Application Deadline: January 5, 2026 (Japan Standard Time, JST).
LOCATION: Japan
The National Institute of Genetics (NIG)/Genetics Program, SOKENDAI, offers a research internship program for undergraduate and postgraduate students who wish to gain research experience in genetics and related fields in life sciences. Interns will conduct independent research under the mentorship of a host investigator at NIG.
ELIGIBILITY:
Applicants must be interested in life sciences and be in the prefinal year at the time of application, i.e., in the 3rd year of a 4-year bachelor’s program, in the 2nd year of a 3-year bachelor’s program, in the 4th year of a 5-year program, in the 1st year of a 2-year master’s program, or in the 5th year of a 6-year program. Students who are interested in enrolling in our PhD program at NIG are encouraged to apply.
They welcome applications from any country/nationality.
Because of a highly competitive selection process, applications from non-prefinal students and students in a PhD course are not considered.
The selection is highly competitive. Six highly qualified students out of over 1,240 applications were selected for 2025. The number of successful applicants varies from year to year.
They accept applications only through the online application system. Please read the “Application guideline” below carefully and follow the instructions.
Application guideline and Online Application
The online application system opens on December 1, 2025, and closes at noon on January 5, 2026 (Japan Standard Time, JST).
Students interested in applying for this program must read, understand, and agree to the requirements of the program.
Due to the overwhelming number of applications, we do not reply to individual queries regarding this website, the selection status, and the results.
Internship Period: June 8 – July 17, 2026
BENEFIT:
Unlike previous years, the NIG-INTERN2026 is not a fully funded program. The costs will be shared between NIG and participants as follows.
[Costs supported by NIG]
The round-trip airfare between the intern’s place of residence (location of school) and Japan (actual expenses up to 200,000 JPY)
Travel insurance
[Costs covered by the participants]
Any amount exceeding 200,000 JPY of the round-trip airfare between the intern’s place of residence (location of school) and Japan
Domestic travel expenses
Accommodation fee (approx. 70,000 JPY for 39 nights per person) for NIG Guest House
Living and miscellaneous expenses
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