Description:
The MEXT University Recommendation Scholarship is a comprehensive "full-ride" scholarship sponsored by the government of Japan. As indicated by the name, an applicant must be recommended by a Japanese university to MEXT, or as it's formally known, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (known as the "Monbukagakusho" in Japanese), in order to be considered for the scholarship. Applicants who wish to be recommended for this scholarship by Ritsumeikan University must apply for admission to the university via the procedures described below. Each applicant who passes these admissions also receives a university recommendation for the scholarship. The maximum number of applicants allowed to pass these admissions is equal to the number of scholarship recommendations allocated to the university by MEXT. Since recommendation slots are few, this means that only a handful of applicants receive a Letter of Acceptance via these admission procedures.
Once recommended to MEXT, recommendees undergo a subsequent scholarship review, and finally, awardees are selected by MEXT. The following explains procedures for students who seek admission to Ritsumeikan University and university recommendation for MEXT Scholarship.
1. Scholarship Eligibility Requirements and Scholarship Benefits
To be eligible to apply for Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship, an applicant must:
Additional Requirements, Criteria, and Scholarship Benefits: Please refer to the scholarship outline for a description of scholarship benefits as well as a more detailed overview of scholarship eligibility and conditions.
2. Application
At Ritsumeikan University, applicants may apply for enrollment to the Master's and/or Doctoral degree programs of certain graduate schools via the following procedures. Applicants granted admission to the university via these procedures will also be recommended scholarship.
Understand that the graduate schools listed in the application guidelines are recruiting applicants for admission for either their Master's or Doctoral degree programs (or both) as indicated in the application guidelines, only. Graduate schools and/or degree programs NOT listed in the guidelines are NOT being recruited for. Read the guidelines ON YOUR OWN to determine whether or not your graduate school of interest is recruiting applicants, and if so, whether it is recruiting for just the Master's Program, just the Doctoral Program, or both.
Please carefully read through all sections of the application guidelines and the FAQ before beginning to complete an application:
*Forms should be typed. Before printing the PDF, be sure to either delete or turn off the “Sticky Note” comment boxes on the PDF application forms. Further reference materials may be found below.
Application Procedures and Forms
All prospective applicants must download number one, the Application Guidelines and Application Form, as well as number two, the Field of Study and Research Plan template, from the links below. Number three, the Letter of Reference Template, is an optional template which you may use when requesting your Dean, etc. to write you a Letter of Reference. (To be clear, submission of a Letter of Reference is mandatory, but there is no set format for the letter. That said, using this optional template should ensure that the submitted letter meets the minimum criteria for acceptance).
3. Notes to Keep in Mind before Posting your Application
1) Make sure that ALL of your application documents meet ALL requirements described in the guidelines checklist.
2) In particular, your Letter of Recommendation, and in turn your application, will not be accepted if it does not meet all requirements mentioned in the guidelines.
3) Additionally, your transcripts, and in turn your application, will not be accepted if they do not meet all requirements mentioned in the guidelines. If your transcripts do not meet the criteria in the guidelines, please obtain additional supplemental documentation, such as a detailed explanation of the grade scale, as necessary from your university before submitting your application.
4) If the rest of your documents are ready but you are waiting for the arrival or announcement of an English language test score, please send the rest of your application in advance before the deadline. Follow up by delivering a scan of your language test score certificate via email as soon as ready.
4. General Schedule from Application to Enrollment
The following is a rough schedule. Timing of all points below, but in particular the announcement of scholarship results, are at the discretion of MEXT and/or the university and are subject to change.
| Timeframe | Activity | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Late Nov 2023 - late Dec 2024 | Applicants submit applications to Ritsumeikan University (hereinafter "RU") | |||||||||
| Jan - Feb 2024 | RU announces admission results to applicants | |||||||||
| Feb - Mar 2024 | RU submits scholarship recommendations for applicants who succeeded in the admissions process to MEXT | |||||||||
| Jun - Jul 2024 | MEXT notifies scholarship results to RU | |||||||||
| RU notifies applicants of their scholarship selection results | ||||||||||
| Jul - Sep 2024 | RU issues MEXT Scholarship Certificates to those granted MEXT scholarship | |||||||||
| Successful applicants submit the MEXT Scholarship Certificate to their local Embassy or Consulate of Japan to apply for a student visa as a Japanese government scholar | ||||||||||
| Mid-Sep 2024 | Scholars travel to Japan on a date designated by RU, attend orientation, etc. | |||||||||
| Sep 26, 2024 | The Fall Semester begins and scholars begin their formal studies at RU | |||||||||
5. Additional Requirements and Supporting Information
Other Scholarship Opportunities
