Application Procedures for Admissions

1. University Outline

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI) was founded on October 1, 1988 as one of the national universities of Japan. The basic idea of SOKENDAI is to develop a new system of postgraduate education in Japan. The characteristic features are as follows:

• SOKENDAI offers a three-year and a five-year doctor program.
• SOKENDAI consists of six schools with 20 departments operated by 17 Inter-University Research Institutes and Independent Administrative Institution (“parent institutes”).
• Research and education are carried out in close cooperation with the parent institutes.
• A broad and international vision is fostered by enhanced interchange among the departments of our schools and other universities in Japan and abroad.

Institute for Molecular Science (IMS) is one of the parent institutes and provides Japanese and foreign scientists with opportunities of high-grade joint research in the field of molecular science. IMS are equipped with large-scale research facilities and high-quality approaches and function as centers for advanced studies. At present, we are cooperating in setting up high-grade postgraduate education in SOKENDAI.
 

2. Qualifications for a Five-Year Doctoral-Course Program

1. Applicants who have graduated or are expected to graduate from a Japanese university specified in Article 83 of the School Education Law by the preceding month of enrollment.
2. Applicants on whom a Bachelor’s degree has been conferred or are expected to be conferred by the preceding month of enrollment in accordance with Article 104, Paragraph 4 of the School Educational Law. *1
3. Applicants who have completed or are expected to complete 16-year course of school education in a foreign country by the preceding month of enrollment.
4. Applicants who have completed or are expected to complete 16-year course of school education in a foreign country by taking the correspondence courses provided by a school in said foreign country while residing in Japan by the preceding month of enrollment.
5. Applicants who have completed or are expected to complete a program in an educational institute in Japan designated separately by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, that provides programs of a foreign university within the 16-year school education of said foreign country, by the preceding month of the enrollment. This applies solely to those who have completed 16-year program of school education in said foreign country.
6. Applicants who has been conferred or are expected to be conferred a degree equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree by the preceding month of enrollment by completing an educational course of three or more years in a foreign university or in a foreign educational institute; which shall be evaluated by an organization approved by a relevant official institution in the country for their education and research activities, or recognized as so by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The course shall include a correspondence course which enables students to study in Japan by a university or an educational institute which is approved by the educational system of the country and satisfy the above requirements.
7. Applicants who have completed or are expected to complete the specialized course of a vocational school designated separately by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in accordance with Enforcement Regulation of the School Education Law, Article 155, paragraph 1, item 5 (limited to programs for which the term of study is four years or more, and which satisfies the standards determined by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) on or after the date determined by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, or by the preceding month of enrollment.
8. Applicants who are designated by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in accordance with Enforcement Regulation of the School Education Law, Article 155, paragraph 1, item 6 (i.e., Ministry of Education Notification number 5, 1953) *2
9. Applicants who fulfill any of the following provisions (a) to (c) below, and have been recognized by SOKENDAI as having acquired the specified credits with excellent  results; (Note)
   
   
   (a) Applicants who have completed 15-year course of school education in a foreign country by the end of preceding month of enrollment,
   
   (b) Applicants who have completed 15-year course of school education in a foreign country by taking the correspondence courses provided by a school in said foreign country while residing in Japan,
   
   (c) Applicants who have completed or are expected to complete a program in an educational institute in Japan designated separately by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, that provides courses of a foreign university within the 15-year school education of said foreign country, by the preceding month of the enrollment. This applies solely to those who have completed 15-year course of school education in said foreign country.
10. Applicants who have been or will have been enrolled in a Japanese university specified in Article 83 of the School Education Law for at least three years by the end of preceding month of enrollment, and have been recognized by SOKENDAI as having acquired the specified credits of said university with excellent results. (Note)
11. Applicants who have entered a graduate school other than SOKENDAI in accordance with the Article 102, paragraph 2 of the School Education Law, and have been recognized by SOKENDAI as having the appropriate academic ability to follow the content of graduate coursework. (Note)
12. Applicants who have been recognized as having academic ability equivalent to a university graduate or higher by the individual screening of Admission Qualifications of SOKENDAI, and attain the age of 22 by the end of preceding month of enrollment. (Note) *3

Note
Applicants who intend to apply under the provisions (9) through (11) above are required to have qualification screening before the general application can be submitted. Applicants who intend to apply under the provision (12) above are required to have individual screening of Admission qualification. If applicable, please refer to “Qualification Screening for Application”.

*1   Applicants to whom the provision (2) above applies are those on whom a Bachelor’s degree has been conferred or is expected to be conferred by National Institute for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education (formerly,  National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation).

*2   Applicants to whom the provision (8) above applies are those who have graduated or are expected to graduate from a university under Old University Ordinances, or Daigakko under orders for organization and acts of establishment of government ministries or agencies.

*3   Applicants to whom the provision (12) above applies are those who have graduated or are expected to graduate from junior college, technical college, vocational school, other schools, Japan campus of foreign university, foreigners’ school in Japan and other educational institutes, and who have been recognized by SOKENDAI as having academic ability equivalent to a university graduate or higher by individual screening.

If you have any questions regarding the qualification for admission, please contact the Student  Affairs Section
(E-mail: gakusei@ml.soken.ac.jp or telephone no.: +81-46-858-1525/1526) in advance.

3. Doctor’s Degree

An enrolled student who obtains the designated number of credits in his/her department will be awarded a Doctor’s degree. Requirements for graduation are follows:

• Study for at least five years. However, the period may be shortened for those students who have achieved outstanding records.
• Acquisition of required credits in the department.
• Preparation of a dissertation under the guidance of supervisors and a successful defense of his/her dissertation in a final examination.

4. How to apply

(1) Number of Successful Applicants
Two students will be admitted for each department.

(2) Required Conditions
Applicants are expected to satisfy each of the following conditions.

• Arrival in Japan: Applicants must be able to arrive in Japan in April, 2019 (for April 2019 admission).
• Health: Applicants must not be mentally or physically challenged in such a way that this would pose a serious obstacle to their ability to study.
• Language Ability: Persons who have good command of English or Japanese.

(3) Application Period

(4) Application Procedure
All required documents including the application form must be submitted through the academic advisor whom you wish to study with. Application without an acceptance of the advisor will not be acceptable. Applicants are requested to submit all the following documents at the same time during the application period. Ask your advisor how to prepare the followings. Note that the linked pdf files are given only for your reference and cannot be used as original documents for your application. Your advisor has the guide and the application forms.

Documents from applicants:

1. Application form and admission ticket for the examination (Form 1)
   Please attach two identical photographs (4.5cm by 3.5cm taken within the past three months, upper body, full-faced with no hat) on Form 1. Please read through the Application Guidelines. Your signature is required on Form 1.

2. Curriculum Vitae (Form 1-2)
   Only for international applicants and Japanese applicants who received their education outside Japan

3. Examination fee of 30,000 yen
   For payment details, please refer to Form 12. MEXT scholarship students do not have to bear the examination fee, therefore certificate of MEXT scholarship student status is required.  
4. Academic transcripts (original)
   (a) Applicants who intend to apply under the provision (1) in section 2 should submit academic transcript from the undergraduate school. In case any of the credits was approved after transferred to the undergraduate school, academic transcripts from the technical college or other college are also required.
   
   (b) Applicants who intend to apply under the provision (2) in section 2 should submit all the academic transcripts concerning the Bachelor’s degree.
   
   (c) Applicants who intend to apply under the provisions (3) to (9) in section 2 should submit the academic transcripts from the foreign undergraduate school.
   
   (d) Applicants who intend to apply under the provisions (10) to (12) in section 2 should submit the academic transcript from their final academic background.
5. Certificate of (expected) graduation (original)
   (a) Applicants who intend to apply under the provision (1) in section 2 should submit the certificate of graduation from the undergraduate school which a Bachelor’s degree has been conferred from.
   
   (b) Applicants who intend to apply under the provision (2) in section 2 should submit the certificate from National Institute for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher education (formerly, National Institute for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation).
   
   (c) Applicants who intend to apply under the provisions (3) to (9) in section 2 should submit the certificate of (expected) graduation from the foreign undergraduate school.
   
   (d) Applicants who intend to apply under the provision (10) in section 2 should submit the school-certificate, and applicants who intend to apply under the provisions (11) and (12) in section 2 should submit the certificate of (expected) graduation of their final academic background.
6. Statement of Purpose (Form 2)
   Applicants who apply to the second-choice department should copy the Form and prepare “Statement of Purpose” for the second-choice department separately.
7. Documents certifying the applicant’s research abilities, such as thesis, research reports and other materials are also accepted, if applicable.
   Applicants who apply to the second-choice department should submit another set of copy of the documents for the second-choice department separately.
8. Envelope for admission ticket for the examination
   Applicant’s name, address and zip code (postal code) should appear on the envelope (attached to the Application guidelines), and 682 yen of postage stamp should be affixed.
9. Recipient’s address label (Form 13)
10. Permission for Studying While in Employment (Form 6)
    Applicants who are currently employed full-time are required to submit Permission for Studying While in Employment (Form 6). In case the permission cannot be obtained or the applicant intends to resign before enrollment, s/he may submit a statement of reason sealed by her/himself. In this case, “Letter of Permission to be enrolled while employed” or “Certificate of Resign” must be submitted at the time of admission.
11. A copy of Residence Card (international applicants residing in Japan) or
    A copy of passport (international applicants residing outside Japan at the time of application)
12. Elective Registration Form for Specialized Subjects (Form8)
    Applicants to Department of Structural Molecular Science or Department of Functional Molecular Science are required to submit Form 8. 
13. Form for English Proficiency (Form 9)
    Applicants to Department of Structural Molecular Science and Department of Functional Molecular Science are required to submit Form 9. 
14.  TOEFL/TOEIC score
    Applicants to Department of Structural Molecular Science, Department of Functional Molecular Science and Department of Space and Astronautical Science should submit TOEFL/TOEIC score. 
15. List of Enclosed Documents for 5-year Doctoral Program

Notes
i.   Incomplete documents shall not be accepted. No documents shall be returned.
ii.  In case the applicant’s name has changed after marriage etc., a copy of family register should be attached.
iii.  Form 2 is also available at our website (http://www.soken.ac.jp/admission/guide/gen/guideline/butsuri/).

 

5. Selection Method and Entrance Examination

Note:
Detailed information about the time and place of the examination will be issued with the admission ticket for the exam. In case the ticket shall not be delivered one week prior to the date of examination, please contact the Student Affairs Section. Please see our website (http://www.soken.ac.jp/admission/guide/gen/guideline/butsuri/) for the delivery status of the admission ticket.

Attention:
About changes of selection methods in entrance exam: PDF
Admission information:
https://www.soken.ac.jp/en/admission/general_admission/guideline/butsuri/
 

 6. Announcement of Acceptance

7. School Fees

Admission Fee: 282,000 yen (not refundable)
Tuition Fee: 267,900 yen for a semester
Student Insurance Fee: 5,750 yen for 5 years

*In the event of a revision in the tuition fee, the new fee will be applied from the time the revision has been made.

Graduate Student Affairs Section
International Relations & Research Cooperation Div.
Institute for Molecular Science,
National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS)
TEL: +81-564-55-7139
FAX: +81-564-55-7119
E-mail: r7139(at)orion.ac.jp [(at) should be altered to @ when mailing]
Website:  https:/www.ims.ac.jp/en/education

3. Doctor’s Degree

An enrolled student who obtains the designated number of credits in the departments will be awarded a Doctor’s degree. Requirements for graduation are follows:

• Study for at least three years. However, the period may be shortened for those students who have achieved outstanding records.
• Acquisition of required credits in the department.
• Preparation of a dissertation under the guidance of supervisors and a successful defense of his/her dissertation in a final examination.