MEXT Scholarship: University Recommendation

Host University Recommendation Scholarships

Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho: MEXT) University Recommendation Scholarship

September 2026 Enrollment


Nov 17, 2025 Update: Admission Guidelines for the Graduate School of Science and Engineering are now online!

Description:
The MEXT University Recommendation Scholarship is a comprehensive "full-ride" scholarship sponsored by the government of Japan. As indicated by the name, an applicant must be recommended by a Japanese university to MEXT, or as it's formally known, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (known as the "Monbukagakusho" in Japanese), in order to be considered for the scholarship. Applicants who wish to be recommended for this scholarship by Ritsumeikan University must apply for admission to the university via the procedures described below. Each applicant who passes these admissions also receives a university recommendation for the scholarship. The maximum number of applicants allowed to pass these admissions is equal to the number of scholarship recommendations allocated to the university by MEXT. Since recommendation slots are few, this means that only a handful of applicants receive a Letter of Acceptance via these admission procedures.

Once recommended to MEXT, recommendees undergo a subsequent scholarship review, and finally, awardees are selected by MEXT. The following explains procedures for students who seek admission to Ritsumeikan University and university recommendation for MEXT Scholarship.


1. Scholarship Eligibility Requirements and Scholarship Benefits

To be eligible to apply for Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship, an applicant must:

  • Have the nationality of a country that has diplomatic relations with the Japanese government. Applicants who have Japanese nationality are not eligible (Japanese dual-nationality citizens who plan on renouncing their Japanese citizenship, however, may apply).
  • Have been born on or after April 2, 1991.
  • Be in both good physical and mental health.
  • Be willing to newly acquire a student visa and newly enter Japan for the purpose of study upon receipt of the scholarship.
  • Be able to arrive in Japan on a date designated by Ritsumeikan University in the middle of September 2026.
  • Have a CGPA equal to or higher than 2.30 out of 3.00 for current degree program as calculated by MEXT's formula (or most recently attended degree program for persons not currently enrolled. You DO NOT need to calculate this on your own. The university will calculate your GPA according to MEXT's formula after receiving your formal application).
  • For applicants to English language medium degree programs: Have English language ability equal to or greater than Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) B2 level, or have studied in English in most recent (or currently enrolled) degree program. See our CEFR Conversion Chart and MEXT Language Requirements for details.
  • For potential applicants to Life Sciences, International Relations, and Information Science and Engineering: There is a chance that these three graduate schools may recruit applicants, based on scholarship availability from MEXT. If applicants are recruited, this page will be updated with relevant information, in particular, application guidelines specific to those graduate schools, at a later date. Any potential recruitment by these graduate schools would be expected to be announced on this page anywhere between mid-November and mid-December.

Additional Requirements, Criteria, and Scholarship Benefits: Please refer to the scholarship outline for a description of scholarship benefits as well as a more detailed overview of scholarship eligibility and conditions.


2. Application

At Ritsumeikan University, applicants may apply for enrollment to the Master's and/or Doctoral degree programs of certain graduate schools via the following procedures. Applicants granted admission to the university via these procedures will also be recommended scholarship.

Understand that the graduate schools listed in the application guidelines are recruiting applicants for admission for either their Master's or Doctoral degree programs (or both) as indicated in the application guidelines, only. Graduate schools and/or degree programs NOT listed in the guidelines are NOT being recruited for. Read the guidelines ON YOUR OWN to determine whether or not your graduate school of interest is recruiting applicants, and if so, whether it is recruiting for just the Master's Program, just the Doctoral Program, or both. Also, please note that in the application form you must indicate the name of your preferred academic supervisor, however, only applicants to the Graduate School of Science and Engineering must obtain permission from a faculty member in advance in order to apply. Applicants to other graduate schools DO NOT need to obtain advance permission. Simply enter the name of the faculty member you think would be a good match to supervise your research.

Please carefully read through all sections of the application guidelines before beginning to complete an application:
*Forms must be typed.

Application Procedures and Forms
All prospective applicants must read through the Application Guidelines, complete the Ritsumeikan University Graduate School Online Application Form (see application guidelines), and prepare and submit all other forms denoted in the application guidelines via email attachment according to the instructions within the guidelines. Some of the required application documents including the Application for Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho: MEXT) Scholarship, Field of Study and Study Program, and Certificate of Health are linked below. Also included below is the Letter of Reference Template - an optional template which you may use when requesting your Dean, etc... to write you a Letter of Reference in order to try and ensure that the submitted letter meets the minimum criteria for acceptance. (To be clear, submission of a Letter of Reference is mandatory, but there is no set format for the letter)


Application Guidelines

  • GRADUATE SCHOOLS OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (GSISE): MEXT University Recommendation Scholarship-based Admissions Application Guidelines; September 2026 Enrollment
    Would-be applicants to the GSISE must contact their preferred academic advisor, discuss their intended research, etc., and receive informal permission for academic supervision from the faculty member before applying. Those who do not do so are ineligible. Please note that a letter, etc. from the faculty member is unnecessary. Simply receiving approval via email is acceptable, and there is no need to submit it as proof when applying.
    How to check which faculty members belong to which Major/Course and how to get in touch with them
    See the Graduate School of Science and Engineering Faculty List, or search through the Researcher Database. For faculty who list their email on the GSSE homepage or within the Researchers Database, please contact them directly. For faculty whose email aren’t found on either of these sites, please use this GSSE Faculty Inquiry.

Application Forms


Reference


3. Notes to Keep in Mind before Submitting your Application

1) Make sure that ALL of your application documents meet ALL requirements described in the guidelines.
2) In particular, your Letter of Recommendation, and in turn your application, will not be accepted if it does not meet all requirements mentioned in the guidelines.
3) Additionally, your transcripts, and in turn your application, will not be accepted if they do not meet all requirements mentioned in the guidelines. If your transcripts do not meet the criteria in the guidelines, please obtain additional supplemental documentation, such as a detailed explanation of the grade scale, as necessary from your university before submitting your application.
4) If the rest of your documents are ready but you are waiting for the arrival or announcement of an English language test score, please submit the rest of your application in advance before the deadline. Follow up by submitting your language test score certificate via email as soon as ready.


4. General Schedule from Application to Enrollment

The following is a rough schedule. Timing of all points below, but in particular the announcement of scholarship results, are at the discretion of MEXT and/or the university and are subject to change.

Timeframe Activity
Late Nov 2025 - late Dec 2025 Applicants submit applications to Ritsumeikan University (hereinafter "RU")
Jan - Feb 2026 RU announces admission results to applicants
Feb - Mar 2026 RU submits scholarship recommendations for applicants who succeeded in the admissions process to MEXT
Jun - Jul 2026 MEXT notifies scholarship results to RU
RU notifies applicants of their scholarship selection results
Jul - Sep 2026 RU issues MEXT Scholarship Certificates to those granted MEXT scholarship
Successful applicants submit the MEXT Scholarship Certificate to their local Embassy or Consulate of Japan to apply for a student visa as a Japanese government scholar
Mid-Sep 2026 Scholars travel to Japan on a date designated by RU, attend orientation, etc.
Sep 26, 2026 The Fall Semester begins and scholars begin their formal studies at RU

5. Additional Requirements and Supporting Information

  • ”Monbukagakusho” is the Japanese word for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, which is also known by its acronym, MEXT.
  • Please note that you may only receive University Recommendation for MEXT scholarship from one university.
  • Please review our Researcher Database to assist with finding potential research supervisors. You do not need to ask a professor permission to include his or her name on your application.
  • Students who need to request an individual review of their eligibility, as mentioned in the guidelines, should contact the International Center prior to applying. Please see the contact information listed in the application guidelines.
  • Students who are currently enrolled in a university in China or who have graduated from a university in China may find information on how to obtain their China Higher-Education Student Information Online Verification System certificates here.
  • The Letter of Recommendation is free-format, but a sample including the required points such as to whom the letter must be addressed to and the writer's title, may be found here.
  • For more information about MEXT, please visit their home page: http://www.mext.go.jp/en/
  • For more information about graduate programs we offer in English and Japanese, please see our admissions page: https://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/admissions/
  • At Ritsumeikan University we only recruit MEXT University Recommendation Scholarship applicants to our English-medium degree programs. For admission to our Japanese-medium degree programs: see here
  • If you have questions about the application process, please contact the International Center:
    cger-bkc@st.ritsumei.ac.jp

Other Scholarship Opportunities

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