MEXT scholarship: All you need to know about the 7m yen Japanese scholarship

Dr Rashedul Islam has recently completed PhD from the Department of Applied Chemistry of Kyushu University, Japan. Photo: Courtesy

When talking about foreign scholarships for higher education, North America and Europe usually get the most attention. But many Asian countries also offer great opportunities for students.

Take Japan for instance. I have recently completed my PhD from the Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University, Japan. It took just three years to complete the study. My study was supported by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) Scholarship, also known as Monbukagakusho. 

It is a Japanese government scholarship to study Bachelor, Masters, and PhD in any Japanese university and is open to all nationalities except Japanese.

How to apply for the MEXT scholarship?

The scholarship is provided in two forms — one is embassy recommended and the other is university recommended. The application procedure varies depending on the type. 

For the embassy track, the education ministry of Bangladesh invites applications from interested students. Based on the documents submitted by the applicants, the ministry prepares a short list and forwards it to the Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh. Then, the consular office of Japan screens the candidates through a written exam and interview. 

The stipend for undergraduate students is 114,000 yen and 145,000–148,000 yen for a graduate student. If someone studies for a three-year doctoral course, they will receive 5.22 million yen as a monthly stipend, 1.61 million as tuition fees (national university rate; directly paid to university), and 282,000 yen for enrollment fees. In total, funding for the three-year programme is more than 7 million yen.

The details about the exam can be found on the website of the Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh. 

The number of awardees through the embassy track is limited for each country. The chance of getting a MEXT scholarship through university recommendation is higher than the embassy track. 

As the chances are higher, it is more competitive too. 

A prospective student must first convince a professor who will be the academic supervisor. 

However, convincing a supervisor is not an easy task. You may need to send personalised emails to many professors related to your research of interest or previous research experience. If the professor finds your credentials suitable, you might be asked for an online interview, to submit proposed research proposals, transcripts, etc. If the professor selects you as a final candidate, you have to apply officially to the university with all the required documents.

For university recommendation, the application time varies depending on the university. Generally, it starts in October and continues until January. 

To apply in October, one should start contacting professors during June-July. After the official application, the applicant receives a confirmation letter in March-April mentioning that they have been selected as a final candidate, and the application will be forwarded to the MEXT for final approval. The final result comes around late June or early July. So, it takes approximately one year.

Benefits of the MEXT Scholarship

For MEXT scholarship, the document requirement is not so stringent. 

You need official transcripts, certificates, a research proposal/study plan (prescribed form), an abstract of the previous thesis, one or two recommendation letters, a passport, and an English language proficiency certificate (if any). IELTS, TOEFL, Duolingo, and TOEIC are all acceptable. 

Sometimes, you can apply with a medium of instruction if your bachelor's or master's study was conducted in English. Every year, many students from Bangladesh get MEXT scholarships without IELTS or other scores. 

If you have a good English score, your chances are higher than others. However, for embassy recommendation, you will not pass the first screening without an English proficiency score.

To secure a MEXT scholarship for PhD, one should have previous research experience in a similar research field with at least a few published papers. For the master's program, a research paper is not mandatory, but if you have one or more at the time of application, it will definitely add extra value to your profile, which will ultimately increase your chance.

Now, let's look at the financial side of the scholarship. An awardee receives a round-trip air ticket, enrolment and tuition fees are paid by the government, and a monthly stipend. 

The stipend for undergraduate students is 114,000 yen and 145,000–148,000 yen per graduate student. If someone studies for a 3-year doctoral course, he/she will receive 5.22 million yen as a monthly stipend, 1.61 million as tuition fees (national university rate; directly paid to university), and 282,000 yen for enrollment fees. In total, funding for the 3-year program is more than 7 million yen.

It is not mandatory to return to your home country after graduation. To stay, after graduation, you must have a job or continue further studies. In that case, you will not get the return air ticket from the MEXT.

As mentioned earlier, there is no nationality barrier except for Japanese. However, there is an age-related restriction for applications; for the undergraduate program, the maximum age limit is 25 and 35 years for master's and PhD. Additionally, for a master's and PhD, the applicant should have 16 and 18 years of schooling experiences, respectively.