Scholarships for Foreign Undergraduate Students wanting to study in Japan

Scholarships for Undergraduate Exchange

JASSO(Japan Student Services Organization)Scholarship

The JASSO scholarship is the most common scholarship financing short-term exchange students. Depending on the nature of the program and university the application period may vary but generally applications will be due in early Spring. As with many things in Japan there will be a lot of paper work, so you should express your intent to study in Japan quite early, in the late Fall if possible. Paper work typically includes several letters of recommendation, essays, application forms, physical examination, and there is also an interview. It is not something you can do in two or three days. Once you turn in your forms in early spring you must wait until around May or June before you will know whether or not you have been accepted by the Japanese university. Once accepted you must wait another two months or so before you will find out whether or not you will receive the scholarships. So basically you must apply for two things: The Japanese University and the JASSO scholarship. Most, but not all, students who are accepted into the university will receive the scholarship. So if you are notified in early summer that you were accepted then you can breathe a little easier because more than likely you will also receive the scholarship. The amount of the JASSO scholarship is 80,000 a month including paid airfare to and from Japan and they will provide you with 150,000 yen when you arrive in Japan for relocation expenses. Tuition is not paid for! Since
this is an exchange scholarship you do not have to pay tuition to the Japanese university but you must still pay tuition to your home university during your stay in Japan.

Note: You cannot apply for the JASSO scholarship directly. You must contact someone in your home university to find out about any programs they have with Japanese universities. Since this is a scholarship that requires nomination you will need to have a decent GPA, around 3.0 or above, and good recommendations. If your GPA is low you could still possibly be accepted if your recommendations are really good.

For more information on the JASSO scholarship visitJapan Student Services Organization


MEXT (Monbusho) Scholarship
The Monbusho scholarship for undergraduate students is another option for those wanting to attend a Japanese University. Like many other scholarships you will need reccommendations from your home university to apply, but unlike other scholarships you can also apply for the Monbusho scholarship after graduating high school. The period of the scholarship can last up to 5 years with a monthly stipend of 135,000 yen, will receive 25,000 yen upon arriving in Japan and the scholarship will pay for all tuition and examination expenses. For the general undergraduate scholarship you must be under 22 years old to apply but there are other Monbusho undergraduate scholarships for older aged students but these scholarships limit students depending on their field of study. As with all MEXT scholarships there are two ways to apply. You can apply at your local Japanese consulate or Embassy. This process will include an examination and interview process and is very competitive. The other method is to receive a University Recommendation.
To receive a University Recommendation you will need to know a professor at a Japanese University and ask him or her to recommend you for the MEXT scholarship. Also,if your home university has a strong relationship with a Japanese University then you could contact someone at your home university about asking one of the professors at that Japanese University about a recommendation. Typically though, your home university will only be able to recommend one student so you must be an outstanding student at your home university.
As part of the University Recommendation application process you will need to obtain recommendations from teachers, the president of your university (if not the president, the Dean of your department may be sufficient), write essays, fill out application forms, and take a very comprehensive physical examination. Once you turn in all of your applications you should find out about your acceptance around mid to late summer.
In the past, the acceptance rate of students who were recommended by a Japanese University was quite high so if you have the right connections your chances of getting accepted will be quite high. For more information on the different types of MEXT scholarships and their respective requirements you can download the pdf file at MEXT scholarships
Sometimes the pdf file may not be working so you can also view the cache html page at Google Cache of MEXT scholarship


Fulbright Scholarships
Fulbright has a wide variety of scholarships for both US citizens and citizens of other countries. As long as you do not hold a PHD, have not lived in Japan for more than six months for some purpose other than military and you are not a citizen of Australia, Belgium/Luxembourg, Canada, Chile, Finland, Hungary, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, or Switzerland you basically have a chance of receiving one of their scholarships.
For more information you can go to Fulbright Online


NSEP (National Security Education Program) David L. Boren
The NSEP scholarship is quite competitive but the scholarship amount is pretty decent. The scholarship amount is $10,000 a semester and open to all US citizens.
For more information NSEP Boren Scholarships


Bridging Scholarship
The Bridging scholarships are open to US citizens and are not very competitive but the lack of competitiveness is shown in their payment of only $2,500 a semester or $4,000 a year.
This scholarship alone is not enough to cover all living and tuition expenses so other means of financial assistance would also be needed.
For more information Bridging Scholarships.


For more information about scholarships for undergraduate students wanting to study in Japan you can visit JGuide