Master & PhD Scholarships, Honjo International Scholarship Foundation, Japan

Honjo International Scholarship Foundation
Guideline of the Application for Foreign Students’ Scholarship in 2013
Outline of Scholarship

1. This scholarship is open to foreign students who will attend a graduate school at a Japanese university.
2. The payment of the scholarship money will be issued starting from April, 2013.
3. The scholarship winners are under no obligation to repay the amount they receive from the Foundation.
4. The period of the scholarship is set in accordance with the shortest period of time required to complete the intended degree. The student, once awarded the scholarship will be able to choose the option (1), (2) or (3) as below.
1. ¥200,000 per month for1 or 2 years
2. ¥180,000 per month for 3 years
3. ¥150,000 per month for 4 or 5 years
• An extension will not be given on the pre-determined scholarship period nor would the student be allowed to change his or her courses after the scholarship period has commenced.
• Those whose enrollment period is shorter than one year are not eligible to apply.
5. Travel expenses for attending an international conference, etc. will be provided to scholarship students following to our scholarship provision rules.
6. The student is not permitted to receive any other scholarship in conjunction with the scholarship offered by the Honjo International Scholarship Foundation.
7. The student cannot gain employment other than part-time work related to his or her studies such as teaching assistant, research assistant, or related to international exchange affairs as translator or interpreter while receiving this scholarship
8. You need to come for an individual interview almost every month; we would like you to participate to events that we will hold.
9. After you graduated, you will be required to attend our alumni events.

Number of Scholarships Available
15 to 20 students

Requirements
(To be considered for the scholarship, the student must satisfy ALL of the requirement criteria below.)

1. The student is registered to attend a graduate school in Japan and does not possess Japanese citizenship. His or her academic achievement as well as moral character is exemplary. He or she must be considered to be in need of financial aid due to extenuating financial circumstances.
2. The student must be registered to attend or have been accepted to attend a graduate school after April 1, 2013. He or she must be able to provide any of the following documentation: a certificate of enrollment, a letter of admission or a letter attesting to the fact that the student has been accepted.
3. To be eligible, students enrolled in a PhD Program must have been born after March 31, 1977. Those enrolled in a Master’s Program must have been born after March 31, 1982.
4. The student must be able to assure the committee that he or she will be able to secure employment in their home country after graduating from a graduate school. This does not require him or her to have employment guaranteed or to return his or her home country immediately after graduating the university, but he or she is expected to have strong will of working in his or her home country in the future.
5. The student must have a deep understanding of international friendship and goodwill, and must be able to attend the events organized by the foundation and take part in the network as an alumni member.
6. The student must be able to carry an everyday conversation in Japanese. Interviews will be conducted in Japanese.

Application Deadline
Postmarked on/by November 30, 2012 is acceptable.
How to Apply

1. Please visit the website below and fill a form, and get your application number. Awarded candidates’ application numbers are announced on our website on January 31, 2013 so be advised to save the number you got. http://www.hisf.or.jp/english/index.html
2. Write down the application number you got on the application form and send the documents listed below to the Administration Office by post mail. To be sent by E-mail is not acceptable.
1. Scholarship application form; make sure to attach your photo to the form as instructed.
2. Your resume
3. Personal information form
• Download the above forms (1)~(3) provided by Foundation. Fill them in Japanese by typed or hand-written.
4. Academic transcript: Please provide the transcript i) from undergraduate course of the university where you graduated AND ii) any other courses that you are currently taking or have taken in the past. If you transferred into the university, the transcript from the previous school is needed. All the applicants must provide at least i) (academic transcript from undergraduate course). Photocopies are acceptable.
5. Research plan: In Japanese, describe focusing around following four points; i) an outline of your research; ii) projected schedule between now and graduation; iii) plans and goals for the future; iv) research you have conducted in the past (if any). There is no limit on the number of pages or style. Either typed or hand-written is available.
6. One letter of recommendation from a professor. (This confidential letter should mention the applicant’s academic achievements, character/personality, and his or her potential for the future.) There is no limit on the number of pages or style.
7. A certificate of enrollment or a letter of admission. In case that entrance examination will not be held or successful candidates of the entrance examination will not be announced before he or she applies for this scholarship, write down the scheduled date of examination or announcement on the margin of the application form and provide a certificate of current enrollment. (Photocopies are acceptable.)

Miscellaneous

1. Your application package will not be returned to you.
2. Your personal information provided by you for the purpose of applying for our scholarship will not be used for any other purposes than for the scholarship selection process except for the following cases.
1. During the scholarship selection process, individuals on the selection committee may obtain/view your application package.
2. In order to verify the application contents or to avoid awarding multiple scholarships to an individual, we provide necessary applicants’ information to the universities and other foundations also offering scholarships.
3. Send application package with A4-sized envelope.
4. Make sure you enclose ALL the necessary documents listed above and send them ALL TOGETHER as your application package will not be eligible if it was found to be incomplete.

Selection Process

1. Applications are accepted between October 1, 2012 and November 30, 2012.
2. First selection: The first selection will be conducted with documents submitted by applicants. The results of the first selection will be announced by January 31, 2013 as the awarded candidates’ application numbers will be put on our website.
3. Second selection: Interviews will be conducted between February 1 and 15, 2013, in Tokyo. Its detailed schedule will be communicated at a later date directly to those who passed the first step of the selection process.
4. Scholarship awarded: Mid-March, 2013.

Please send your application package to:
Honjo International Scholarship Foundation
1-14-9, Tomigaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0063
Tel: +81-3-3468-2214 Fax: +81-3-3468-2606
Website: http://www.hisf.or.jp
Send inquiries to: info @ hisf.or.jp

If you want to confirm the arrival of your application package, be advised that you should send it by post mail or delivery service with a delivery record so as to inquire to post office or Delivery Corporation. We are not able to individually reply to the inquiry whether it is received or not.