AY2027 Call for Applications:
RARA Student Fellow (RARA × SPRING × Co-Creation)

Program Overview

Ritsumeikan University promotes the RARA Student Fellowship Program (RARA × SPRING × Co-Creation), which aims to cultivate “Social Co-Creation Doctors”—doctoral researchers who not only deepen their expertise in their respective fields but also create innovation through collaboration with people from diverse disciplines and translate their research into social impact.

Selected RARA Student Fellows will receive not only research funding and research activity support funds equivalent to living expenses, but also access to a variety of special support programs designed to advance their research and post-program career development.

Information Sessions

Online information sessions will be held as follows.

Common Zoom Link: Join the Information Session

• Both sessions will cover the same content.
• A recording of the information session will be uploaded to the Graduate Student Career Path Support Office website at a later date.

Eligibility

First-year doctoral students (or students equivalent to the first year of a doctoral program)

• Doctoral students who enrolled in October 2026 and students scheduled to enroll in April 2027
• Please refer to the Application Guidelines for RARA Student Fellowship Program for detailed eligibility requirements.

Number of Positions Available

Application and Selection Schedule

Application Guidelines and Required Documents

Application Guidelines

• Application Guidelines for RARA Student Fellowship Program (Japanese) Application Guidelines for RARA Student Fellowship Program (English)

Required Application Documents

• Application Form (Japanese) Application Form (English)
  • Applicants must submit a Research Achievements record together with Application Form 1 as a single PDF file.
  • Research Achievements may be obtained as follows:
    • Current Ritsumeikan University students: Obtain your research achievements record through Ri-SEARCH (Ritsumeikan University Young Researchers' Academic and Career Information Search System).
    • Students in the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences who are in their sixth year or above, and applicants from other universities: Submit a list of research achievements in any format of your choice.
• Declaration for Category 1 Eligibility (Japanese) Declaration for Category 1 Eligibility (English)
  • Required only for Category 1 applicants.
• Form 2: Letter of Recommendation (Japanese) Form 2: Letter of Recommendation (English)
  • Should be completed by your supervisor.
• Self-Introduction Video
  • Maximum duration: 120 seconds
  • Maximum file size: 30 MB
  • MP4 format
• Application Checklist (Japanese) Application Checklist (English)
  • For reference, do not submit.

How to Submit Your Application

Please register for an account through the application portal below, then upload and submit all required application documents and your self-introduction video.

Important Notes

• Applications must be submitted within the designated application period. Late applications will not be accepted under any circumstances.
• The submission time will be determined based solely on the timestamp recorded when the application is successfully submitted through the application form. Applications delayed due to device malfunctions or other technical issues will also be assessed based solely on the recorded submission timestamp. Please allow sufficient time to complete your application before the deadline.

Opens an external website in a new window Application Portal

• The application form will only be accessible during the application period.

Reference Information

The following website introduces the activities of RARA Student Fellows.

Opens an external website in a new window Ambitious Graduate Students ～大学院生の挑戦～ (Japanese only)

About Ritsumeikan Advanced Research Academy (RARA)

Opens an external website in a new window Ritsumeikan Advanced Research Academy (RARA)

• The NEXT Student Fellowship Program, which accepted applications from AY2021 to AY2023, has been integrated into this program in accordance with JST policy. Therefore, there will be no separate recruitment for NEXT Student Fellows.

Contact

RARA Office, Division of Research, Ritsumeikan University

MAIL

rara@st.ritsumei.ac.jp

• Please note that responses to inquiries received outside business hours (including weekends, holidays, and weekday evenings) may be delayed somewhat.