Want to study in Japan? These government scholarships will help

04 May 2018

Money, money, money. As an international student, you’ll want to cut costs as much as possible especially if you plan to study in a country with a stronger currency than yours. So what if we told you the Japanese government offers a number of scholarships for students from abroad?

If you’re dreaming of cherry blossoms, sushi, bullet trains, hot springs, fast-as-heck internet and an exciting education abroad – Japan is the place for you.

To help get you there, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) is offering scholarships for international students who wish to attend specialised training colleges, colleges of technology or universities for their undergraduate study in Japan.

https://twitter.com/AsiaPacificFdn/status/992179821743558656

The scholarships are for three years (training college), four years (college of technology) and five years (university) and will start in April 2019. If successful, you can expect to get JPY120,000 (US$1,100) per month but this is subject to change – so don’t start planning how you’ll use the money just yet!

What are they for?

Specialised training college

Wish to gain a solid understanding of the Japanese language before gaining in-depth specialised training at one of Japan’s many colleges? You’re in luck!

You can take a year’s course in Japanese before a two-year professional education which will award you with a diploma at the end of the three years.

You can choose from a number of courses including fashion and home economics, business, education and welfare, personal care and nutrition, technology as well as many others.

https://twitter.com/urscholarship/status/991882981064110080

College of technology

Fancy studying at a college of technology instead? You will be there for four years – a one-year preparatory education in Japanese followed by three years gaining a specialised education in technology.

You will be awarded a diploma and an associate’s degree.

University

If you opt for the five-year undergraduate programme at a Japanese university, you will undertake a year-long Japanese language course, like the other two types of scholarships. With a solid working knowledge of Japanese under your belt, you will embark upon your four-year “Gakushi” (Bachelor’s) degree course.

Oh hey I did a thing.

Completed MEXT Scholarship 🙂 pic.twitter.com/Q5Nck59FcD

— Alicia (@kubuskwal) September 8, 2017

There is a great variety of programmes to choose from including humanities and social sciences, architecture, law, engineering, natural sciences and more.

What are the requirements?

To be eligible for the scholarship, you must have been born between April 2, 1996 and April 1, 2002, have already finished or will soon finish your pre-university education before March 2019. You must have had a 12-year school education or have graduated from a school equivalent to an upper secondary school in Japan.

Japanese Government MEXT scholarships now open for application #scholarshipeye #internationalscholarship #studyabroad #scholarship #school #educationabroad #Japan pic.twitter.com/hjrKx9lIE1

— ScholarshipEye (@scholarship_eye) April 24, 2018

You must be willing to take a one-year intensive Japanese language course at the specialised training college, college of technology or university in Japan.

You may also need to take an examination in July. You can apply for the scholarship and get more details on the exam and application process here – just make sure you get your application in before June 15, 2018.