Application Procedure For Japan Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship and Admission of BS, MS, PhD
The MEXT Embassy Recommended Scholarship is a comprehensive fully funded scholarship sponsored by the government of Japan. MEXT Japan Scholarship has two ways to apply
- Via the Japanese Embassy in Applicant Country
- Via the Japanese Universities channel.
The Embassy announces MEXT scholarship for MS and Ph.D., covering almost all the fields of Engineering, Non-Engineering, Social sciences, Life sciences, etc. Here we explain the procedures of Embassy Recommended MEXT scholarship of the Japanese Government (For University Recommended MEXT scholarship visit ). The minor details of the procedures and the timelines may vary year to year, but the general framework followed is similar. MEXT (Monbukagakusho in Japanese) means the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan. This scholarship is offered by the Japan Government in 10 different categories.
1. MEXT Research Scholarship
2. MEXT Undergraduate Scholarship
3. MEXT Teachers Training Student Scholarship
4. KAKEHASHI Program-Building Bridge between High School Students in Japan and Asia
5. The Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) (for civil servants only)
6. Young Leaders Program (YLP) (for civil servants only)
7. Asia Leadership Fellowship Program
8. Joint Japan/World bank Graduate Scholarship Program
9. Innovative Asia (UET Lahore, NUST Islamabad, NED University Karachi)
10. SAKURA Exchange Program in Science
➢ In order to do a master’s or Ph.D. program, or simply do research under a non-degree category, apply for the first category.
➢ In order to do an undergraduate degree, apply for the second category.
➢ There are other scholarship opportunities also which you can avail, if you lie in that particular category
Step 0 (Call For Application)
The first most important thing is to know the important dates related to the application procedure for admission and scholarship. The notification about MEXT comes through the Japanese Embassy of the applicant’s country so visit the webpage Japanese Embassy to know the exact deadlines. The call for applications comes around April for the Embassy recommended Research (MS, Ph.D.) student scholarship. You will find the application form and all the basic information on the Official Page of the Embassy of Japan in your country. The deadline for submitting this preliminary application form to the Embassy varies on yearly basis but it is generally in June. The application documents should reach the Embassy in hard form before the deadline. Names of the shortlisted candidates are released in July but it can also vary for that particular year.
An approximate timeline is given below for Embassy Recommended Scholarship.
- Application Call Start – April
- Deadline for submitting Application – Jun
- Result Announce – July
Step 1 (Basic Info about MEXT Scholarship)
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible to apply for the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship, an applicant must:
- Have the nationality of a country that has diplomatic relations with the Japanese government. Applicants who have Japanese nationality are not eligible (Japanese dual-nationality citizens who plan on renouncing their Japanese citizenship, however, may apply).
- Be willing to newly acquire a student visa and newly enter Japan for the purpose of study upon receipt of the scholarship.
- Be able to arrive in Japan on a date designated by University for study.
- Have a CGPA equal to or higher than 2.30 out of 3.00 for the current degree program as calculated by MEXT’s formula (or most recently attended degree program for persons not currently enrolled). Link of GPA Calculation by MEXT’s formula can find here ↵
Scholarship Benefit
- Allowance: The amounts listed below shall be paid depending on the course enrolled in. The amount of payment is subject to change each fiscal year depending on the Japanese Government budget. However, if a grantee takes a leave of absence from the university or is absent for a long period of time, the scholarship will not be paid for that period.
- Research students: 143,000 JPY per month
- Regular students enrolled in master’s course: 144,000 JPY per month
- Regular students enrolled in doctoral courses: 145,000 JPY per month
- Travel expenses to come to Japan
- Travel expenses to return home country
- Education fees
Details of MEXT
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Calculate GPA
For MEXT
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Step 2 (Prepare Application Documents )
Different application documents are required for application such as you are required to fill in an application form given on the webpage of the Embassy of Japan in your country or japan official website. In the application form, you apply under one of the departments/fields as prescribed by MEXT that year. The application form requires you to submit your academic details as well as a research plan. Shortlisting from the applications, I believe, is a sort of weighted average of your academic merit and research proposal (Factors may vary for different Embassies)
The following documents are required:
- Mark Sheet Form
- Application Form
- Research Proposal
- Abstract of Last Degree (if any)
- Copy of English language proficiency certificate
- Academic detail Marks sheet of BSc and MSc
- Hope certificate issued by the Institute (for students whose final result is expected)
- Recommendation letter
- Medical certificate
- Placement Preference Application Form
The knowledge of the Japanese language and IELTS/TOEFL isn’t mandatory. The application to be filled should better be done in soft form and take the print out so that you can keep the record of it for future purposes. The documents copy should be Attested by University, Gazetted Officer, or a Professor. HEC attestation is mandatory if selected. Embassy asked to submit these documents with one Original & one Copy. The Original document here doesn’t really mean that you have to submit the Original Degree Certificates or Transcripts etc. since the Embassy already clarified that the submitted documents will not be returned. The ORIGINAL Document here stands for “Originally Verified/Attested Copy”, over which the signatures and/or stamp are original (Not a copied version); and the COPY Document definitely means that you have to get a copy of that originally verified document. The Embassy also clarified that the attestation is required to be done by the University or a Gazetted Officer or a Professor. It’s better to get verification by the university i.e. Controller’s office of the University. Once the candidate is selected by the Embassy, HEC attestation is mandatory. For further details and clarification, please visit the official website of the Embassy of Japan in your country..
Study Plan (SOP)
Motivation Letter
Research Plan Research Proposal
Reference Letter Recommendation
Official Application Forms
English
Proficiency Letter
Academic
CV
Past Degrees & Transcripts
Japanese Embassies website
Step 3 (First screening)
Only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted by the Embassy for the Test and Interview. A written test is held in the Japanese embassy in your country for shortlisted candidates to test English language proficiency. Samples of Previous years Test Papers can be downloaded from the official website ↵ Past paper samples are available. The result of the English language test is released on the same day in most cases and if you are further shortlisted for an interview, a representative of a Japanese embassy will call you and inform you about the interview date. If you pass the interview step, then you have passed the first screening.
Past Examination Questions
Placement Preference
Step 4 (Search Universities)
You have to find a maximum of three or four universities which are suitable for your study. By visiting websites (Links are given below) or other means, a candidate can learn about Japanese universities and majors they offer and then choose a specified university, and major. A student should identify some good universities that offer scholarships in his program and field of study. Consider the institution’s overall reputation, research published by the university/department/group in your research field, and other factors while choosing a university. A university’s scholarship policy varies depending on the programs and courses offered. When a student chooses a university, he can go to the university’s website to learn about the university’s departments and staff. We have made a list of top-rank universities in Japan. The list includes the link to the university website, department website, and other details such as admissions requirements (IELTS), application fee, and deadline of application. The sheet also includes the website link of the supervisor.
Japan Top Ranked Universities
Engineering related Supervisors
All Designated Japan Universities
Step 5 (Contact Supervisors for Acceptance )
The Next Step is to get acceptance from the prospective supervisor of the Japanese universities which is the most important and Mandatory for MEXT. You have to find a professor who has the same research field as your interest. To find professors and details about them, surfing the university websites would be the best way. Students can find some good supervisors from the university website. You may also go via other channels like conference/journal works and research papers published by teachers. For this, you can search in “Google Scholar” like “Topic + university name”. After you find some good research papers matching your research field, you can obtain the email of the corresponding author and contact him. In Japan, each professor will be associated with a research lab which makes it easier for you to find your tribe. Each University has its own graduate schools like Graduate School of Engineering, Graduate school of Information Science and Technology etc. Departments generally come under that. Japanese Universities have many interdisciplinary fields and departments. It can happen that you end up doing your favorite research in some interdisciplinary field and department Applicants must find a prospective supervisor at a selected university and thoroughly communicate with him/her, and then obtain his/her approval. An acceptance is obtained by contacting a Japanese teacher who will agree to accept you in his research group. You can send an email to him in which you will briefly explain your research interest, urge him to study in that university under a scholarship. Then after positive responses from professors, apply for admissions through MEXT and get yourself nominated as a MEXT fellow of the university. The professors inquire about your research interests (through emails). The procedure for writing a good email to the professor has been discussed in the below-given links. I assume you will not send stupid emails to the professors. Most professors agree to your research proposal and sometimes they ask you to write a new one for the problem assigned by them. Supervisors ask you to give a Skype interview before they wrote me the Letter of Acceptance. At this point, you should be clear with the professors that as MEXT requirement you need three acceptances and it is not sure that I will be finally doing research with you. The original Letter of Acceptance needs to be sent to the Embassy of Japan in your country from your prospective supervisors and deadlines are specified by the Embassy. Below you can find how to contact supervisors, it will give you a good idea.
How to Find Supervisors
Email Templates
For Research Supervisors
How to Email Supervisors
Acceptance Letter
From Supervisor
Step 6 (Final confirmation of the scholarship from MEXT)
Getting the Acceptance from Supervisor, nearly always means you have secured the scholarship (See application guidelines for the details), but there are still some internal screenings involved at the MEXT level. Till this point, you are not sure whether you will be selected or not. Some students get rejected after the internal screening done by MEXT in Japan. So, you wait. After coming to Japan, you are enrolled as a nondegree research student and you have to secure admission in your respective department. The research student period officially starts in April. It was almost a year of long risky wait and it wasn’t even sure that the scholarship would be granted in any of these steps. The embassy will guide you but you have to work a lot of your own mostly and patiently wait for the result.
Details of MEXT
Scholarship
Search Scholarships in Japan
Other Scholarships in Japan