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Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship
Types
As seen in the chart below, there are seven types of the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarship program. They are Research students, Teacher training students, Undergraduate students, Japanese studies students, college of technology students, Specialized training college students, and Young Leaders Program (YLP) students.
Those who wish to study abroad are required to apply in one of two ways: embassy recommendation or university recommendation. Please see the application selection process for details.
With regard to application qualifications and procedures, in addition to the actual contents, there are also cases when detailed requirements are established. Because of this, be sure to confirm the latest edition of the application guidelines. If the application qualifications differ from the application guidelines, the contents of the guidelines should be followed.
Types and Their Status
| Research students | Teacher training students | Undergraduate students | Japanese studies students | College of technology students | Specialized training college students | Young leaders program (YLP) students (*3) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embassy recommendation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| University recommendation (*1) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (Recommendation by College of technology) | No | No |
| Level of studies | Graduate school level | Undergraduate level | Graduate school level | ||||
| Duration |
[Embassy Recommendation] Irregular course: within 2 years Regular course: standard school year (when necessary, 6 months preliminary education will be added) [University Recommendation] Duration depends on each school's quota (6 months up to standard school years) |
Within 1 year and 6 months including Japanese language education | [Embassy Recommendation] 5 years including Japanese language training (7 years for medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary science) [University Recommendation] 6 months up to standard school years (Normally, there is no preliminary education) |
One academic year | 4 years including Japanese language training (4 years and 6 months for merchant marine studies) | 3 years including Japanese language training | 1 year |
| Preliminary training of Japanese etc. | 6 months (Only those who need this training) |
1 year(Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Osaka University) | None | 1 year (JASSO Tokyo Japanese Language Education Center) |
1 year (Bunka Institute of Language, JASSO Osaka Japanese Language Education Center) |
None | |
| Field of study | Major in field of specialty at a graduate school etc. | Teacher training at a University | Undergraduate education | Special training in Japanese language or Japanese culture | Transfer to the third year of College of technology | Specialized courses | Master course at a graduate school |
| Scholarship | ¥143,000～145,000 per month | ¥117,000 per month | ￥242,000 per month | ||||
| Tuition | Exempted | ||||||
| Travel allowance | Round-trip travel expenses (airfare) provided (*2) | ||||||
∗1 Not all universities maintain their own recommendation quotas.
∗2 With university recommendations, depending upon the type of recommendation quota maintained by the specific school, there are cases when airline tickets are not supplied.
∗3 Recommendations from official overseas recommending organizations
Eligibility
| Research students | You must be under 35 years of age and a college graduate (includes prospective graduates). Or you must have completed 16 years of schooling. |
|---|---|
| Teacher training students | You must be under 35 years of age and a graduate of a college or teacher training college. You must have at least five years of active experience as a teacher in a primary, secondary or teacher training college in your country. (Please note that college and university teachers currently in active service are not considered for this scholarship). |
| Undergraduate students | You must be at least 17 and under 25 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 students | You must be from 18 to 30 years old. You 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 students | You must be at least 17 and under 25 years of age and have completed school education comparable to a high school (a minimum of 11 years beginning in primary school) education (includes prospective graduates). |
| Specialized training college students | You must be at least 17 and under 25 years of age and have completed 12 years of schooling or have completed school education comparable to a Japanese high school (includes prospective graduates). |
| Young Leaders Program (YLP) students | You must be under 40 years of age (in principle), and university or college graduates who have practical work experience, young public administrators, etc. who are expected to play active role in Asia and other countries. |
Examinations Required for Embassy Recommendation
| Research students | Japanese and English |
|---|---|
| Teacher training students | Japanese and English |
| Undergraduate students | Japanese, English, mathematics, science (*Only science faculty examinees are required to choose two out of the following three subjects: chemistry, physics, or biology) |
| Japanese studies students | Japanese |
| College of technology students | Japanese, English, mathematics, and physics or chemistry |
| Specialized training college students | Japanese, English, and mathematics |
Application Process
There are two ways to apply for a Japanese Government Scholarship: by applying to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) with a recommendation from a Japanese embassy or other Japanese diplomatic mission in your country, or by applying to the MEXT with a recommendation from a Japanese university.
1. 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).
Some application requirements are more detailed than those listed here, so please check with the Japanese embassy or other Japanese diplomatic mission in your country.
The type and field of application may vary from country to country. Please check with the Japanese embassy or other Japanese diplomatic mission in your country to see if there are any openings in the type and field you wish to apply for.
In addition, all required documents and interviews will be conducted by the Japanese embassy or other diplomatic mission abroad in your country.
2. University recommendation
University recommendation is a scheme in which Japanese universities etc. recruit scholarship candidates based on their student-exchange agreements with schools overseas.
After a screening of candidates, universities recommend them to Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as potential recipients. Programs offered within this scheme are Research students, Undergraduate students, Japanese and Japanese culture students, as well as College of Technology.
MEXT scholarship recipients recommended by university usually arrive in Japan in September or October, but some arrive in late March or early April.
For university recommendations, not all universities in Japan are able to recommend international students.
Only a select number of universities approved by the MEXT can make recommendations to the MEXT, and only those universities that are judged to be outstanding and deserving of the scholarship can make recommendations to the MEXT.
Therefore, if you are interested in applying for a scholarship with a recommendation from a university, you need to check first whether the school you are interested in has a recommendation quota.
Application requirements and academic standards vary depending on the accepting university.
In addition, the scholarship period and eligibility may vary depending on the type of recommendation framework a university has, so please check with the university you wish to enroll in for details.
Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship Applicant Qualifying Examinations - Subject Test Questions
We have posted past test questions as samples.