MEXT Scholarships for Undergraduate Students 2019

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan offers scholarships to international students who wish to study in graduate courses at Japanese universities as Undergraduate Students. 

Undergraduate Students are defined as those who are enrolled in an undergraduate course at a university, or who are receiving preparatory education in the Japanese language and other subjects prior to placement at the university. 

Those who apply for an undergraduate student must choose a “Field of Study (“Social Sciences and Humanities”

or “Natural Sciences”), “Course”, and “Major(s)” from the table shown in the website. They may enter a first, second, and third choice. 

Each grantee will be enrolled at a preparatory educational institution (either at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies or Osaka University) designated by MEXT for the first year of the scholarship period. The preparatory course is a one-year intensive course in the Japanese language and other subjects necessary for preparation for proceeding to university, then those who have completed the preparatory education will go on to a university designated by MEXT upon passing its entrance examination undertaken by the university. Those who have sufficient Japanese language proficiency may choose to enroll directly in their university without taking the preparatory education course.

The scholarship duration

The scholarship period will last for five years from April 2019 to March 2024, including one-year preparatory education in the Japanese language and other subjects due to be provided upon arrival in Japan. For scholarship grantees majoring in  medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or a six-year course in pharmacy, the scholarship period will be seven years until March 2026. 

For grantees who enroll in a university through direct placement, the scholarship period will last for four years (or for six years for those majoring in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or in a six-year course in pharmacy). The scholarship period will start from the time of enrollment in the university which the university designates.

The scholarship covers:

[1] An allowance of 117,000 yen per month. A supplemental regional allowance of 2,000 or 3,000 yen per month will be added to the monthly scholarship amount for the grantees studying or conducting research in specially designated regions.

[2] Education fees, which include: fees for the entrance examination, matriculation, and tuition at universities.

Applicants must:

[1] Have the nationality of a country that has diplomatic relations with Japan. 

[2] Be between 16 and 24 years old. 

[3] Have completed 12 years of schooling in countries other than Japan or who have completed their studies at a school equivalent to a Japanese upper secondary school in countries other than Japan.

[4] Be willing to learn Japanese. Applicants must be interested in Japan and be willing to deepen their understanding of Japan after arriving in Japan. Applicants must also have the ability to do research and adapt to living in Japan. 

[5] Submit a health certificate in the prescribed format signed by a physician attesting that the applicant has no physical or mental conditions hindering the applicant’s study in Japan.

[6] Obtain a “Student” visa at the Japanese diplomatic mission located in the applicant’s country of nationality. 

The following documents must be submitted with the application form:

[1] Academic transcripts for all school years of last school attended 

[2] Graduation certificate of last school attended 

[3] Recommendation letter from either principal or teacher of last school attended

[4] Medical certificate 

Note: All documents must be in English or in Japanese. If they are in Arabic, applicants must provide an official translation into English at the time of application.