SECONDARY CALL: 2022 Application Guidelines for MEXT Scholarship for International Priority Graduate Programs (IPGP)- Division of Information Science-

The Division of Information Science is calling for candidates for the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship. If you wish to apply for this scholarship, please contact the Division of Information Science laboratory you wish to enter.

1. Number of MEXT scholarships

Doctoral course 2

2. Enrollment date

October 1, 2022
(Students must enter either the master's or doctoral course on the above date. Research students are not accepted under this program.)

3. Scholarship benefits

  1. Monthly scholarship amount*
    (Doctoral course) 145,000 yen
  2. Exemption of tuition and entrance fees
  3. Travel expenses (limited to airfare) from their country to Japan will be provided upon acceptance.
  4. Travel expenses (limited to airfare) to return to their country will be provided after completing the program.

*The amount is subject to change depending on the annual budget of the following year.

4. Scholarship term

Doctoral course From October 2022 to September 2025

QUALIFICATIONS FOR APPLICATION

Applicants must fulfill all of the following qualifications.

  1. Applicants who have the nationality of a country which has diplomatic relations with Japan.
  2. Applicants who will come to Japan in order to enter NAIST under this program.
  3. Applicants who were born after April 2, 1987.
  4. Applicants who have an excellent academic record. (They must have average grade points (*1) of 2.30 or higher for the most recent 2 years of study and are expected to maintain this points during the duration of the scholarship.)
  5. [For doctoral course applicants]
    a.  Applicants who have a master's degree by September 30, 2022, or
    b.  Applicants who have been recognized by NAIST through Preliminary Screening of Applicant Suitability as having the academic ability equivalent or superior to the level of a master's degree, and are 24 years old or older by the enrollment date.

*1. For the average grade points calculation, please see the following page.
http://www.naist.jp/en/international_students/prospective_students/financial_support/doc/calculation.pdf
*2. For detailed information on Preliminary Screening of Applicant Suitability, please contact the IPGP Screening Committee.

Note: The following people are not eligible for the scholarship

Ⅰ. Active military personnel or military civilian employees.
Ⅱ. Those who have already accepted a scholarship from an organization other than MEXT (including the government of their country).
Ⅲ. Those applying for this scholarship through other universities or applying for other support programs for international students from MEXT or Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO).

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

a Application for MEXT scholarship

Form available here.

(print on both sides)

b Field of study and study program

Form available here.

(print on both sides)
In "Field of study" section, you write the outline of your current research field. In "Study program" section, you write your study plan after enrolling in NAIST.

c Letter of recommendation Form available here. (Any format is acceptable if it contains the same information). Must be issued by the Dean, the person corresponding to the Dean, or person of higher authority, and addressed to the President of NAIST.
d Photo (4.5cm x 3.5cm) A full-faced photo without headwear (except religious), taken within the past 6 months. Write your name and nationality on the back and attach it to the application form. Electronic files are acceptable.
e Proof of citizenship A passport copy is preferable.
f Academic transcript [Doctoral course applicants]
Both undergraduate and master's transcripts
Must be submitted in original or a certified copy.
g Graduation certificate or certificate of academic degree Must be issued by the last university attended.
If you are expected to graduate, you must submit a document certifying that you will graduate before September 30, 2022.
Must be submitted in original or a certified copy.
h Evaluation report on applicant Form available here. (Any format is acceptable if it contains the same information).
i Certification of language proficiency English (please submit one of the following documents)
1.?Scores of TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS or equivalent obtained after January 2020 (copy is acceptable)
*CEFR B2-level or higher is required.
*If your score is under B2-level, we will accept the score for preliminary screening.
However, please note that you will need to obtain B2-level or higher for final recommendation to MEXT by February 28.

2.?An official document which certifies that English is the main language used for your undergraduate or master's course.

Japanese (if you have one)
Scores of JLPT (copy is acceptable)
*N2-level or higher level is preferable.
j Letter of acceptance Form available here. Must be written by your prospective supervising professor in NAIST.
k Abstract of thesis Any format is acceptable.
(If you haven't written graduation thesis yet, summary of research is acceptable.)

Note

Ⅰ. If documents are written in a language other than Japanese or English, please attach a Japanese or English translation.
Ⅱ. Submitted documents will not be returned.
Ⅲ. All private information is used only for the purpose of screening and is not used for any other purpose.
Ⅳ. If any false information is discovered in the submitted documents, applicants will be disqualified from screening.

SCREENING

1. Screening process

Applicants will be screened by IPGP Screening Committee of the Division of Information Science on the basis of the submitted documents. Interviews through internet/e-mail may be conducted if necessary.
We will select the top 4 applicants from master's course and the top few applicants from doctoral course as candidates for MEXT scholarship. Following this, NAIST will send the candidates' application forms to MEXT.
Although the formal decision is made by MEXT, applicants' status is essentially guaranteed when they are selected as candidates by NAIST.

2. Application period

until January 31, 2022
Applicants must send all required documents (except letter of acceptance) by both postal mail and e-mail to your prospective supervising professor (Please CC:naist-ipgp[at]is.naist.jp). The supervising professor will write letter of acceptance and send it to IPGP Screening Committee along with the submitted documents.

*Applicants can contact your prospective supervisor before the above application period.

3. Results of preliminary screening

Results will be sent by e-mail by February 25, 2022.

4. Secondary screening (NAIST entrance examination)

If applicants pass the preliminary screening, they must take the entrance examination on the following days.
The detailed information of the application process will be sent by e-mail.

Entrance examination schedule
CourseApplication periodDates of examination
Doctoral course Around July 2022
(to be announced later)
Around August 2022
(to be announced later)

Ⅰ. With the exception of article (Ⅱ), applicants must come to NAIST to take the examination, which includes an interview. However, in consideration of the spreading of the new corona virus infection, NAIST may change the location from NAIST to online.
Ⅱ. If applicants fulfill all of the following conditions, they can apply for the Screening of International Students by Special Recommendation, in which they are evaluated according to the application documents. The detailed information of the Screening will be notified to each examinee.
a. Applicants are a registered student, faculty member or researcher at, or have graduated from a university which has an Academic Exchange Agreement with NAIST. (List of the partner universities)
b. Applicants have a letter of recommendation signed by the president or dean of the partner university.

Screening of International Students by Special Recommendation schedule
CourseApplication periodAnnouncement of results
Doctoral course May. 30 - June 3, 2022 July. 19, 2022
Ⅲ. The examination results will be announced on the NAIST website (http://www.naist.jp/en/) at 10:00 am (scheduled) on the dates specified above. The results will be sent by e-mail.

5. Final results

Final results will be announced by MEXT around June - July. NAIST will notify the applicants of the results soon afterwards.

CONTACT ADDRESS

If you have any further questions regarding the application guidelines, please contact us at the following address.

About screening process

IPGP Screening Committee
Division of Information Science
Nara Institute of Science and Technology
8916-5, Takayama, Ikoma, Nara 630-0192, Japan
E-mail:naist-ipgp[at]is.naist.jp

About scholarship information

International Student Affairs Section
International Affairs Division
Nara Institute of Science and Technology
8916-5, Takayama, Ikoma, Nara 630-0192, Japan
Phone: +81(743)72-5087 Fax: +81(743)72-6244
E-mail:ryugaku[at]ad.naist.jp