Monbukagakusho (MEXT) Scholarship: Higher Studies in Japan

The Monbukagakusho Scholarship (formerly known as Monbusho Scholarship) is a scholarship offered by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) that allows non‐Japanese citizens. To date, some 65,000 students from approximately 160 countries and regions around the world have studied in Japan under the Japanese Government Scholarship program established in 1954. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) offers scholarships to international students who wish to study in graduate courses at Japanese universities either as (non-degree) student or regular student for a degree under the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship Program.

 

Scholarship Benefits

 

(1) Allowance:

 

• Each grantee will be provided monthly with 143,000 yen (Research Students / non-regular students), 144,000yen (regular students in Master’s courses or professional graduate courses), or 145,000yen (regular students in doctoral courses).
• An additional monthly stipend of 2,000 or 3,000 yen may be provided to those undertaking study or research in specially designated regions.
• However, the amount of allowance will be subject to change depending upon the annual budget of the Japanese government for each fiscal year.
• The scholarship will not be paid to a grantee who takes a leave of absence or is long absent from the assigned university or the preparatory Japanese-teaching institution.

 

(2) Traveling Costs

 

［1］ Transportation to Japan:

• Each grantee will be supplied in general, according to his/her itinerary and route as designated by MEXT, with an economy-class airplane ticket from the international airport nearest to his/her home address to the New Tokyo International Airport or any other international airport that the assigned university usually uses.
• Expenses such as domestic transportation from his/her home address to the international airport, airport tax, airport usage fees, special taxes on travel, or inland transportation within Japan will NOT be supplied.

［2］ Transportation from Japan:

The grantee who returns to his/her home country within the fixed period after the expiration of his/her scholarship will be supplied, in general, upon application, with an economy-class airplane ticket for the travel from the New Tokyo International Airport (or any other international airport that the assigned university uses as a normal route) to the international airport nearest to his/her home address.

 

(3) School Fees:

Fees for matriculation, tuition and entrance examinations at a university will be paid by the Japanese government. If the grantee moves on to higher education as a non-degree student or fails the entrance examinations, he/she will pay for entrance examinations. 

Eligibility

There are six types of Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarships. Each type has its own eligibility requirements, so please apply for the type that best fits applicant’s personal criteria.

• Research Student

Applicant must be under 35 years of age and a college graduate (includes prospective graduates). Or applicant must have completed 16 years of schooling.

• Teacher Training Student

Applicants must be under 35 years of age and graduate of a college or teacher training college.  They must have at least five years of active experience as a teacher in a primary, secondary or teacher training college in their country. (Please note that college and university teachers currently in active service are not considered for this scholarship).

• Undergraduate University Student

Applicant must be at least 17 and under 22 years of age and have completed 12 years of school education or have completed courses in a school comparable to a high school (includes prospective graduates).

• Japanese Studies Student

Applicant must be from 18 to 30 years old. Applicants must be enrolled as undergraduate students in faculties or schools which major in Japanese language or Japanese culture in a university outside Japan at the time when they come to Japan and must be enrolled in the home institution at the time when they return to their home countries.

• College of Technology Student

Applicant must be from 18 to 30 years old. Applicants must be enrolled as undergraduate students in faculties or schools which major in Japanese language or Japanese culture in a university outside Japan at the time when they come to Japan and must be enrolled in the home institution at the time when they return to their home countries.

• Special Training College Student

Applicant must be at least 17 and under 22 years of age and have completed 12 years of schooling or have completed school education comparable to a Japanese high school (includes prospective graduates).

 

Type of Scholarship

One can get MEXT scholarship by

1. Embassy Recommendation and 2) University Recommendation

Embassy recommendation:

• In this type of scholarship, scholarship recipients are recruited and initially screened by a Japanese embassy (or consulate general, depending on the country).
• Research student, Undergraduate student, College of technology student, and Special training college student recruitment for the next fiscal year (April, October) is made between March and May.
• The initial screening (documentary examination, written test, and interview) is made at the embassy between June and August.
• The embassy then recommends the selected candidates to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the beginning of September.
• Teacher training and Japanese studies student recruitment for the next fiscal year (for those arriving in Japan in October) is made between December of the previous year and the following February.
• Screening is conducted between mid-February and March. Selected candidates are recommended to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by end of April.

University recommendation:

• Research students and Japanese studies students who will be studying in Japan as an exchange student based on inter-university student exchange agreements can be screened through the national, public or private Japanese university involved as a candidate for a Japanese Government Scholarship.
• The university directly recommends the selected candidates to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Research students recommended by a university for study in Japan as government-sponsored scholarship recipients basically arrive in Japan in October.
• Japanese studies students basically arrive in Japan in October according to the university program. Universities recommend candidates to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology by mid-April.
• University Recommendations for the MEXT Scholarship are when a university in Japan recommends a student for the scholarship (In fact applicant needs to manage a Professor who will recommend him/her for the University Recommendation scholarship under his supervision). This is a separate application and acceptance track from the Embassy recommendations. The applicant will need to directly contact a Professor or university in Japan to inquire about university recommendations.

 

Application Timeline

 

• For Embassy Recommendation: Applications will be posted on the respective website of specific country, e.g.: For Bangladesh one needs to go this website: http://banbeis.gov.bd/mext . In April; applications are due mid May.
• For University Recommendation: Application start in the month of August and the Last date is around November to December.

Remarks to Remember  

• Applicants can apply for the MEXT Scholarship from abroad. However, if selected for an interview, they must return to applicant’s home country for the interview and exams at the Embassy of Japan (For Embassy Recommendation Procedure) on the designated day.

• Applicants should give a specific account of applicant’s intended research topic, methodology, and how applicant’s research fits into current research being done in the field. They also tell why this research must be done at a Japanese university. They can follow below point for writing Field of Study and Program Plan. 1) Introduction/Overview 2) Problem Overview 3) Objectives 4) Method 5) Expected Result
• Applicants should apply for the field of study they majored in at university or its related field. And fields of study must be subjects which applicants will be able to study and research in graduate courses at Japanese universities.

 

Qualifications and Condition

(1) Nationality:

Applicants must have the nationality of a country which has diplomatic relations with the Japanese government. Stateless persons can be applicants, too. Applicants who have Japanese nationality at the time of application are not eligible. However, applicants of dual nationality who reside outside of Japan is eligible only if they will expatriate from Japan by the time of arrival in Japan. Screening of applicants will be made at the Japanese diplomatic mission in the country of applicants’ nationality.

(2) Age:

Applicants must have been born on or after April 2, 1980 [on the basis of Scholarship Programme-2015]

 

(3) Academic Background

• Applicants must be a graduate from a Japanese university or have academic ability equal or superior to that of a Japanese university graduate.

• A person will be deemed to have academic ability equal or superior to that of a university graduate, if he/she ［1］has completed or will complete a 16-year school curriculum in a foreign country ［2］is or will be aged 22 or older and has taken an individual entrance qualification examination and has been judged by a Japanese graduate school as being equal or superior in academic ability to a university graduate (or 24 or older if he/she desires to enroll in a doctoral course in the field of medicine, dentistry or veterinary science, or pharmacy which is founded on a 6-year department or faculty).

(4) Japanese Language:

Applicants must be willing to learn the Japanese language, interested in Japan and enthusiastic about deepening their understanding of Japan after arriving, and capable of engaging in study and research while adapting themselves to life in Japan.

(5) Health:

Applicants must be physically and mentally healthy enough to take graduate studies at universities in Japan.

(6) Arrival in Japan:

In principle, applicants must be able to arrive in Japan between the 1st and 7th of April 2015, or within two weeks of the date set by the receiving university for the beginning of the semester (in principle, in September or October).

(7) Visa Requirement:

In principle, selected applicants must acquire “College Student” （ryugaku,留学） visas before entering Japan. The visas should be issued at the Japanese legation, located in the country of applicants’ nationality.
Applicants who change their resident status to any status other than “College Student” after their arrival in Japan will immediately lose their status as Japanese government scholarship student.

 

Letter of Recommendation

One should adept at the art of acquiring a luminous letter of recommendation by sensing the structured strategies. Professors or teachers from immediate last academic institutions who have known one for a while should be selected to ask for a letter. Colleges always want the current perspective for their evaluation. A teacher who also knows one not only in the classroom but also in the productive work or projects should be selected to ask for a recommendation letter. For example, a teacher/adviser/mentor/instructors who directed one in a project, thesis, or research work can make a great reference proactively in a strong & credible sense to aid the letter.

Statement of Interest/ Letter of Motivation

• The statement of interest/statement of purpose or letter of motivation functions as the driving force to reflect the innate interest of one’s motivation along with the eligibility with dedication. This can help a lot and increase the possibility to achieve the scholarship.
• This should be represented on the basis of one’s academic background, interest and relevant reasons for applying the specific programme, professional experience, a possible output of the programme, a future plan regarding the subjects.
• One should finish the letter within 1-2 pages so that the significance can get the proper attention with an elucidated efficacy.   

English Language

• The applicants have to appear definite exams (GRE/SAT/IELTS/TOEFL) to get their test scores ready for the application of higher education according to the specific requirements.
• They should be concerned about the validity of the test scores. They can get helped by various websites, books, and other resources. My Study Notebook (www.mystudynotebook.com) is such a website to practice and test in a customized way in computer with comprehensive explanations for GRE/SAT/IELTS/TOEFL.
• Band score requirement for IELTS can be as per university and program requirement as listed on university websites.

 

Deal with Deadline

• In order to apply for any scholarship around the world, one needs to keep enough time to prepare all relevant documents, scores on the basis of the forthcoming deadline. It is very unwise to wait for applying the time very nearer to the deadline.
• It can be a risk due to the complexities of documents, correction in any kind of documents or uncertain disruption of the internet. So one should start working on the processing of application taking at least 1-3 months before the deadline.

The study in Japan ( http://www.studyjapan.go.jp ) can aid a lot to design a great career of anyone regarding his/her respective subject or research area. One can take proper steps on the basis of the proper utilization of time and decisions with a view to achieving the MEXT (Monbukagakusho) Scholarship ( http://www.mext.go.jp ).