Japanese Government's Monbusho Scholarship

The Monbusho (Monbukagakusho) Scholarship ( beasiswa monbusho ) is a prestigious scholarship offered by the Japanese Government. The Monbusho (Monbukagakusho) SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME provides a perfect opportunity for people from a wide variety of backgrounds and talents.

Those wishing to apply for a scholarship should meet one of the criteria listed below:

1. Recommended by a Japanese embassy or consulate general (Embassy Recommendation).
2. Recommended by the Japanese university which will accept you (University Recommendation).
3. Selected by the Japanese university in which you are currently enrolled if you are a privately-financed student already studying in Japan (Domestic Selection).

Qualification needed to apply for monbusho scholarship:

1. Research students, must be under 35 years of age and a college graduate (includes prospective graduates). Or you must have completed 16 years of schooling.
2. Teacher training students, must be under 35 years of age and a graduate of a college or teacher training college. You must have at least five years of active experience as a teacher in a primary, secondary or teacher training college in your country. (Please note that college and university teachers currently in active service are not considered for this scholarship).
3. Undergraduate university students, must be at least 17 and under 22 years of age and have completed 12 years of school education or have completed courses in a school comparable to a high school (includes prospective graduates).
4. Japanese studies students, applicants must be from 18 to 30 years old. Applicants must be enrolled as undergraduate students in faculties or schools which major in Japanese language or Japanese culture in a university outside Japan at the time when they come to Japan and must be enrolled in the home institution at the time when they return to their home countries. Students majoring in the fields other than Japanese language or Japanese culture who wish to study various aspects of Japan( engineering, economy, agriculture, architecture, art, etc.)as part of their major studies should apply to the JASSO for admission to the Short-term Student Exchange Promotion Program.

There are three available recommendation for mobusho scholarship (beasiswa monbusho) those are:

1)Embassy recommendation

In this type of scholarship, scholarship recipients are recruited and initially screened by an Japanese embassy (or consulate general, depending on the country).

http://www.mofa.go.jp/about/emb_cons/mofaserv.html

2)University recommendation

i)Research students and Japanese studies students who will be studying in Japan as an exchange student based on inter-university student exchange agreements can be screened through the national, public or private Japanese university involved as a candidate for a Japanese Government Scholarship. The university directly recommends the selected candidates to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

ii)Research students recommended by a university for study in Japan as government-sponsored scholarship recipients basically arrive in Japan in October.

Japanese studies students basically arrive in Japan in October according to the university program. Universities recommend candidates to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology by mid-April.

3)Domestic Selection

i)Privately financed, full-time postgraduate foreign students, prospective postgraduate students, and full-time, prospective fourth-year undergraduate university students (prospective sixth-year students in the case of medical schools, etc.) are granted domestic selection scholarships that begin in April. Recruitment is conducted through national, public and private universities with the exception of junior colleges.

ii)Universities carefully screen academically and individually excellent students and recommend them by mid-December as government-sponsored scholarship candidates to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Undergraduate monbusho scholarship (beasiswa monbusho) :

This scholarship offers applicants the opportunity to spend up to 5 years at a Japanese college or university as an undergraduate degree student in one of 2 fields of study, those are :

(1) Social Sciences and Humanities

(2) Natural Sciences

Benefits:

* 135,000 yen per month for the period of the scholarship (see USD equivalent)

* transportation to and from Japan

* 25,000 yen arrival allowance (subject to change)

* school fees (i.e., entrance examination, matriculation, and tuition fees) will be waived

* accommodations in foreign student houses, residence halls for foreign students, or private boarding houses depending on the university

* partial subvention for medical expenses

http://www.mofa.go.jp/about/emb_cons/mofaserv.html

check also Nanyang Scholarship and Scholarship information for Indonesian and Asian Students