GUIDELINES FOR APPLICATION (Master Course) 

Feature of the Master Course

(1)     All the lectures, research work, and thesis work will be conducted in English. Students will be expected to learn Japanese language gradually during their stay.

(2)     Students will be expected to write a thesis based on research conducted during the course and submit this thesis to examiners in the Natural History Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University for evaluation. A student will be awarded a Master (Science), if he/she has completed the course with satisfactory academic performance. A thesis has to be submitted to the examiners with their approval and an oral defense is also required.

(3)     Students must finish their thesis within two years. No extension is allowed as the special requirement of this program.

 l. Study Areas and Number of Foreign Students for Admission

1-1. Study area and Advisor

(1)   Applicants for any field related to the subjects for the program will be accepted.

(2)   Applicants must consult with the contact professor (including associate professor or lecturer) of your study area before submitting your application. The application will not be considered, if the application is not approved by the contact professor.

1- 2. Number of students to be admitted

Several students will be selected from those who are on other sort of financial supports. hereinafter “Privately Financed”.

2. Qualification Requirements

2-1. Nationality:

For “Privately financed” applicants: Any nationality except Japanese is entitled to apply.

2-2. Age Limit:

For “Privately financed” applicants: No restriction.

2-3. Academic Background:

For “Privately Financed” applicants:

(1)   Those who already hold or are expected to receive a Bachelor's degree by September 30, 2009 from a foreign university or from a Japanese university.

(2)   Students who completed 16 years' education according to the educational ordinance in a foreign country, or who is expected to complete 16 years' education by September 30, 2009 in a foreign country.

2-4. Health: Those who are certified as both physically and mentally healthy by a qualified and recognized physician.

2-5. Language: Applicants must be fluent in English.

2-6. Remarks:

(1)   Military personnel and civilian employees of armed forces are not eligible for this course if they remain on active duty.

(2)   Those who do not arrive within the time limit will be subject to cancellation of their course.

(3)   Those applicants who fail to complete 16 years' education in their country by the date indicated in 2-3 will be subject to cancellation of this course.

2-7. Information

If you have any questions about this program, please contact with the head of this program, Prof. Dr. Noriyuki Suzuki, by email (suzu@sci.hokudai.ac.jp). In your email please include the name of your contact professor and your desired research field.

3. Application

3-1. Important notice for application

(1)   Applicants should contact, and discuss well with your academic advisor, in advance. Applications without such pre discussion are not accepted.

(2)   An original and a copy of the following documents must be submitted to the host professor, before the deadline of January 16, 2009 (all of these documents MUST ARRIVE by this deadline).

(3)   After the application, any cancellation is NOT permitted.

(4)   The procedure is illustrated in here (pdf) .

(5)   Those who are recipients of Scholarship or fellowship from any other sources are not eligible for Scholarship.

(6)   The payment of Scholarship to an enrolled student may be terminated if any of the information supplied with an application is later found to be false. Admission can be canceled any time after enrollment.

3-2. What to submit

All of the following documents must be sent to your advisor by e-mail before the deadline of January 16, 2009. Also, those documents must be sent by registered airmail, but they can arrive later.

(1)   Completed application forms for the Japanese Government Scholarship (use the format provided by Monbukagakusho) for both "Schokarship" and "Privaitly financed" applicants.

(2)   Photocopies of certificate of Bachelor's degree (and Master’s degree if you have), or a certified letter from your university stating the expected graduation date.

(3)   Official academic transcript of all undergraduate course work(and Master course work if you have) from the university

(4)   A document describing the score of GPA or equivalent (place of the candidate in the course, classification by A/B/C etc.) at undergraduate course (and Master course if you have) to show that the candidate is excellent. If such kind of information is included in (3), it is not required as a separate document.

(5)   A certificate of English proficiency: Submit a certificate of English proficiency test such as TOEFL (highly recommended), or a certificate issued by an English teaching staff of university from which you graduated.

(6)   A certificate of citizenship or proof of residence in the applicant's home country

(7)   A letter of recommendation to the President of Hokkaido University (Prof. Dr. Hiroshi Saeki) by the Dean or Head of the applicant’s university/institution who has personal knowledge of the applicant.

(8) Two Photographs (6 x 4 cm, each photo must be fixed at the specified places on the application form for the Japanese Government Scholarship). All of these should be taken within the last six months, upper front figure without a hat, with name and nationality on the reverse side.

(9) Summary of Bachelor’s thesis (and Master’s thesis if you have) (each one page of A4 format)

(10) Entrance examination fee:

For "Privately Financed" applicants:30,000 Japanese Yen (The method of payment should be discussed with your supervisor).

REMARKS:

(1)   The above documents should be type-written in English and of uniform size based on the A4 format.

(2)   Applications will not be accepted if any of the above documents are incomplete, incorrect or lacking supporting evidence. They will not be considered if they arrive after the deadline.

(3)   All documents once submitted will not be returned.

3-3. Notification of the results of selection

Applicants will be notified of the results of selection by early August 2009. Successful applicants will be enrolled as full-time graduate students.

3-4. Supplementary explanations for the "Privately Financed" applicants

(1)   Time of arrival: Successful applicants must arrive in Japan between October 1 and October 7, 2009, preferably before October 5, 2009.

(2)   Term of study: Students must complete this Program for Master’s degree within two years.

(3)   Admission fee: 282,000 Japanese Yen (value of the year 2007).

(4)   Tuition fee: 267,900 Japanese Yen for each semester (annually 535,800 Japanese Yen)(as of year 2007). Tuition fee may be revised while a student is attending the Graduate School.

(5)   Personal accident insurance for students pursuing education and research: This insurance compensates for physical casualties from which students suffer in their intra-curricular activities, both on and off campus, and extra-curricular activities on campus. All the students must be insured before starting research activities. The premium is 2,100Yen for two years.

(6)   Medical Insurance: JASSO will cover 35% of actual payment, provided a recipient subscribes to the National Health Insurance at his/her own expense.