MEXT Scholarship Extension
Host University Recommendation Scholarships
The MEXT Scholarship Extension
Description:
Certain MEXT Scholars are eligible to apply for an extension of their MEXT Scholarship to cover their enrollment into a higher degree program. Before a scholar can apply, the scholar's current university screens hopeful applicants to ensure each one meets all eligibility criteria and to verify that each candidate is qualified to receive a recommendation for scholarship extension from the university. In addition to being able to apply for an extension of scholarship for higher degree program study at the currently enrolled university, depending on scholarship type it's possible for some MEXT Scholars to apply for an extension of their scholarship so that they may enroll into the degree program of a different university from the one where they currently reside. The following explains eligibility criteria, procedures, and other details for MEXT Scholars, either currently enrolled at Ritsumeikan University or at another Japanese university, who wish to enroll into a higher degree program here at Ritsumeikan with an extension of their MEXT Scholarship.
1. Possible Scholarship Extension Patterns
Scholarship extensions for current MEXT Scholars are limited to MEXT Scholars currently enrolled at the graduate level, who are either currently undertaking the MEXT-Scholarship sponsored Japanese language training, are currently enrolled as a non-regular student (research student), or who are currently enrolled in a Master's Program.
| Scholarship | Status | Details | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embassy Recommended Scholars | Completing Japanese lang. preparatory education | May apply for scholarship extension + Master's or Doctoral enrollment at up to two universities | |||||
| Enrolled as a Non-regular (research) student | |||||||
| Enrolled in a Master's Program | May apply for scholarship extension + Doctoral enrollment at up to two universities | ||||||
| University Recommended Scholars: Regular type ("Ippan-waku") | Enrolled as a Non-regular (research) student | May apply for scholarship extension + Master's or Doctoral enrollment at current university only | |||||
| Enrolled in a Master's Program | May apply for scholarship extension + Doctoral enrollment at current university only | ||||||
| University Recommended Scholars: Special type ("Tokubetsu-waku") | Enrolled in a Master's Program | May apply for scholarship extension + Doctoral enrollment at current university only* | |||||
| *However, extension for Special type ("Tokubetsu-waku") scholars is pending the recommending graduate school (the graduate school where the MEXT Scholar is currently affiliated) maintaining Doctoral level Special type scholarship positions, which are specially allocated by MEXT, the following year. | |||||||
2. Scholarship Extension Eligibility Criteria
In addition to falling into one of the patterns above, MEXT scholars must meet certain standards in order to be eligible to apply for an extension of their scholarship. In particular:
- Scholars enrolled in a Master's Program (both Embassy and University Recommended MEXT Scholars) must maintain a CGPA of 2.50 or higher out of 3.00 as calculated by MEXT's grade average formula.
*Minimum CGPA criteria are not established for scholar's enrolled in the Japanese lang. preparatory course or as a non-regular (research) students. - Scholars must be recommended by their supervisors for enrollment into a higher degree program.
- The graduate school where the MEXT Scholar is currently affiliated must deem the scholar suitable for recommendation, and be willing to recommend the scholar for scholarship extension.
*This is particularly important for MEXT Uni. Rec. Special type ("Tokubetsu-Waku") scholars.
Further, MEXT limits the number of Master's Program to Doctoral Program MEXT Scholarship Extension Recommendations which each university may submit per year. This means that not all MEXT Scholars enrolled in a Master's Program who wish to apply for a scholarship extension for enrollment into a Doctoral Program will be able to receive a recommendation, even if they meet all of the criteria above. For MEXT Scholars at Ritsumeikan, a screening process is held each year to determine which hopeful applicants are to be offered these limited scholarship recommendations.
*There are no limitations on the number of Japanese lang. preparatory course and non-regular (research) students who each Japanese university may recommend for scholarship extension each year.
3. Applying for Scholarship Extension: MEXT Scholars Currently Enrolled at Ritsumeikan University
The first timeline below is applicable to MEXT Scholars at Ritsumeikan scheduled to graduate from a Master's Program the following year, all of our Japanese lang. preparatory education students who begin their lang. training from September, and all of our scholars listed as non-regular (research) students as of December. Below that is the separate post-arrival timeline for our MEXT Scholars who begin their scholarships in April.
| Timeframe | Activity | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Dec | International Center contacts all eligible RU MEXT Scholars scheduled to graduate from a Master's Program the following year, and all our Japanese lang. preparatory education and non-regular (research) students to determine which scholars seek a scholarship extension and from when | |||||||||
| Mid-late Dec | International Center instructs scholars who would like a scholarship extension to seek the approval of their academic supervisor and to notify their grad school admin office of their intention to extend their scholarship and enroll into a higher degree program | |||||||||
| Late Dec to early Jan | Scholars prepare their extension application paperwork and obtain a written recommendation from their academic supervisor. A screening, including short interviews, is held for Master's level scholars who wish to enroll into a Doctoral Program with a scholarship extension | |||||||||
| Mid-Jan | University recommends scholarship extension applicants to MEXT, sending each candidate's application paperwork, supervisor's recommendation, and so on | |||||||||
| Mid-Feb | Special MEXT Scholarship Extension-only University Admission Procedures are sent directly to each applicant who plans to enroll with an extension of their scholarship in one of our degree programs from April. Each scholarship extension applicant completes an application for admission into one of our Master's or Doctoral Programs and sends it to the International Center | |||||||||
| Late Feb - Early Mar | MEXT notifies the University of which applicants it will grant an extension of scholarship, pending each applicants' admission into their degree program of choice. The International Center notifies each applicant of their results | |||||||||
| Mid-Mar | Results of the Special MEXT Scholarship Extension-only University Admissions are announced, and the International Center notifies each applicant of their results | |||||||||
| Apr 1 | Applicants who were both granted an extension of MEXT Scholarship and who passed the university’s April enrollment admission screening enroll into a higher degree program at RU with an extension of their MEXT Scholarship to cover their degree program (Master's Program 2 years; Doctoral Program 3 years) | |||||||||
| late Jun - early Jul | Special MEXT Scholarship Extension-only University Admission Procedures are sent directly to each applicant who plans to enroll with an extension of their scholarship in one of our degree programs from September. Each scholarship extension applicant completes an application for admission into one of our Master's or Doctoral Programs and sends it to the International Center | |||||||||
| Late Jul | Results of the Special MEXT Scholarship Extension-only University Admissions are announced, and the International Center notifies each applicant of their results | |||||||||
| Sep 26 | Applicants who were both granted an extension of MEXT Scholarship and who passed the university’s September enrollment admission screening enroll into a higher degree program at RU with an extension of their MEXT Scholarship to cover their degree program (Master's Program 2 years; Doctoral Program 3 years) | |||||||||
The following schedule is applicable only to MEXT Scholars at Ritsumeikan who begin their MEXT Scholarship Period (travel to Japan) from April, and only during the period just after their arrival. April-start RU MEXT Scholars who decline to file for extension via the schedule below will be contacted again in December as per the above schedule.
| Timeframe | Activity | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-May | International Center contacts all RU MEXT Scholars whose MEXT Scholarships just began in April, and who are currently enrolled in either the Japanese lang. preparatory education or as a non-regular (research) student, to determine if any of these scholars seek enrollment into a higher degree program, with a scholarship extension, from September | |||||||||
| Late May - early Jun | Scholars prepare their extension application paperwork and obtain a written recommendation from their academic supervisor | |||||||||
| late Jun - early Jul | Special MEXT Scholarship Extension-only University Admission Procedures are sent directly to each applicant who plans to enroll with an extension of their scholarship in one of our degree programs from September. Each scholarship extension applicant completes an application for admission into one of our Master's or Doctoral Programs and sends it to the International Center | |||||||||
| Mid-Jul | University recommends April-arrival scholarship extension applicants currently engaged in the Japanese lang. training preparatory course or enrolled as a non-regular (research) student to MEXT, sending each candidate's application paperwork, supervisor's recommendation, and so on | |||||||||
| Late Jul | Results of the Special MEXT Scholarship Extension-only University Admissions are announced, and the International Center notifies each applicant of their results | |||||||||
| Late Aug | MEXT notifies the University of which April-arrival applicants it will grant an extension of scholarship from September. The International Center notifies each applicant of their results | |||||||||
| Sep 26 | Applicants who were both granted an extension of MEXT Scholarship and who passed the university’s September enrollment admission screening enroll into a higher degree program at RU with an extension of their MEXT Scholarship to cover their degree program (Master's Program 2 years; Doctoral Program 3 years) | |||||||||
MEXT Scholars at other universities should speak directly to the office in charge of MEXT Scholars at their currently affiliated university to determine their eligibility to apply for a scholarship extension and the requisite procedures. In addition, scholars at other universities should email the Ritsumeikan University International Center at cger-bkc@st.ritsumei.ac.jp with all of the following information before submitting a scholarship extension application to their current university.
- 1) Your name
- 2) Scholarship type
- 3) When your MEXT Scholarship began
- 4) Your current status (in general, either Japanese lang. education student, non-regular (research) student, or Master's Program student)
- 5) The university at which you are enrolled as a MEXT Scholar
- 6) Which of our graduate schools you wish to apply to
- 7) Which of our professors at that graduate school you wish to act as your supervisor, and whether or not you have already gotten in touch with him or her/received his or her informal OK for research supervision
- 8) In what language, English or Japanese, you would like to study
- 9) From what year and month you wish to enroll with us
- 10) Finally, please attach a copy of your research plan and a simple c.v. or resume
In addition, after you have submitted a scholarship extension application to your current university please notify the Ritsumeikan University International Center at the aforementioned email address of whether or not you actually included Ritsumeikan University as one of your two preferred schools, and please email us once more with your scholarship extension results once you know them. Separately, request the office in charge of MEXT Scholarships at your current university to contact the Ritsumeikan University International Center at the aforementioned email address at the time of application for extension of your scholarship, and request that they notify us of your formal extension results at the same contact email once announced by MEXT.
5. Supporting Information
- Please review our Researcher Database to assist with finding a potential academic supervisor.
- For more information about graduate programs we offer in English and Japanese, please see our admissions page: https://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/admissions/
- If you have questions about the application process, please contact the Ritsumeikan University International Center at cger-bkc@st.ritsumei.ac.jp
