Honjo International Scholarship Foundation
This scholarship is open to foreign students who study or plan to study in a Japanese graduate school for a doctoral or master’s degree. Applications can be submitted from abroad if applicants are accepted to a Japanese graduate school. All nationalities and research fields are welcome. Applicants may directly apply to the foundation without pre-selection by the university.
Host Country: Japan 🇯🇵
Eligible Country: All Countries
Benefits:
– Full Scholarship with $16,300 Grant per year
– Covers Travel Costs
Deadline : Oct 31, 2024
| Application Period | September 2 – October 31 (2024) |
|---|---|
| Screening Method | document screening, interview(s) |
| Number of Scholarships available | Approximately ten (10) students |
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Period and amount of scholarship
The scholarship will be provided monthly throughout the minimum period required to acquire the degree. The amount of scholarship depends on differs based on the period as below:
¥230,000 per month for 1 ~ 2 years degree
¥210,000 per month for 3 years degree
¥180,000 per month for 4 ~ 5 years of degree
Application and screening schedule
| September 2, 2024 ~ October 31, 2024 | Application period |
|---|---|
| January 31, 2025 | Result of the document screening announced *The application number of applicants moving on to the interview process will be posted on our website. |
| February, 2025 | Interview examination *Planned in Tokyo, otherwise interviewed by video call. |
| March 31, 2025 | Final result announced |
How to apply
- Confirm that you are eligible to apply.
- Enter the “online application system.” Fill out the application form and upload the required files and documents. The movie which the applicant talks about his/her research for two minutes is required.
- Once the documents are submitted, the application number will be issued, and a PDF of your application form will be generated. Please save the PDF file, as you will need it when the result is announced on our website.
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Application
The application guidelines for the scholarship 2025 is announced on September 1, 2024. The details are available below.
Honjo International Scholarship Foundation
Guideline of Application for the Foreign Students’ Scholarship
(Application Period： September 2 ~ October 31, 2024
Outline of Scholarship
1. This scholarship is open to foreign students who are planning to attend or are currently attending
a graduate school at a Japanese university.
2. The scholarship money will be provided starting from the beginning of graduate school in April
2025.
3. The scholarship recipient is under no obligation to repay the amount received from our
Foundation.
4. The scholarship period for the recipient is set according to the shortest period of time required
to complete the intended degree.
4-1. ¥230,000 per month for 1 year or 2 years
4-2. ¥210,000 per month for 3 years
4-3. ¥180,000 per month for 4 years or 5 years
* The payment period cannot be changed once it commences.
* Those whose enrollment period is shorter than one year are not eligible to apply.
5. The travel grant to cover expenses for attending an international conference will be provided to
scholarship recipients based on our scholarship provision rules.
6. The scholarship recipient is not permitted to receive any other scholarships in conjunction with
the scholarship offered by our Foundation, except for the scholarships listed below.
6-1 Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship
6-2 Monbukagakusho Honors Scholarship for Privately Financed International Students
6-3 JSPS International Fellowship
7. The scholarship recipient cannot gain employment other than part-time jobs related to their
studies, such as teaching assistant, research assistant, or roles in international exchange affairs,
such as translators or interpreters, while receiving our scholarship.
8. The scholarship recipient is required to participate in the individual interview and the events that
the Foundation organizes.
9. The scholarship recipient is required to actively participate in Foundation events after
completing graduate school.
Approximately ten (10) students
Requirements
(To be eligible to apply for the scholarship, the student must meet ALL of the requirement criteria
listed below.)
1. The student must not possess Japanese citizenship.
2. The student must be enrolled as of April 2025 or currently applying for the academic course
starting from April 2025 at a graduate school in Japan. Those who are already enrolled and
those who are not enrolled yet (including people who are currently employed with jobs at the
time of applying for the program) are both eligible to apply for this scholarship if they are going
to be enrolled in April 2025. Those who are going to enter graduate schools in the fall of 2025
can apply for this Spring scholarship program.
3. In principle, the student enrolling in a professional graduate school is not eligible to apply.
However, the student who can submit a research plan is eligible to apply.
4. The enrolment duration until graduation must be longer than 12 months.
5．To be eligible, the student applying for the PhD program must start the PhD course by the age
of 35. The student applying for the master’s program must start the master’s course by the age
of 30 (No exceptions).
6. The student must have a strong commitment to serving their home country as a future career
plan.
7. The student must have a deep understanding of international friendship and goodwill, attend
events organized by the Foundation and take part in the network as an alumni member.
8. The student must be able to carry out a basic conversation in Japanese. Interviews will be
conducted in Japanese (No exceptions).
Application Period
From September 2, 2024 to October 31, 2024. (the “Online application system” operating period)
How to Apply
1. Enter the “Online application system” and then complete all the necessary information. Upload
the required digital files and documents as followings.
“Online application system” → https://entry.hisf.or.jp (This system is available starting from
September 2, 2024)
2. When you have completed the application procedure, an application number will be issued.
The application numbers of the successful students will be announced on our website, so please
make sure to save the number you received.
3-1. Digital files required to be uploaded are as follows:
A. A face photo
1) The maximum size is 500kB
2) The file extension should be .jpg or .gif
B. A two-minute-video in which the applicant talks about their research plan (required)
1) The maximum size is 1 GB.
2) The length should be up to 2 minutes.
3) The file extension should be .mp4 or .mov.
4) The presentation language should be Japanese or English.
5) Presentation materials may be used in the video. However, the applicant’s face must be
visible.
C. A thirty-second-video where the applicant talks about self-promotion (optional)
1) The maximum size is 1 GB.
2) The length is up to 30 seconds.
3) The file extension should be .mp4 or .mov.
4) The language of the talk should be Japanese or English.
5) The video should be primarily feature the applicants speaking without presentation
materials.
3-2. Documents in PDF files required to be uploaded are as follows:
A. Academic transcript (In Japanese or English; please attach a translation in case of other languages.)
A-1. Academic transcript of the undergraduate course (Required)
If you transferred to the university from the College of Technology (kōsen school
system), the transcript from that school is also required.
A-2. Academic transcript of the graduate school (optional). If you do not have this transcript, it is not necessary to submit it.)
B. Research Proposal: Use the designated template and write in Japanese.
The template of the MS Word file is available on our website.
What we want applicants to describe:
B-1. What you are going to research
B-2. What and how you are going to contribute to your home country based on what you
will learn or study in Japan
B-3. What you already achieved regarding research, academic, and social activity.
Please write the above three points in Japanese to fit on the designated form.
However, if you are not confident in your Japanese, you may submit a research plan in
English in addition to the Japanese one
C. Recommendation letter from your supervisor: Please obtain a recommendation letter
describing your academic performance, personal characteristics evaluation, future potential, etc. You can also obtain a recommendation letter from your previous supervisor in your country if the recommender is familiar with your academic background.
* The number of sheets and formats is not designated.
* The recommender may send the recommendation letter directly to the Foundation without sending it to the applicant. The letter must be sent from the recommender’s email account to info@hisf.or.jp no later than the application deadline (October 31, 2024). The file name
should include the applicant’s name and the application number assigned to the applicant.
* Upon receipt of the recommendation letter from the recommender, upload it to the online application system. The recommender’s signature or seal is necessary for the
recommendation letter.
D. Documents that prove admission, such as an admission letter, a letter of acceptance,
etc. Please upload the certificate of enrollment only if the student is already enrolled in
graduate school.
* If the admission or acceptance letter is unavailable by October 31, 2024, please enter the probable date on the “Online application system” and then send it to the Foundation office via email as soon as it is available. Note that after November 1, 2024, you cannot log into the Online application system.
* Even if the envelopes are directed as “Confidential” or “Invalid if opened,” open all the
envelopes and upload the documents as PDF files to the “Online application system.”
* Photocopied documents can also be used and uploaded
Miscellaneous notes on entry
1. Application documents cannot be accepted via mailing.
2. The data you input in the “Online application system” can be rewritten or replaced at any time until October 31, 2024. The latest data is automatically overwritten.
3. The application documents will not be returned to the applicants.
4. Regarding the personal information in the application documents, they will not be used for any other purposes than for the scholarship selection process.
However, please be confirmed that limited personal information will be provided for the following specific reasons.
4-1. The application documents can be submitted to the selection committee members for document screening and selection process.
4-2. The personal information can be used during the selection process to confirm the application’s contents and to ascertain whether the scholarship overlaps with the universitystaff and other scholarship organizations
Selection Process
1. First selection (Screening of documents): The result of the first selection will be announced by January 31, 2025. The application numbers of those who passed the first round will be posted on our Website.
2. Second selection (Interview): Conducted in early February 2025 in Tokyo or by video call.
*The detailed schedule for the interview will be sent directly to those who pass the first
selection process.
3. Final result of scholarship award: March 31, 2025.
About Scholarship Payment
1. In the following cases, scholarship payments can be stopped. By its decision, the Board of
Directors may require the scholarship recipient to return any scholarship funds already paid.
1-1. When it is challenging to continue schooling or research due to illness or other reasons.
1-2. When the supervisor recognizes that the recipient is ineligible to continue studying or
conducting the research.
1-3. In case of academic achievement failure or worst behavior discovered.
1-4. When false statements are found in the application or other submitted documents.
1-5. When any behavior deemed to bring the scholarship recipient into disrepute as a
scholarship recipient of the Foundation is found.
For Inquiry about the Scholarship
* Inquiries are accepted by email.
Honjo International Scholarship Foundation
1-14-9, Tomigaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0063
Website: https://www.hisf.or.jp
Send inquiries to: info@hisf.or.jp
For training Courses: open here
For new info and updates: Join us on Telegram | Tiktok | Facebook
For live chat: open WhatsApp
For other scholarship options: Click here
