ELIGIBILITY:

International students with outstanding academic records who wish to enter Japan in October 2026 as new students and study in the Master’s or Doctoral Program at the Graduate School of Science. Additionally, applicants who have completed their admission application for entering the Master’s/Doctoral Program following the “Instructions for International Students applying to the Graduate School of Science (Special Selection for International Applicants)”

Applicants who have already graduated from their latest degree program should have a final grade point of 2.30 or higher, while current students should have a grade point of 2.30 or higher for their current courses, and both should be expected to maintain the same academic standards during the course of the scholarship program.

Grade points shall be calculated according to a formula specified by MEXT. Furthermore, students must meet one of the criteria given under “(7) Language Proficiency” given below.

Applicants must have the nationality of a country with diplomatic relations with the Japanese government. Applicants who have Japanese nationality at the time of application are ineligible. However, Japanese nationals that reside outside of Japan at the time of application, holding dual nationality with another country, and plan to renounce their Japanese nationality before arrival (equivalent to the time when they enroll as a student at a Japanese university) may apply.

In principle, applicants must be born on or after April 2, 1991.

Applicants must have the necessary qualifications to be admitted to the Graduate School of Science at the University of Tokyo as a Master’s or a Doctoral Program student.

Applicants should apply for the field of study that they studied at their previous university or a related field. Applicants should select a field that they are able to research at their chosen host university in Japan.

Applicants must meet one of the language requirements in either English or in Japanese as described below:

English: Holds an English proficiency test score equivalent to B2 or above on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale (e.g. TOEFL iBT 72 or above, IELTS 5.5 or above).
To see what counts as “B2 or above on the CEFR scale”, please refer to the CEFR Equivalency Chart.

Has completed an educational program whose primary language of instruction is English that satisfies the entrance requirements to the Master’s Program or Doctoral Program at the Graduate School of Science, the University of Tokyo.

Japanese: Has passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) with a score of N2 or higher.

Has completed an educational program whose primary language of instruction is Japanese that satisfies the entrance requirements to the Master’s Program or Doctoral Program at the Graduate School of Science, the University of Tokyo.

Applicants must be physically and mentally healthy enough to pursue their studies in Japan.

For a recipient who will enroll in a Master’s Program or Doctoral Program, the scholarship will be payable for the standard period of time necessary for the recipient to complete his or her program (standard course term), starting from October 2026.

Master’s Program = October, 2026 – September, 2028 (2years)

Doctoral Program = October, 2026 – September, 2029 (3years)

BENEFIT:

AY2025 actual amounts: 144,000 yen/month (for a student of a Master’s Program), or 145,000 yen/month (for a student of a Doctoral Program)
(an additional monthly stipend of 2,000 or 3,000 yen may be added to those students undertaking study or research in some designated regions of the country.)

The scholarship will not be paid to a recipient during a leave of absence or a long absence from his or her university.

Transportation to Japan: MEXT will stipulate the travel schedule and route and provide an airline ticket for recipients who arrive in Japan during the designated period specified in “1.(9) Arrival in Japan“. The airline ticket will be an economy-class ticket for the flight from the international airport closest to the recipient’s residence (in principle, the country of nationality) to an international airport in Japan used on the normal route to the accepting university. 

School Fees: Enrollment and tuition fees will be exempted.