GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS (2025)

to the Graduate Program on Science and Engineering for Sustainable

Development (The Program for Global Human Resource Development in
Interdisciplinary Mathematics and Physics for Nanomaterial Science)
(Ph.D. Program)
at the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology
Kanazawa University

The Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology is pleased to announce its Program for the
Ph. D. Degree in Natural Science and Technology with a special course in English and scholarship for
overseas students with outstanding scholastic ability. Students who are accepted will be awarded a
Japanese Government Scholarship through the financial support of the Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology. (Monbukagakusho:MEXT)

1. Qualifications
1) Nationality:
An applicant must have the nationality of a country which has diplomatic relations with the Japanese
government. Applicants who have Japanese nationality at the time of application are not eligible with
the following exception: applicants of dual nationality who reside outside of Japan and who will
expatriate from Japanese nationality by the time of arrival are eligible.
2) Age:
Applicants must have been born on or after April 2, 1990.
3) Academic Background:
All applicants must satisfy one of the following requirements:
1. Has obtained a Master’s degree, or expects to obtain a Master’s degree by the end of September,
2025.
2. Has successfully obtained a degree equivalent to a Master’s degree at a university or college
abroad, or expects to gain such a degree by the end of September, 2025.
3. Has spent two years or more at a university or research institution after graduating from a
university or completed a 16-year course of school education abroad.
Be deemed by the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology at Kanazawa
University to have academic ability equal to or higher than a Master degree holder, based on
results of research reported in submitted documents.
4. Be deemed by the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology at Kanazawa University
to have academic ability equal to or higher than a Master degree holder, based on submitted
documents.
Be 24 (years old) or older as of September 30, 2025.
4) Academic Record:
Eligible applicants must have GPA (Grade Point Average) of 2.30 or higher at the last university
attended.
＊NOTICE＊
After admission, applicants should keep his/her GPA higher than 2.30 point as well. If his/her GPA
will be lower than 2.30 point each year, he/she will be disqualified from the MEXT scholarship
student.
The academic record will be calculated by the method which is designated by Monbukagakusho.

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 Method to Determine GPA
Grade Point
4-point scale Excellent Good Average Fail
4-point scale A B C D
4-point scale 80~100% 70~79% 60~69% 0~59%
5-point scale S A B C F
5-point scale A B C D F
5-point scale 90~100% 80~89% 70~79% 60~69% 0~59%
Point value 3 3 2 1 0
(number of 3 point grades) x 3 + (number of 2 point grades) x 2 (number of 1 point grades) x 1 + (number of 0 point grades) x 0
Total number of grades (including those with a value of 0)

5) Language:
The thesis work will be carried out in English.
An applicant must have enough English skills to conduct academic research and education. An
applicant is required to satisfy any of the following conditions.
1. An applicant who has a score of any test of English language ability equivalent to / higher level
than Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) B2, the test date
must be after November 1, 2022.
2. An applicant who completed the curriculum which meets the qualification to enter Japanese
Doctoral course of graduate school, in an institution where main instruction was in English.
3. An applicant who can be concluded that he/she has English ability equal to or more higher than
1.
*If you want to convert your English scores into CEFR, please refer to the website below.
https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/koudai/detail/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2019/09/25/1420500_3_2.pdf
6) Health:
All applicants should submit a Certificate of Health by a qualified and recognized physician.
7) Arrival in Japan:
All applicants must arrive in Japan between September 17, 2025 and October 14, 2025.
8) Visa Requirement
Selected applicants must obtain a College Student (ryugaku) visa from the Japanese consulate general
in the country of their nationality.
Even if selected applicants already have another status of residence, they must change to a residence
status of College Student (ryugaku) by the time they will enroll. But even if selected applicants apply
for a “Permanent resident” or “Long Term Resident” status again after completing a scholarship
student, it may not be certified.
9) Other:
Applicants who meet any of the following conditions are not eligible. If this is identified after
acceptance of the scholarship, the grantee will be required to withdraw from the scholarship:
1. Those who are military personnel or military civilian employees at the time of their arrival
in Japan or during the period of the payment of the scholarship;
2. Those who cannot arrive in Japan by the date specified by MEXT or the accepting university;
3. Those who are previous grantees of Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship programs
(including those who withdraw from the scholarship program after acquisition of student
status). However, this does not apply to those who wish to apply for Research Students
program and meet any one of the following conditions. In addition, since the
Monbukagakusho Honors Scholarship for Privately-Financed International Students does not

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 apply to the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship programs, the previous grantees can
apply.
・those who have at least three years of educational or work experience following the end of
the payment of the previous scholarship and the start of this scholarship;
・the past grantees of Japanese Studies Students program who have graduated or are going
to graduate from universities in their home countries, Japan-Korea Joint Government
Scholarship Program for the Students in Science and Engineering Departments and Young
Leaders’ Program;
・those who have obtained or are expected to obtain a degree as undergraduate students of
the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship programs (university
recommendation/special selection).
4. Those who are currently also applying to another program under the Japanese Government
(MEXT) Scholarship system. This includes the programs for which scholarship payments
will begin in FY2025;
5. Those who are planning to receive scholarship or fellowships from Japanese government, a
Japanese government-related organization and others after the start of the scholarship
payment period;
6. Those who are expected to graduate at the time of application and cannot satisfy the condition
of academic background by the deadline given;
7. Holders of dual nationality at the time of application who cannot verify that they will give up
Japanese nationality by the time of the arrival in Japan (the acquisition of student status);
8. Those who plan to, from the time of application for the MEXT scholarship program, engage
in long-term research (such as fieldwork or internship) outside Japan or plan to take a long-
term leave of absence from the university;
9. Those who have no intention to obtain a degree.

2. Enrollment
Maximum Four research students will be accepted. (Mainly students from ASEAN)

3. Scholarship Benefits
1) Stipend: 145,000 yen per month (subject to change)
※Stipend will be paid for 3 years from October 2025 to September 2028. The recipient who is
admitted into the Ph. D. program of Kanazawa University will not be able to extend his/her term
of scholarship.
MEXT strictly requires that students admitted into this program complete their Ph.D. studies
within three years from the start of their financial support.
2) Travel expenses: round-trip airfare between the applicant’s country and Japan
 Transportation to Japan: The grantee will be supplied with an economy class air ticket
from the international airport nearest to his/her address at the time of leaving his/her
country to an international airport in Japan, such as Kansai International Airport. Domestic
flight fee, airport usage fee, airport tax, etc., will NOT be covered. (The address in the
country of the grantee’s nationality stated in the application is in principle considered as
the “Address at the time of leaving your country”, ex his/her family’s house). Air travel

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 from a country other than the grantee’s nationality will not be covered.
 Transportation from Japan: The grantee who returns to his/her home country within the
last-payment month of his/her scholarship will be provided, upon application, with an
economy class air ticket from an international airport in Japan to the international airport
nearest to his/her home address.
 Travel expenses will not be paid for domestic recommenders.
Note 1: The cost of any aviation and accident insurance for travel to and from Japan shall be
paid by the grantee.
Note 2: If a grantee continues to stay in Japan after the scholarship period has ended, he/she will
not be paid travel expenses to return home for a temporary visit.
Note 3: The definition of “domestic recommenders” is as follows:
①Those who are staying in Japan with a medium- to long-term resident status at the time of
application. Including those who return to their country of nationality after applying for the
scholarship in ① and return to Japan before the start of scholarship payments. Those who have
their base of residence in Japan, not including tourists and short-term visitors who are staying in
Japan for the purpose of taking entrance examinations, etc.
②Applicants residing outside Japan at the time of application, but will come to Japan as a
privately financed international students before the start of receiving scholarship payments.
3) Admission/Tuition fee: waived.

4. Application Procedures
The following documents must be submitted in either English or Japanese on A4-sized papers. If this
is not possible, you must attach English or Japanese translations to each document.
1) Cover sheet (use the formats supplied)
2) Application form (with photo) (use the formats supplied, in electronic files)
3) Field of Study and Research Plan (use the formats supplied, in electronic files)
4) Certificate of Master’s degree, or a certified letter from the university at which the applicant
is currently enrolled, stating the expected graduation date.
5) Official academic transcript in your Master’s program.
6) A copy of applicant’s passport (or copy of a certificate of family register, certificate of
citizenship or other identification issued by the government of his/her home country)
7) A letter of recommendation written by the President, Dean or above of the institution
addressed to the President of Kanazawa University (use the format supplied)
8) Photographs (4.5×3.5 cm; upper front figure without a hat) taken within the past 6 months.
Name and nationality must be indicated on the back. The photographs should be pasted on the
specified place of the application form (2). Electronic data can be acceptable.
9) A summary of the Master’s thesis written in English.
10) Acceptance letter written by a prospective academic advisor from Kanazawa University (an
emailed one is also available).
11) Documents certifying that the applicant meets the requirements of the language ability
described on page 2
12) For those who are currently employed, a letter of release /recognition from their
supervisor, recognizing their right to apply and/or pursue further education in
Kanazawa University
13) Certificate of health (use the format supplied to be completed by the examining physician)
14) Pledge to the President (use the format supplied)

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15) Pledge to the Director (use the format supplied)

※ The academic transcripts of the last university attended must show the grade scale applied and
the grades earned by the applicant on all the subjects studied. If it is impossible to calculate
your GPA, for example because your grade is judged only by pass / fail etc., please include in
“7) A letter of recommendation” the meaning that your academic record is in the top 30% of
faculty, university or graduate school.

※ Submit the following documents as “11) Documents certifying that the applicant meets the
requirements of the language ability”.
[1] An original score of any test of English language ability such as TOEFL-iBT or IELTS.
And / or
[2] A certificate stating that the main instruction is English, from an institution you have
completed / will have completed which meets the qualification to enter Japanese Doctoral
course of graduate school.
In case you cannot submit both [1] and [2], submit any documents showing your English
ability.

The application documents must be submitted by email to the address below by noon (JST) on
December 26, 2024, include “[MEXT GHR]” in the subject header. The originals of the documents
submitted by email must be sent by registered air mail after receiving a notification of application
complete.
Email address: [email protected]
Application period: from 9:00(JST) on December 16, 2024 to noon (JST) on December 26,
2024
※Applications will not be accepted if any of the above documents are incomplete, incorrect or not
supported by evidence. Those not meeting the specified deadline will not be accepted.

5. Notes
1) All applicants must keep in close contact with their prospective academic advisors at Kanazawa
University to formulate their research plan.
2) Once submitted no documents will be returned.
3) After an applicant has agreed to accept the scholarship, he/she may not change their host institution
in Japan.
4) The scholarship may be terminated in the following cases:
1. Any information supplied with the application is later found to be false. Admission can be
canceled any time after enrollment.
2. They violate the pledge declared to the MEXT.
3. They are subjected to a disciplinary punishment or judged by the faculty as not being able
to continue the program.
4. If it becomes definitive that they will not be able to graduate (or complete his/her course)
within the standard course term because of his/her poor academic achievement or
suspension.
5. They quit Kanazawa University.
6. They transfer to another university.

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 7. They change the status of residence to one other than “college student” or they do not
obtain the College Student (ryugaku) visa by the time of enrollment.
8. They receive financial support (a scholarship or fellowship from Japanese government,
a Japanese government-related organization and others) not approved for acceptance in
conjunction with the MEXT Scholarship.
9. At each point in every one years, the recipient’s GPA fell below 2.30. This GPA will be
calculated by the method which is designated by Monbukagakusho.
5) The scholarship will be suspended if a leave of absence occurs or when the student fails to attend
the university for a long time.
6) As the first installment of the scholarship payment will be made from one month to one and a half
months after the applicants’ arrival in Japan, the applicant is highly recommended to bring at least
approximately US$2,000 with him/her to Japan to cover immediate living expenses and other
necessary expenses.
7) The scholarship payments will be transferred to the bank account of Japan Post Bank (JP Bank)
opened by each applicant after the arrival in Japan. MEXT will not transfer the scholarship
payments to other account.
8) Applicants who have tested positive for infections diseases including tuberculosis following a
medical exam must be treated before arrival in Japan. Applicant’ arrival in Japan will not be
approved if he/she is not fully recovered by the time of arrival.
9) Applicants are expected to learn and understand the geography, climate, customs and traditions of
Japan as well as the rules of Kanazawa University. Although the thesis work can be carried out in
English, it is recommended to get accustomed to the Japanese language essential for daily life.
10) Do not use erasable ball-point pens for application documents.
※An applicant who is applying for another university with MEXT scholarship at the same time is not
eligible. If identified after acceptance of the scholarship grantees, the applicant will be required to
withdraw from the scholarship.

6. Selection and Admission

Preliminary selection is carried out by the Selection Committee of the Program for Global Human
Resource Development in Mathematical and Physical Sciences for Data Science and Computational
Science, based on the submitted documents listed in item “4 Application Procedure” above. The
Committee may contact the applicant by email for further information. Kanazawa University then
recommends the selected candidates to MEXT, which will make the final decision of recipients.
Admission starts from the semester beginning on October 1, 2025.
Applicants will be notified of the results of the preliminary selection by March 2025. Final results
of the selection authorized by MEXT will be announced by June 2025.

7. Force majeure
Due to force majeure, the schedule to come to Japan may be changed, the scholarship
may be canceled, or the contents of the application guidelines may be changed at any time before or
after the notification of acceptance.
Force majeure means events beyond the reasonable control of Monbukagakusho, such
as natural disasters, government (including local governments; hereinafter the same applies in this
section), or acts of government agencies (including border measures such as immigration restrictions
and travel restrictions by the Japanese government or national governments concerning infectious
diseases), compliance with laws, regulations or orders, fire, storm, flood or earthquake, war (whether
declared or not), rebellion, revolution or riot, strike or lockout including but not limited to.

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 8. Information
For further information, please use the contact below:

Admission Affairs Section

Science and Engineering Administration Department
Kanazawa University
Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan
Email: [email protected]