continue after I was rejected by my Embassy. Now I am applying for University recommended MEXT scholarship, and this time I have made much more progress! Thank you!
Speaking of my application, I am a bit confused at the moment. I have contacted my prospective supervisor back in September 2016, he was kind enough to accept my application to their school. In November I started sending them documents one-by-one (application form, certificates, etc.) as they requested. By now I have sent them all documents and even the pledge, info about my local embassy and the nearest international airport. But all the documents were sent as soft copies. The process does not match your explanations (in fact, ANY explanations I have seen on the Internet), thus it does worry me a little bit. What are my chances? What can I do to help my application now? I think I just need someone to tell this to, and I would be grateful if you could share your thoughts on this.
Thanks again!
Hi Adam,
You’re welcome! I’m very happy to hear that you have found these posts useful in your application journey.
That application process doesn’t match anything I’ve ever heard of before, either. As far as I know, the University does have to submit certain original documents to MEXT.
The best explanation I can think of is that perhaps they are collecting all the soft copies for the evaluation process and then will only ask accepted students to post the originals later. That would actually be kind to applicants and a pretty good idea on the university’s side. That way, only students who were going to get the scholarship would have to worry about postage and since you could sort out any problems with the soft copies, you wouldn’t have to worry about re-posting documents.
It’s not the “usual” way, but I would not take that as a bad sign – or any sort of sign one way or another. I don’t think this approach says anything about your chances either way. It’s just a different way of doing things and one that I think will make the process a little easier on you.
I would recommend that you still get all of the original documents together and prepared to send. There’s a chance you may be asked to post them on short notice if you are accepted/nominated for the scholarship.
By the way, if you are willing to share the university name with me, I’d appreciate it and might be able to do some follow-up research. If you want to keep it secret until after the application process, I promise to delete the name from any subsequent comments before publishing them.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thanks for the information. It helps a lot in clearing my doubts (especially on the terminology used research student, etc).
One thing I am concerned is that in an event if we were not able to receive university recommendation to MEXT scholarship, does it mean that we will have to fork out our own money for university research be it non-degree research or degree research?
Hi Kelvin,
I’m glad I could be helpful!
Typically, for the MEXT application process, there are only two outcomes: 1) You get accepted to the University and recommended for the MEXT scholarship; or 2) You are not accepted to the university and not recommended for the scholarship. So you would not end up having to fork out your own money in either case.
There may be some universities that would offer you admission but not a scholarship, but I have not heard of any. In that case, you would still have to option to not go, of course. In every situation I know of, you would have to go through a separate application process to enroll as a self-paying student.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
That certainly helps a lot in clearing my doubts! For a moment I thought I am going to stuck in Japan for good if I failed to get the scholarship but is already admitted into the school.
Good day, TranSenz!
Thanks for this very informative blog!
I have already emailed a professor at Nagoya University and he agreed to supervise me if I pass the entrance examination. I plan to study in this University in 2018 so that I will have a year to process my application and to prepare myself in studying overseas. For the MEXT scholarship, I do not know whether it is better to go for the University Recommendation or for the Embassy Recommendation. I think I earn some points for the University Recommendation since Nagoya University has a close relationship with my undergraduate university (NU has a satellite campus there). But, there are very limited slots. Which process do you think has the highest possibiliy to be accepted for MEXT scholarship?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Charlene,
In general, I would recommend the Embassy-recommended application process. There seem to be more spaces available for that across the board.
I have even seen some of Japan’s top public universities emphasizing that most of their MEXT scholars are Embassy MEXT and that that process offers more possibilities.
If you pass the primary screening of the Embassy MEXT and get a Letter of Acceptance, you’re all but guaranteed to get the scholarship. If you don’t, then you’ll know that by the end of August and still have plenty of time to apply for the University MEXT as a backup plan.
The Embassy application process for 2018 will start this spring – the exact timing depends on your Embassy, so I encourage you to follow up with them for details.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Sir,
I am doing BSc (Zoo Major) in india. I will have 15 yrs of study completed by the end of graduation (june,2017). But max. universities require 16 yrs of study….is there any for 15 yrs of study ??
And can i apply in more than 1 university?
Should i mail any prof. of the university by selecting randomly ?? will they reply in that way??
plz reply soon….i m already late for many universities…i think!
thx. and Happy New Year !
Hi Biplop Saika,
I would not recommend randomly emailing professors. Your first step should be to research the university, program, and specific professor who would be best for your study goals. This is going to take some time and effort, but it will pay off both in increasing your chances of success and in landing in a program that is going to meet your study needs.
It sounds like you’re trying to apply for the 2017 start, so you need to get on the research fast! Once you choose your university, look on their website to see how they want you to submit the application and follow those directions. You can only apply to one university.
If it only takes 15 years to acquire a bachelor’s degree in India, then contact the university before submitting your application to make sure that they approve your eligibility. It is possible to apply with a 15-year bachelor’s degree if you have the university’s approval in advance.
Good Luck
– Travis from TranSenz
Howdy Travis,
I have question about the University recommended application and the
MEXT grant itself.
I’m currently looking at applying to MEXT for graduate school since
college is expensive. I’m currently on JET but could you explain potential options for
reapplying if you leave Japan, or decide to
come back and pursue a different career.
I’m a bit confused about several things dealing with the MEXT scholarship.
First, there are Research Student scholarships and full Graduate
school student scholarships. ( although it may have been through
Google Translate ) the term for research students seems
multi-implicative. To my understanding from Japanese’s schools there
are full graduate students, research students ( students who have
graduate school degree and want to further conduct research ), and non-degree seeking students ( students taking certain classes within a
program ).
The latter two being a bit confusing in terms of what the research
student in MEXT is supposed to be. Could you help clarify if a non-degree seeking
student would be eligible for the MEXT research student position, how the 6 month language school works, an if how they can be upgraded to a full MEXT graduate scholarship?
This may have been a bit confusing question; hopefully, the answer does
not differ from university to university. I’m currently looking at Keio university’s
Non-degree seeking student (research student ), and possibly further.
Thanks for all your help,
Hi Dre,
There is a lot of confusing terminology involved in the MEXT Scholarship, but the worst term is probably “Research students.”
MEXT uses the term “research students” to refer to all graduate students, whether in a degree-seeking program or not. The “MEXT scholarship for research students” is the scholarship for graduate studies (as opposed to the MEXT scholarship for undergraduate studies).
Now, at the university level, “research student” is often used to mean “non-degree-seeking student.” Basically, anyone at the graduate level who is not enrolled in a graduate degree program. The “research students” and “non-degree seeking students” you mentioned in your question are the same thing, not two different categories. There are research students at both the master’s level and doctoral level.
You have the choice of applying as either a research student or a degree student, if your university makes both available. In some cases, graduate schools will only accept one or the other. Typically, this is a timing problem. The University-recommended MEXT scholarship is only available if you arrive in Japan for the fall semester. But some graduate schools only take new degree-seeking students in the spring. In that case, they can only accept “research students” in the fall, and you would then apply to enter the degree program starting in the spring semester. In that case, you can also apply to extend your scholarship.
It is possible to enter as a research student then later apply to the degree program (in the same graduate scholarship) and extend your MEXT scholarship to cover the whole degree. Scholarship extension, however, is not guaranteed.
The 6-month language school only applies to the Embassy-recommended MEXT scholarship.
Finally, if you are living and working in Japan (JET, etc.), you are eligible to apply, but you would have to prove that you have definite plans to return to your home country before the scholarship begins and that your reason for returning to your home country is not only to qualify for the scholarship.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Howdy Travis,
Thank you for all of your help, I am currently planning to apply as a research student at a university in Japan. You were very clear with your information, but I’m a bit confused about the ending statement of not returning to a home country to qualify for a scholarship. For example, if I were to apply as a research student to a university and then be accepted by a university, then subsequently apply for the MEXT grant and university let’s say starts in fall, I would just need to prove that I would be returning home for personal reasons??
Also, for quick clarification of the previous post. With the university recommended route, a university would recommend a student for the MEXT grant, but this would be after that said student applies to the school separately and is accepted. Only after that, would a student apply to the MEXT grant? The application times seem to fall around the same time.
Also one last question; this might be a bit strange but I have heard from a previous applicant that in the university recommended route you have to prove that if you do not receive the MEXT grant that an applicant would return to their country and not attend the university privately funded? Is this true?
Hi Andre,
You apply for the MEXT scholarship at the same time as you apply for acceptance to the university – it is one application process and you go through the whole thing before you come to Japan. I think that should answer your questions.
So, you wouldn’t apply first to be a research student then for the MEXT scholarship, you would apply once to be a research student with the MEXT scholarship.
In that case there are two possible outcomes:
1) You are admitted to the university and recommended for the scholarship
2) You are neither admitted to the university nor recommended for the scholarship
The only way that you could end up as a fee-paying student under this application process would be if you were admitted to the university and recommended to MEXT for the scholarship but then MEXT declined to offer you the scholarship. However, I have never heard of that happening.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello TranSenz,
I’m applying for a University-Recommended MEXT scholarship at Kyushu University. I have emailed three professors with their email addresses ending with this “@agr.kyushu-u.ac.jp”. I’m a bit worried because I haven’t received any email from them yet. It’s been three weeks since I emailed them and two weeks since I’ve sent a follow-up email. Should I still be expecting for a reply or assume that they didn’t accept my application? Because I’m gonna try to apply for other University if they can’t accommodate my graduate studies . The application for the graduate school in Kyushu I’m applying for started last November 1 until November 30, 2016. Should I send another follow-up email? I’m wondering if they received my email though. Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks!
Hi Aaron,
It looks like Kyushu University accepts applications through an online portal. The recommend you contact faculty members in advance but don’t require it.
Still, I’d recommend sending one more polite reminder email to the faculty members telling them that you plan to go ahead with the application.
Either the same day or a day later, sending an inquiry to the Administrative Office of the Graduate School to explain that you have been trying to contact faculty members regarding the MEXT application but have had no success and to ask for their help.
By the way, the faculty members might not be happy that you’ve reached out to three of them at once. When I worked in the admin office (different university) on these kinds of things, we would see that as a sign that your research idea wasn’t focused enough. There was often an impatient, “make up your mind” attitude in that office, at least.
When you reach out again, I’d recommend starting with your first choice.
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Does the Japanese Government give money to professors who supervise mext scholarship students? Thank you
Hi Prince,
No, that is not part of the scholarship guidelines. Under the Embassy-Recommended Scholarship, MEXT pays students’ tuition, but otherwise, there is no payment from MEXT to the universities.
A positive track record of supervising MEXT scholars might be an asset to professors/universities in apply for other funding, but there’s no formal connection that I am aware of.
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello TranSenz,
Thanks for your continuous effort.
During searching PhD supervisor, I have been getting positive replies from Professors of mentioned universities ( University of Tokyo, Saga University, University of Ryukyus, Kitami Institute of Technology ) till now. They also told me to apply for MEXT scholarship ( University recommendation). My query is –
1. Can I apply for MEXT scholarship to each mentioned university ? or I must choose one university among them.
2. They did not tell me to send research proposal to them. How can I approach with them regarding research proposal ? will I send them or ask them to send their current research project ?
Thanks
Rabi
Hi M. Rabi,
1. For the univeristy-recommended MEXT, you can only apply to one university, so you’ll have to choose. If you want to try for multiple universities at the same time, then I recommend the Embassy-recommended MEXT scholarhips. That lets you pick up to three.
2. If you’re talking about the research proposal you’ll use in your application, you’ll submit that later during the application phase. If you’re talking about networking and starting a conversation with them about research interests, then just keep contacting with them (or with the one you choose to apply for) and having normal conversations about your research interests. There’s no need to send them a formal proposal unless they ask for it. It’s going to seem very forward if you do.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
How are you doing? Hope you are doing great.
Just a query for you. I was offered a MEXT Scholarship – University Recommendation under the Super Global University (SGU) program. The offer is only from October 2016 till March 2017. I am worried about what to do with finances after that, but my prospective supervisor told me that the scholarship is automatically extended up till a period of 4 years after the period and that I do not need to submit any other new applications.
Can you confirm this with me? I am still slightly concerned regarding this matter.
Hope to hear back from you soon. Thank you very much!
Hi Benjy,
I’m doing well, thank you for asking 🙂 I hope you are as well.
Were you offered your initial scholarship as a “research student”? In many cases, if you are scheduled to come to Japan in a semester that your program does not accept new students, you would be a research student for one semester (October) then start the degree in the second (April). In that case, yes, it is relatively automatic to extend your scholarship to cover the length of your degree. I think the reason that your professor specified 4 years is that will be the end of the Super Global University funding.
If you’re not a research student, then it’s also possible that your university does the scholarship year-to-year. I’m not completely sure how the funding lines work for SGU scholarships. They may only be willing to guarantee you funding for the fiscal year (April to March, in Japan), until they confirm that they will continue to receive their SGU grant for the next year. (If you notice that’s the case, I’d appreciate it if you could let me know later. That will probably help future applicants in your position!)
You do not need to reapply from scratch to extend your scholarship. Typically, there is a little bit of paperwork, but it’s more or less a formality. In the case of the SGU scholarships, if it’s just a fiscal year thing, there may not be any paperwork, at all.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thanks for your reply.
I am not really sure as there is nothing mentioned in my notice.
I will keep you posted then if there are anything different from what you mentioned.
Again, thanks a lot for the information. I’d really appreciate it!
All the best to you too!
Dear Transenz,
I applied for the University Recommended Scholarship for September Admissions (english based program). I did the interview, and then they asked me to send in my MEXT application form by post mail so I thought I had a good chance on getting selected.
They said that they will announce the result by 31st of July, however it is already august 7 and I haven’t heard from them yet.. I’m slowly losing hope 🙁
Do they usually contact only the accepted students? or should I email my university and ask for the result?
Thanks!
Hi Sayaka,
They should contact everyone, regardless of whether you were accepted or not. Maybe they made a mistake in your email address or the email ended up in your spam folder.
I would certainly recommend contacting them as soon as possible to ask about the results.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I do have a question.
I would like to study at a University in Japan and found a great MA program for me, and would like to apply for MEXT, however, I have a problem.
I am already in Japan (working at an Eikaiwa).
I saw that there are three different options to apply for MEXT.
One is”Embassy”, “University” and “Domestic”.
As far as I understood, one has to be already enrolled at a University in order to qualify as a domestic applicant, is that correct?
Is it impossible to apply through the University one when one is already in Japan, but studying at a school?
I also read that there are no opportunities for “Domestic” applications at some Universities. Does this depend on the University?
Can I apply for the University option and fly back to my Country for the test and the interview?
Sorry for all my questions.
Regards,
Grumbeere
Hi Grumbeere,
Yes, the “Domestic Recommendation” is only applicable to students who are already enrolled in a university. At my university, we would run one scholarship application process each semester and rank order all of our international students on that list. We also had an order of scholarships, from best benefits to worst, and we would match the top student with the top scholarship they were eligible for.
MEXT Domestic Selection is the best available scholarship, so the top 2-3 international students overall got the nominations.
There is a formula for determining the basic number of Domestic selection slots available per university:
[Number of domestic selection awardees in previous year]X([Number of self-financed international graduate students admitted two years ago]/[Number of self-financed international graduate students admitted three years ago]) Rounded to the nearest whole number.
*A university that had zero awardees in the previous year will be able to nominate one.
Based on that formula, the only way a university would have zero nominees would be if they saw more than a 50% drop in self financed international graduate students. On the other hand, the chances of a university being able to nominate more than 1-2 students are very low.
You cannot apply for the University-recommended scholarship if you’re already at a university in Japan. If you’re in Japan, working or studying, you would have to be able to prove that you will be leaving Japan (for reasons other than just to meet scholarship eligibility criteria) before the scholarship begins. There is no “test” for the University-recommended MEXT scholarship and the interview is conducted by email.
I hope that helps.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I understand this page is for university recommendation scholarship. But what about slots for embassy recommendation?
I’m applying for a university that has only two slots for university recommendation. Do the slots for embassy recommendation is around the same?
I couldn’t find this kind of information in the others pages.
Thank you very much. Even if I don’t get the scholarship, you will certainly have helped me a lot.
Hi Nara,
There is no slot limit by university for Embassy-recommended scholarship applicants. For the Embassy-recommendation application process, the number of slots is limited by country. If there is a Japanese embassy and multiple consulates in a country, then the slots might be further distributed, to each place, but I can’t confirm that.
Unfortunately, I haven’t yet discovered a way to find the number of slots available per country. If I ever do, I’ll be sure to share that here!
Good luck with your application!
-Travis from TranSenz
Dear TranSenz,
Thank you for this helpful post.
I have been accepted by Osaka University for a double degree program (MSc. & PhD) in October 2016. I have been recommended by the university but still waiting the MEXT response. It is really annoying to wait more than the posted deadline.but it seems that MEXT always takes much more time than estimated.
I hope I will be granted this scholarship.
I can help if anyone needs info about Osaka university.
Best,
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Thank you for your offer to help with information about Handai! I’m sure there’ll be others who want to take you up on that.
I’ve seen a lot of comments about the scholarship results being late this year. It’s not that uncommon for MEXT to be late, but I’m sure that doesn’t help anyone who’s on edge and waiting for the results!
I hope you’ve heard good news by now.
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello, I have applied for MEXT scholarship this year and the Professor said the final result will come early July. I would like to ask if the results were out already? I have not received any communication yet. Thank you.
Hi Ivane,
It sounds like the results were delayed this year for all applicants. I heard that they came out last week though (around the 22nd of July), so I hope you’ve heard good news by now!
Good Luck
-Travis from TranSenz
Dear TranSenz,
Your blog is very helpful. I am from Bangladesh.
I have some queries. In this year, I have applied in the Doctoral Course of International Interactive Educational Course for Sustainable Development, under Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University. I was informed about my preliminary acceptance from my Sensei. Still now I can not get any news about the final selection. When will I get the final result of selection from MEXT?
Is there any possibility to fail for getting the scholarship. I am very much worried.
Thank you in advance.
Hi Md. Abdullah Al Mamun,
It sounds like the results were delayed this year. They were supposed to be out early July but ended up coming our around the 22nd, based on some other reports I’ve seen. Hopefully you have your answer by now!
The possibility of being rejected at this stage is pretty low – it would only happen if the university made a mistake and didn’t realize you were ineligible for some reason, or if you had a criminal record in Japan or something like that 🙂
I hope you’ve had your good news already!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you for your reply. I have already got the good news about my scholarship.
Hello Travis,
Thanks a lot for the good work you are doing.
I am a bit curious. I sent my PhD application for MEXT to the University professor at Kanazawa since January 7, 2016.
My intended start date is/was October, 2016.
The only response I got was an acknowledgement of my application. I have not heard anything again ever since.
I wish top as; is it usual? Is it possible that I could still be successful? DO you have an idea of the possible dates that MEXT awardees are usually informed about the decision?
Is it possible for results to be announced in August, for an October Start date?
Many thanks.
Hi Miss Pepeye,
The final decision typically comes in April/May for the Regular category University MEXT scholarship and in July for the PGP category scholarship. But the university should have contacted you if they recommended you to MEXT for the scholarship much earlier than this. (They should have also let you know if you weren’t recommended. . .)
I recommend checking your spam folder to make sure that the university’s message isn’t in there. If that fails, you can contact the university to ask directly.
I’m afraid that at this point, your chances don’t sound very good, but I could be wrong.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I would like to ask an advice from you. Thank you in advance.
I have been accepted into Todai for this year’s fall intake for one International Graduate Program and is undergoing screening process for PGP Scholarship. I obliged to apply for Certificate of Eligibility and the deadline is on June, however, the notification of PGP scholarship is on July, and I rather confused to fill the ” expense section ” in the COE application document. Should I apply for another scholarship at this moment ? *though it is pretty late, or should I rely solely on the PGP scholarship ?
Thank you very much !!
Hi Ikudon,
There is a special visa application process for MEXT scholars, so you don’t need to worry about the Certificate of Eligibility at all!
With the PGP version of the MEXT scholarship, there is a guaranteed number of awardees for each program each year, so if the university has recommended you, you’re all but guaranteed to get the scholarship. I wouldn’t worry too much about it 🙂
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you Travis..
Your reply means the world to me ! 🙂
It’s been my dream to be accepted in the university, so , yeah, I will work really hard for it.
Best Regards …
Hello Travis,
I ‘stumbled’ on your blog out of curiosity and a certain level of desperation.
I applied for the MEXT scholarship in January via the University of Kanazawa-recommended scholarship for a PhD.
Several blogs and websites suggest that I should get a preliminary result by April. This is the end of May, 2016. I have not received any correspondent at all from the University. If the program I applied for will commence in October, 2016, and this is June 2016. Don’t I have a reason to despair?
I really wish I know/knew the outcome so that I take other life-changing decisions.
From your experience Travis, do you think the silence means my application was not successful? I am really worried. I have not even gotten a single e-mail, either from the University or the MEXT.
Hi Miss Pepeye,
Did the university never respond to your application at all, even to tell you they received your application? If you have received no communication from them, I would recommend contacting them directly to follow up. Regardless of whether you were recommended for the scholarship or not, the university should have contacted you one way or another.
Also, check your spam mail box. Sometimes when we sent students the results notification email it would go to their spam mail because we sent so many nearly identical emails at once.
I’ve never heard of a university completely ignoring an applicant before, so my best guess is that there was a communication problem somewhere.
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
I wish to apply for phD .
I have completed MS.
Abstract is required to be attached with the application,.
What if one wish to switch his field from previous research??
Will it be judged from previous abstract ???
Regards
Hi Riz,
One of the scholarship eligibility criteria is that you apply in a field that you majored in for your previous degree or something related to it, so your abstract shouldn’t be that far away.
The purpose of the abstract submission is to understand the type of research and depth that you have performed in the past. It is not that significant of a factor in your selection (not nearly as important as your Field of Study and Research Program Plan or your grades).
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello TranSenz,
I have applied for university recommended MEXT scholarship, 2016 through a B category university. According to your article the total number of scholarship slots should be 11 (1+10). The application deadline was 25th January, 2016. Recently, I have asked my professor about the situation but he has replied like ” I hear that your name is included in the candidates from the university, so I believe your documents are being reviewed at the MEXT, just wait,final result will come in May”. I have asked him some specific questions (e.g my ranking in the lists, the number of scholarships etc. etc. ) but he has not answered anything specifically. I know this professor for more than 1 year. He has helped me a lot for preparing the important documents (e.g. research proposal) and he has also met me via sky pe several times for interview purpose. Now my question is that from the reply of my professor what does it mean, can you guess anything from your experience ? I guess, the university doesn’t select additional candidates for recommendation because the professor told me that only the final result would be published after being reviewed from MEXT but as the deadline was on January 25, 2016 I am afraid the university might have selected higher number of candidates than the available scholarship slots for 2016 because I am not sure whether they got the information about the reduction of scholarship slots in 2016 from MEXT before their selection or not. I actually applied for the scholarship through the professor, I sent all the documents to him and he submitted those all on behalf of me. I sent email to international graduate admission office regarding my queries but they didn’t reply. I would wait for your kind reply.
Best regards,
Bikash Dev Nath
Hi Bikash Dev Nath,
In my experience, universities are not supposed to tell candidates where they are on the list or make any commitments until they know for sure that the student has been awarded the scholarship by MEXT, so your professor’s response is normal and not something to be worried about. It’s also possible that your professor doesn’t have the information. He handled your application, but that doesn’t mean that he knows what the overall university’s situation is like.
When I worked on scholarships, we would not have answered that question either. There is no benefit to the university to answering it and there is potential risk, so it is best for the university to avoid it.
So, don’t worry about it being a bad sign. I hope you get good news in May.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
Thanks a lot for your kind reply. Do you have any information about the date when the decision from MEXT about the reduction of Scholarship Numbers has been announced for 2016 ?
Recently, the International Graduate Admission Office of the University replied me about my inquiries. According to the information, the total number of scholarships recommended for the University in 2016 is 21, so I haven’t got the point as according to your information the university belongs to B category and hence the number of scholarships should be 11. I don’t think that they have made a typing mistake.
Best regards,
Bikash Dev Nath
Hi Bikash Dev Nath,
The slot numbers were announced in December 2015, though I don’t have the specific date.
The number of slots that I mentioned in the article are for general category slots only. There are other scholarship categories, most notably the Priority Graduate Program, which have a set number of possible nominees for a specific program. It is possible your school was including those figures.
Aside from that possibility (and the 2 extra slots the university could recommend if it pays the travel bill), I’m not sure what could be making up the difference.
After re-reading through the documentation, it does not look like universities are permitted to recommend more students than they have scholarship spaces available. I could be misreading it (MEXT’s Japanese is very dense), but I don’t think I am.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi Transenz,
Thanks so much for all of the time and effort you’ve put into this blog, I’ve been awarded the MEXT scholarship (Research Category) for 2016 and have a simple question.
Are we allowed to work in Japan whilst studying? I’ve read that we may need to make a separate application to MEXT for this to be possible but I couldn’t find any concrete info on this.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
Jordan
Hi Jordan,
Congrats on getting the scholarship!
I know it is highly discouraged to work while on a MEXT grant. If you want to work for the sake of earning money, you’re probably not going to get your university’s support. But if your work is directly related to your research and supports it – or if you’re doing local community interaction activities and need a work permit because those activities have some remuneration, then you could get support for that.
I don’t remember needing a separate application to MEXT, but our students did need the university’s permission. I can’t remember a single instance where any of them ever got it. The MEXT scholarship pays more than some full-time jobs, so appeals for money reasons were never accepted.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Dear TranSenz
I have contacted with a Japanese Professor and he told me to send him the form in where he could write for me as his recommendation. I wish to go in October so I need to apply between mid April in this year. So What can I do? Which form or papers should I collect and send to the Professor?
Regards
Hi Robi,
If you start your application now for the MEXT scholarship, you’ll be looking at going to Japan in October 2017.
You do not need a recommendation for a Japanese professor in any case. If you’re applying for the University-recommended MEXT Scholarship (the article you commented on), then no recommendation from Japan is needed. If you’re applying for the Embassy-recommended scholarship, then you’ll need to pass the Embassy’s primary screening first, then get a “Letter of Acceptance” from the university in Japan, which should include the name of ther professor who will supervise you there.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you very much sir for your reply.
Your blog is very much informative regarding MEXT Scholarship, Indeed It creates easiness for the applicants. And I also See your blog and read the guidelines about how to apply and all conditions and terms.
Sir, I have a question in my mind that, As you know I am in waiting list of MEXT in both TODAI and TOKODAI. Can you please tell me In case If I am not selected or If a primary applicant do not reject proposal of the university. Can I join Next year as University Shortlist me but due to limited number of scholarship they put me on reserve list. So, my question is If I am willing to join next year I have to apply again or they will consider me with same application of this year, and what will be my chances then ?
Please help me in this regard
Hi Fahad,
You do have to apply again next year. Acceptance and shortlisting does not carry over from year to year. (If it did, then you would be competing with everyone who had applied in the past, so it really wouldn’t be a good thing for you, either.) The scholarship favors the ones who are willing to put in the extra work.
Your chances really depend on what your competition looks like next year, but if you spend the year in between building a positive relationship with your advisor and indicating that you are still interested, then you could have a better chance next year.
You could also try applying for the Embassy-recommended scholarship in the mean time. Depending on your country and the number of slots it has, that could be easier to get.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Dear Sir,
I hope you are fine, I have applied in Tokodai and Todai and got my results from both the universities that I am in the reserve or waiting list of the MEXT scholarship.My major is civil engineering, Can you please tell me how many chances I have that I will promoted to main list as both universities said I am in the waiting list. Kindly help me in this regard and tell me the past experience about that.
I will be very thankful to you.
Hi Fahad,
For the University-recommended scholarship, applying to two universities will make you ineligible. If both universities recommend you to MEXT, not only with you lose the scholarship, but every applicant that was nominated by those two universities could lose their scholarships as well.
I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but I would say that you should choose one university to stick with and contact the other to cancel your application.
As far as your chances go, you can only move up from the waiting list if one of the primary applicants withdraws his/her application before the deadline that the university has to submit nominations to MEXT. I saw it happen occasionally, but usually by the time applicants cancelled, it was too late for us to recommend a replacement. Your chances of moving up are better if you are on the list for a PGP program, since that has a later nomination deadline.
I wish you good luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
Dear sir,
I have told both the universities that I have made multiple applications mean I have applied to two universities and also I have read it in their application documents too.. Now problem is that In both the universities I am on the waiting list. I think If both the universities wanna select me then I have fill a pledge form and send it to the uni for confirm my admission. Actually problem is, What are my chances that I will get selection from your past experience ? I have applied in TITECH and in International graduate program in civil engineering in the University of tokyo.. please help me in this regard
Hi Fahad,
OK, as long as you’re upfront with the universities, that’s great!
Unfortunately, I never saw anyone from the alternate list earn the scholarship. To have a chance, you would need one of the primary scholarship candidates to drop out before the university recommended them to MEXT. It’s possible, but every time I saw an applicant drop out of the scholarship application, it was after it was too late for us to recommend an alternate.
I hope you’re luck will be different!
Good Luck,
Travis
Hello Travis,
I applied for the MEXT Scholarship through University-Recommendation in Waseda University’s Graduate School of Information, Production, and Systems, and I have just received my Notice of Success in my application to the university. Right now, I am just waiting for the MEXT results and I am worried if I have a big chance of getting the scholarship.
Here are some of my questions: Do you think it is possible (and not disrespectful) to e-mail the Admissions Office of Waseda to know my application ranking? Will there still be a big possibility that I do not get the scholarship even if I am recommended by the university?
I have been reading your blog for quite a while and it has been a really big help! Thank you for taking your time and effort to compose all the necessary information potential scholars like me will find use.
Thank you very much in advance!
Hi JamesV,
Congratulations on getting the Notification of Success from Waseda! I’m very happy to hear that you found these posts helpful.
I don’t know how it works for Waseda, but where I worked, we did not accept students through the University-Recommendation program unless we were also going to recommend them for the scholarship. We also did not recommend more students for the scholarship than we had slots available, so every student that we accepted through the U-R process ended up getting the scholarship.
Again, I’m not sure how Waseda does it (maybe there’s someone else on here who can chime in based on their experience?)
I don’t necessarily think it would hurt to contact them about your ranking, but I would suggest asking them instead, “In past years, did students with my ranking in the nomination usually earn the scholarship?”
They probably will not want to answer questions about future possibilities, since that’s out of their control, but might be more willing to answer about the past.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Thanks for your valuable help.
Were could we find more information regarding the “extra” scholarships in which universities pay the travel expenses instead of MEXT?
I have been looking for that information in MEXT’s website but It seems that it is not made public.
I recently applied at a National university in Kyushu and obtained the second position in the University’s ranking. However, as the university only has ~100 international students, only one scholarship will be awarded via the general category ( this year, each University lost one scholarship in comparison with previous years).
The International Office of the University said that they have 2 more slots. That would be 3 scholarships available for FY2016. Interestingly, those slots are not part of a PGP program.
I would like to know if all the National Universities can obtain extra scholarships if they pay for the travel expenses.
I am indebted for your help.
Sincerely,
Marco.
Dear Marco,
Thank you for letting me know about the decrease in scholarship numbers. I had not seen that post on the MEXT site yet. After reading your comment, I did some searching and I was able to find it.
The information about the “extra” scholarships – like most information about the University-recommended scholarship – is only made public in Japanese.
I found the page that has the new scholarship calculation and the new information about the “extra” slots and translated it in this new article.
This year, all universities can recommend up to 2 additional nominees if the university covers the travel expenses (down from 15 last year).
Good Luck
-Travis from TranSenz
Dear TranSenz,
Thank you so much for your valuable website. I applied for General Category of MEXT scholarship in 2015, but I did not accepted. I have some questions about applying in for next year (2016):
1. If I apply with same professor the chance will increase or not?
2. Previous year my supervisor was associate professor, if I change the supervisor with professor degree the chance will increase or not?
3. Second time applying for MEXT scholarship has more chance or not?
4. Can I stay in Japan as a dependent visa and apply for this scholarship?
On the basis of these questions what do you suggest to me?
Do I change my supervisor as a professor position instead of associate professor? Do I apply for special or general recommendation?
Can I go to Japan as a dependent visa before applying or I should stay in my own country?
Thanks for your help,
Hi R,
In most cases I would not recommend applying again to the same university. If you made it far into the interview process and got positive feedback from the professor last year, or you’ve made some epic research accomplishment in the last year, then maybe it could work, but I never saw a second-time applicant get accepted.
1. Only if you have since built up a relationship with that professor.
2. You should choose the professor whose research most closely matches your own. Don’t worry about the rank, focus on improving your Field of Study.
3. Re-applying to the same university, you probably have a lower chance. They’re going to look at your application and remember “this is the guy that wasn’t good enough to get it last year.” Again, if you have built a relationship with the professor, you could be the exception, but without that, forget it.
4. No- you should apply from outside Japan or you are going to raise suspicion and possibly be considered ineligible. I wrote a section about this in the article about eligibility for the MEXT scholarship.
My advice is to find a new university and work on improving your Field of Study to get in. Networking would be helpful, too.
Since you mentioned dependent visa- if you’re applying to a specific university to be at the same place as a spouse, etc., then you might want to consider applying through another scholarship or as a self-financed student if you really want to be there. You may end up having to choose between the location and the scholarship.
Good luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Dear TranSenz,
Thank you for your kind answer. My supervisor’s major is match with my field of study and he said for next year he will improve the field of study. Last year university ranked me and sent my name to MEXT but MEXT just accepted 4 students and my rank was more than 4.
My spouse is in that University and I have to apply to that university. Also in my spouse’s lab there is a student that got MEXT scholarship in second time with same supervisor and same university.
I read the article eligibility for the MEXT scholarship,
1. Is it possible I apply when I am in my own country (December, January) and after apply I go to Japan (February) and live with my spouse after result (May, June) I go back to my country and get the Student visa and come back to Japan (September, October)?
2. I had stayed in Japan just for 3 months (living with my spouse), and because of this scholarship we are far from each other from April 2015, Is it helpful I write in application form (‘immigration records to Japan’ ‘purpose of immigration’) that I leave Japan and we are far from each other because getting this scholarship.
On the basis of these information about my life and situation, I will be happy I hear you experience and suggestions.
Sincerely,
Hi R,
Now I understand your situation. I saw a lot of applicants who would apply year after year even though they were never even considered. But if you have the connection, feedback, and more importantly the professor willing to work with you on your Field of Study, then it sounds like you have a better chance.
About traveling to Japan- what you described in “1.” is exactly what is not allowed- you cannot be living in Japan and return to your home country only for the sake of applying for the visa. That can get you disqualified from the scholarship, and you’d have a high chance of getting busted if your spouse is already at the same university! Yes, I understand that it’s hard to be apart, but to be blunt, MEXT doesn’t care. They are not in the humanitarian business.
If you do go to Japan in the meantime while waiting the results, I recommend that you go on a tourist (“short term stay”) visa with a validity period that ends before July. That proves to MEXT and the university that you definitely plan to return to your home country. If you come on a dependent visa, you’re going to look very suspicious and possibly lose the scholarship.
The immigration records section of the application form is actually for immigration’s reference, so they can double-check against their own records. Your purpose of immigration would be “visiting family”. I would not recommend mentioning being separated from your spouse any more than necessary- you don’t want to come off as someone who only wants the scholarship to be able to live with your spouse.
Good luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Thank you so much for your valuable information and clear answers. You suggest that I will get the tourist (short term stay) visa with a validity period that ends before July. But the results usually announce on May, 1. there is not any problems that I stay in Japan during and after result announcement?
2. Also my spouse has a MEXT scholarship 2014 in the same university, I want to know it has not any side effects on my selection?
3. My supervisor got MEXT scholarship for one of his private students in April 2015 (Internal MEXT scholarship for private students that they study in Japan), this case will decrease my chance for getting the scholarship? It is not better I change my supervisor because of this point.
4. The university that I want to apply, students apply in 2 ways by university recommendation: 1. Apply for Biological science faculty that it has 1) United graduate school of veterinary science and 2) United graduate school of agriculture science.
If I apply to Biological faculty at first I will be a research student then after exam I will enter to United graduate school of agriculture science. on the other hand, If I apply to United graduate school of agriculture science after result of MEXT I should participate in interview by internet with supervisor and co supervisor and after acceptance I will accept and directly study in United graduate school of agriculture science (Period of studying Maximum 3 years), Is it Special recommendation?
I earned these information from students, I want to know what is your idea which one is better? (Is there any difference?) I applied to Biological faculty last year.
Thanks a lot.
Sincerely,
Hi R,
In general, there should be no problem with visiting Japan as a tourist during the application process. The eligibility requirements say that you cannot be living in Japan – which means you cannot be there on a mid-to-long term residence status.
Most of your questions are up to the internal decisions of that particular university. There is no particular set of rules that applies here, so anything I could say would be nothing more than a guess.
First and foremost, the university is going to want to select the best applicants, based on your previous grades and your Field of Study and Research Program Plan. Choosing one professor over another is probably not going make that significant of a difference. I recommend focusing on working on your Field of Study rather than gambling on university politics- spend your effort on what you can control.
As for choosing the faculty/graduate school, I recommend basing your decision on your research field! If your field of study and the professor you are applying to is related to veterinary science, apply to that. If it is related to agricultural science, apply to that.
Good luck,
Travis from TranSenz
Hello TranSenz,
I read your articles and the information is very helpful in evaluating the process. Thank you very much for putting your efforts in writing such pieces of advice. I’m truly grateful.
I’ve some queries I want to discuss with you. I wish to apply for University-Recommendation MEXT in coming October, 2015. I’ve contacted a professor at Waseda University to supervise me. He recommended me to apply for some scholarship that can fund my graduate studies. I’m considering it a positive response to supervise me. What I want to ask is that,
1) Will it be advantageous for me securing the MEXT i.e. having my supervisor ready before the process starts?
2) Because its gonna take almost a year to get to Japan, will the professor be waiting for that much long?
3) I’m going to be a research student in Professor’s lab, will I be needing a research proposal of my own? as I’m just assisting in professor’s research.
Please answer as soon as possible so I could prepare well for it before hand.
Thank you in advance.
Hi Touqeer,
Thank you for your kind words.
1) Having a relationship with a professor at the university should certainly help, though I cannot say it will guarantee you a scholarship slot. I plan to write about networking with professors in a subsequent post, so keep your eyes open for that!
2) Professors are aware that it takes a long time, so I wouldn’t be worried, but you should try to stay in touch in the mean time as you develop your research themes and maybe do some preliminary work.
3) You absolutely need your own research plan. You are not just going to be the professor’s Research Assistant, you need to come up with an original research project that ties into the professor’s lab work and supports it. If the professor is willing to work with you, maybe he or she can help you edit your proposal, but you should have a very solid idea of what you want to research before you even ask the professor for help. If you go to him or her and say “I don’t know what to write for my research proposal, can you help?” it is very likely to make the professor not want to accept you.
Your Research Plan is the most important part of your application documents, so unless you have a well-developed plan, it will be very difficult to pass that screening and get a scholarship nomination. That is also going to be the subject of a subsequent article, so please keep checking back!
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz