Application Guidelines and Notes for Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho: MEXT) Scholarship (University Recommendation 2018) NOTE: This is a summarized, and translated version of the original application guidelines for your reference. If there is any conflict between this document and the Japanese original documents, the latter will prevail. The Japanese Government Scholarship University Recommendation is a type of selection that students are recommended to MEXT by a Japanese university which will accept you as a research student. It is divided into 4 categories, General, Special Program, SATREPS and e-asia. Yokohama National University recommends students under the two categories: General and Special Program. If you wish to be recommended under the Special Program category, please visit the website of the Graduate School of Urban Innovation for further information. If you wish to be recommended under the General category, please first look for a suitable academic advisor from our university website. Necessary documents must be submitted to the International Admissions Office from February 13 (Tue.) to 23 (Fri.), 2018 through the academic advisor. (Application documents directly submitted by the applicant will not be accepted.) Selected candidates are recommended to MEXT from the university in late March. MEXT then conducts a screening and selects those applicants as scholarship grantees by the end of June. 1. QUALIFICATIONS (1) Applicants Applicants must be international students of graduate level who are newly coming to Japan, and must have GPA 2.3 or higher and be expected to maintain the equivalent level during the scholarship period. 1
How to calculate the GPA UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION The applicants GPA is calculated by the MEXT s GPA calculation method based on the last two years of applicant s academic records, using the following table and formula (The applicant s GPA is calculated by an academic advisor). Grade Point Conversion Table: Grade 4 level rating Excellent Good Fair Fail 4 level rating A B C F 4 level rating 100-80 79-70 69-60 59-0 5 level rating S A B C F 5 level rating A B C D F 5 level rating 100-90 89-80 79-70 69-60 59-0 Grade Point (GP) 3 3 2 1 0 Grade Formula: GPA = ((No. of Credits with GP3 * 3) + (No. of Credits with GP2 * 2) + (No. of Credits with GP1 * 1) + (No. of Credits with GP0 * 0))/Total Number of Registered Credits (2) Nationality Applicants must have the nationality of a country that has diplomatic relations with Japan. In principle, the applicant who has Japanese nationality is not eligible. (3) Age In principle, applicants must have been born on or after April 2, 1983. (4) Academic Background Applicants must meet the qualifications to enter a master s degree course or doctoral degree course of Japanese graduate school. (If applicants have yet to meet the qualifications at the time of application, they must satisfy them by the time of their arrival in Japan.) 2
(5) Major Field of Study Applicants should apply for the field of study they have studied at the previous university, or any related fields. Applicants must choose a field that they can receive education and perform research at the university of their choice. (6) Language Ability Applicants must have Japanese or English ability with which they can conduct research at university. Applicants are required to submit a document that demonstrates their linguistic or academic ability (e.g. TOEFL, IELTS, JLPT, etc.) In the research fields in which Japanese language ability is necessary (Japanese linguistics, Japanese literature, Japanese history, Japanese law, etc.), applicants who have insufficient Japanese language ability to pursue their research will not be accepted except under very special circumstances. (7) Health condition Judged by the accepting university, applicants must be free from any mental or physical disabilities that would impede the pursuit of study in Japan. (8) Arrival in Japan Applicants must be able to leave for and arrive in Japan on the date set by the accepting university in September or October (within two weeks of the beginning of the Fall Semester). (9) Visa Requirement In principle, applicants must acquire College Student (ryūgaku) visas from the Japanese diplomatic mission in the country of their nationality before entering Japan. Even if applicants have obtained other resident status such as permanent resident, they must change their status to College Student and newly arrive in Japan. (10) Non-eligibility Any applicants who meet any of the following conditions are not eligible. Applicants will be required to withdraw from the scholarship if the non-eligibility is identified after the start of the scholarship period. [1] Those who are military personnel or military civilian employees at the time of their arrival in Japan and their scholarship period; [2] Those who cannot arrive in Japan by the period designated by the accepting 3
university; [3] The applicant who is a previous recipient of a Japanese government scholarship, but does not have educational or research experience more than three years from the first day of the month following the final payment of the previous scholarship to the beginning of the payment of this scholarship. This does not apply to the recipients of Japanese Studies Scholarships, Japan-Korea Joint Government Scholarship Program for the Students in Science and Engineering Departments and Young Leaders Program ; [4] Those who have applied to other Japanese government scholarships payment of which will start in the fiscal year of 2018; [5] Those who are currently enrolled at a Japanese university with a College Student (ryugaku) residence status; those enrolled, or scheduled to be enrolled at a Japanese university as a privately financed international student between the period when the scholarship application was filed until prior to the start of the provision of the scholarship; This does not apply to current privately financed international students at Japanese universities who will complete their courses of study and return to their countries before the start of scholarship payment; [6] Those who are going to receive scholarships from Japanese government, Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO), or other institutions including government institutions in their home countries; [7] Applicants who are expected to graduate at the time of application and cannot satisfy the qualifications and the conditions related to academic background by the deadline given; [8] Holders of dual nationality at the time of application who cannot verify that they have given up Japanese nationality by the time of the arrival in Japan; [9] Applicants who wish, from the time of application, to conduct fieldwork or participate in an internship outside of Japan (since this scholarship program is intended for students who wish to enroll in a Japanese university and do graduate research in Japan); or [10] Postdoctoral applicants who do not aim to obtain a degree. 4
(11) Cooperation Japanese government scholarship students should serve as capable personnel who help Japan s globalization by participating in related activities widely in order to contribute to mutual understanding between Japan and their original countries. They also need to cooperate with the university they have graduated from and the Japanese embassy after returning to their own countries. 2. PERIOD OF SCHOLARSHIP The period of scholarship will differ as follows depending on the course that the grantee takes in Japan: (1) If the grantee will enroll as a non-degree research student (kenkyu-sei) after coming to Japan, the scholarship will be payable for 18 months from October 2018 through March 2020. (2) If the grantee will enroll directly in a master's or doctoral program after coming to Japan, the scholarship will be payable for the period necessary for the grantee to complete their regular course (standard course term). (3) If the grantee desires to proceed to a regular graduate program from a research student course, or to a doctoral program from a master s program, he/she may have the period of his/her scholarship extended upon successful examination by MEXT provided that he/she has outstanding academic achievement that meets certain criteria. However, the following points should be taken note of: [a] The grantee cannot have the period of his/her scholarship extended as a research student (kenkyu-sei). [b] If the grantee proceeds to a higher level of education without receiving approval for an extension of the period of the scholarship, the scholarship will be cancelled. The grantees may, however, proceed to a higher level of education or continue with his/her study as a privately-financed student. [c] If the grantee fails in an entrance examination during the above mentioned designated period as a research student (kenkyu-sei), his/her period of the scholarship cannot be extended. [d] In cases where the grantee has applied for the extension of the period of the scholarship, or if the grantee decides to return his/her country within the 5
original period of his/her scholarship despite the application, in principle, his/her return travel expense will not be covered by the scholarship. [e] The grantee who proceeds to a regular graduate program from a research student program is not permitted to change his/her affiliation to any other graduate school/university. 3. SCHOLARSHIP BENEFITS (1) Allowance Under the fiscal 2018 budget, each grantee is provided monthly with 143,000 yen (students enrolled in a research student course), 144,000 yen (students enrolled in a master s program), or 145,000 yen (students enrolled in a doctoral program). Note: The monthly stipend is subject to change depending on the budget situation of each fiscal year. An additional monthly stipend of 2,000 or 3,000 yen may be provided to those undertaking study or research in specially designated regions. (3,000 yen of additional monthly stipend will be provided in case of Yokohama.) The scholarship will not be paid to grantees who take leave of absence, or are long absent from their university. (2) Transportation to Japan The grantee will be provided, according to his/her itinerary and route as designated by MEXT, with an economy class air ticket from the international airport closest to his/her place of residence to Haneda Airport (Tokyo International Airport) or Narita International Airport. Expenses such as domestic transportation from his/her place of residence to the nearest international airport, airport tax, airport usage charges, special taxes on overseas travel and travel expenses within Japan will be borne by the grantee (the grantee s place of residence shall in principle be the address stated in the application form). Note: [a] As mentioned above, in cases where the grantees have applied for the extension of the period of the scholarship, if the grantees decide to return their country within the original term of their scholarship despite the application, in principle, their return travel expense will not be covered by the scholarship. [b] Travel expenses for returning to their own country will not be provided if 6
grantees continuously stay in Japan after their period of scholarship has expired. [c] Starting from 2014, the university can also recommend applicants whose travel expenses to and from Japan will be covered by the university or themselves. (3) Fees Fees for matriculation, tuition and entrance examinations at university will be borne by the university. 4. CANCELLATION OF SCHOLARSHIP The scholarship will be cancelled to grantees in the following cases. Or if the following cases are found after the scholarship is paid, the grantees may be ordered to return the amount of the scholarship payments during that period. [1] If any of their application documents are found to be falsified; [2] If they breach their pledge made to the MEXT; [3] If they violate the Japanese Law; [4] If they are subjected to disciplinary action, such as expulsion or removal from register, taken by their university or the preparatory Japanese-teaching institution; [5] If it becomes definitive that the grantees will not be able to complete their course within the standard course term because of their poor academic achievement or suspension; [6] If their resident status of College Student as provided for in Paragraph 1-4 of Appendix to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act changes to any other status; [7] If they are provided with another scholarship (except for a scholarship designated for research expenses); or [8] If they proceed to a higher level of education without receiving approval for an extension of the period of the scholarship. [9] If they leave the university or transfer to another graduate school/university. 5. RECOMMENDATION PROCEDURES AND SELECTION (1) Recommendation: Each university, after screening, will recommend designated number of applicants to the Japanese Government (MEXT) as the candidates. 7
Number of Candidates to be Recommended The number of candidates that each university can recommend to MEXT is designated. This year, the number of candidates that YNU can recommend to MEXT is 8 (eight): a basic quota of 6 candidates and additional quota of 2 candidates. However, please note that being recommended by the university do not guarantee you scholarship. Actual number of scholarships granted varies each year. For your reference, YNU received 7 candidates for the 2017 selection. Starting from 2014, each university is required to select more than 75% of their applicants from one of the following regions: 1. ASEAN, 2. Central Asia, 3. India and South East Asia, 4. Russia and CIS, 5. Africa, 6. Middle East, 7. South America, 8. Central and Eastern Europe and 9. United States. (2) Selection: The Selection Committee of the MEXT will decide on the grantees and their period of scholarships. Based on the results of screening and selection, the MEXT will notify the results to the university. Notification of the results The result of university screening will be notified to applicants in late March, and of MEXT screening by the end of June. In both cases, the International Admissions Office of YNU will inform you of the result via email. (3) Documents to be Submitted: Each applicant must submit the following documents to the university by the specified date. [1] Application Form (Original, double-side printing) [2] Field of Study and Study Program Form (Original, double-side printing) [3] Proof of nationality (such as a copy of passport) [4] Certified academic transcripts (graduate and/or undergraduate) issued by the last university attended (Original or Certified true copy) [5] Certificate of Graduation (or prospective graduation) from graduate/ undergraduate school attended (Original or Certified true copy) [6] Proof that the applicant is academically outstanding (such that the applicant ranks top 5% or 10% in the department) (Original or Certified true copy) [7] Official Letter of Recommendation from a high-ranking person (such as Dean 8
or Director must be directed to President of the accepting university. Original) [8] Photograph (4.5 x 3.5cm size, taken within the past six months, upper body, full-faced, no hats. Write your name and nationality on the back and paste it onto the application form. Original or Digital.) [9] Abstract of thesis (Copy) [10] Documents that prove the linguistic or academic ability of the applicant (such as the score of TOEFL, IELTS, Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)) (Original or Certified true copy) Note: 1. All the documents mentioned above must be prepared either in Japanese, or in English. If you have to prepare the documents in other languages, the Japanese translation certified by public institutions must be attached to them. Please use word processing software to prepare your documents if at all possible, and be sure to print the documents double-sided in A4 size paper. 2. All the documents submitted will not be returned under any circumstances. Submission of application documents Please send the above documents to your academic advisor by registered mail and email. These documents must be submitted to the International Admissions Office from February 13 (Tue.) to 23 (Fri.), 2018 through the academic advisor. (Application documents directly submitted by the applicant will not be accepted.) 9