Comparative Studies of Politics and Administration in Asia (CSPA)

Application Guidelines (Fall 2025 Admissions)Japanese Government Scholarship & Self-Financing Students

1. Admission Requirements
For admission to the CSPA programme, applicants must meet the following requirements:-An undergraduate degree in Politics, International Relations, Public Policy or a related field in Social
Sciences from an accredited university;-A thorough proficiency in English language. If English is not your first language you must
demonstrate English competence with TOEFL, IELTS, or equivalent. A TOEFL score of 80+(Internet-based), IELTS score of 6.0 or above is required for admission; and-Sufficient financial support for the duration of the programme. If you are not the recipient of aJapanese government scholarship, you are required to provide a letter of your financial plans.

If you are applying for a Japanese Government Scholarship, please read Sections 4, 5 & 7 very carefully.

2. Programme Duration and Residential Qualification
Programme Duration: The CSPA is taught on a full time basis and for completion, as a general rule,takes 12 months for Japanese Government Scholars and 24 months for self-financing students, beginningin October and ending in early September.
-Residential qualification: the registered students are during the programme required to reside in either
Fukuoka Prefecture or Saga Prefecture. If there is a good reason for a student not to reside in either
prefecture, the student may be given a permission to reside outside these prefectures after consultation
with the supervisor.

3. Application Materials
Applicants are required to submit by registered airmail or equivalent (i.e. Federal Express, DHL etc.), an
original of the following documents to the Faculty of Law, Kyushu University by December 20, 2024
(applications arriving after the given date will not be accepted):
1. Completed CSPA Application Form. Please note: (1) It is very important that the name that you include inSection 1 of the Application Form is the same as the name in your passport. The Student Visa of successful
applicants will be issued with the name provided in Section 1, and it can cause problems at immigration when1

entering Japan if the names are different. (2) Nationality. You must indicate on the Application Form if you
have dual nationality or Japanese nationality.
2. A photocopy of Graduation Certificate of the last undergraduate university and graduate school(s) attended,
OR a Certified Letter from the university at which the applicant is currently attending, stating the expectedgraduation date.
3. Official School Transcript of the last university from which the applicant graduated and that which theapplicant is currently attending. Please note that good grades on the school transcript are required (ideally in thetop 25% of the class) if you want a Japanese Government Scholarship. In order to verify this, please include anexplanation sheet with information about the grading system of the university.
4. Two Letters of Recommendation (forms attached below) from the Dean, the applicant's academic
supervisors or other teaching staff who have had direct contact with the applicant; or from a supervisor in theemploying body with personal knowledge of the applicant. If you wish to receive a Japanese Government
Scholarship, one Letter of Recommendation must be from the Dean addressed to the President of Kyushu
University. (*Use the prescribed form.)*A reference letter in Japanese or English is acceptable.
5. Research Proposal of your master’s thesis in two A4 pages (free format).
6. For applicants whose first language is not English, Proof of English proficiency must be provided. A TOEFL
score of 80+ (Internet-based), an IELTS score of 6.0+ or equivalent is required for non-native English speakers.
Please note that for MEXT scholarship candidates, proof of English proficiency is compulsory and there is nowaiver.
7. Certificate of Citizenship or Proof of Residence in the applicant’s home country, i.e., census register,
passport (photocopy), or another positive proof of citizenship.
All the application materials should be typed in English on the attached forms or additional sheets of A-4 paper.
In the case that the required materials are prepared in a language other than English or Japanese, a translation
into one of these languages must be attached.
Application materials will not be returned to applicants.

4. Application Procedure & Notification of Result
Question 6 of the CSPA Application Form asks whether an applicant wishes to receive a Japanese2Government Scholarship.
Section 5 below describes the conditions of eligibility for the scholarship.
The application procedure is different depending on whether you are applying for a Japanese Government
Scholarship or not:i. Applicants NOT wishing to receive a Japanese Government Scholarship
The applicants will be selected through a 24 hour-take-home-examination which will be sent to you by email.
It is followed by an online or in-person (if convenient) interview. The exact dates of these examinations will
be notified after we have received the application.
Interviews will be held either by Zoom, phone or (if it is convenient) in person, in mid-January 2025.
Formal confirmation of a place on the programme will be informed to the candidate by the end of March 2025.
ii. Applicants wishing to receive a Japanese Government Scholarship
The applicants will be selected through a 24 hour-take-home-examination which will be sent to you by email.
It is followed by an online or in-person (if convenient) interview. The exact dates of these examinations will be
notified after we have received the application.
Interviews will be held either by Zoom, phone, or (if it is convenient) in person, in mid-January 2025.
If the CSPA Admissions Committee decides to award a scholarship, the applicant will be informed by the endof January 2025.
A successful candidate who has been awarded a scholarship will then be required to submit the Japanese
Government Scholarship Application Form and supporting materials. This form will be provided to all
successful candidates by e-mail they are informed their application for a scholarship has been successful.
The completed Scholarship Application Form must be submitted before February 7, 2025.
Formal confirmation of a place on the programme and the award of the scholarship will be informed to thecandidate by end-March 2025.

5. Conditions of Eligibility for the Japanese Government Scholarship
To be eligible for a Japanese Government Scholarship, a candidate must meet all of the following conditions:3(1) Nationality: Applicants must be citizens of a nation recognized under the foreign scholarship programmeof the Japanese Ministry of Education and be resident in that nation until they come to Japan after they areawarded the scholarship. Anyone holding Japanese nationality is not eligible to receive a scholarship.
(2) Education: Applicants must hold a Bachelor’s degree in Politics, International Relations, Political Sciences
or a related field in Social Sciences from an accredited University. If they are currently enrolling at auniversity, graduation must take place before October 1, 2025 in order to be eligible.
(3) Age: All applicants must be under 35 years of old as of April 2, 2025. i.e. Any candidate born before April
1, 1990, is not eligible for a Japanese government scholarship.
(4) Military personnel are not eligible for this scholarship if they remain on active duty.
(5) Existing financial support: Persons already receiving financial support from their home government oranother organization are ineligible for this scholarship.
*Please note that if you are applying for a Japanese Government Scholarship, applicants may be required tochoose a specific research topic.

6. Tuition & Fees
Students receiving a Japanese government scholarship do not have to pay any fees.

On enrollment, all incoming self-funded students must pay an Examination Fee and Entrance Fee, in addition
to the Tuition Fees.

For the academic year 2024-2025, the fees were as follows:
Tuition Fees (for one year): ¥535,800
Registration Fee: ¥30,000
Entrance Fee: ¥282,000

Please note that this amount is subject to annual review. The final amount for 2025-26
is available upon request from admission@law.kyushu-u.ac.jp.

A fee waiver scheme operates for self-funded students demonstrating a high level of academic performance.
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Please note that it is rare for students to receive a waiver on the Entrance Fee, and for the Tuition Fee successful
candidates normally only receive a remission of up to 50%.

7. Warning(1) Successful applicants will have their enrolment at Kyushu University withdrawn immediately in theevent of any of the following:-If the applicant is found to have made false statements on his/her application.

-If the applicant is subject to disciplinary measures or has been found to have no promise for academic
achievement by the University.

-If the applicant is absent from University for a prolonged period of time without permission.

-If the student has insufficient resources to finance their studies in Kyushu University.

(2) Japanese Government Scholarships for the 2025-2026 CSPA Program have not been finally confirmed. The
Ministry of Education is expected to confirm them by the beginning of December 2024. We will provide
final confirmation of the scholarships on the program home page:
http://law.kyushu-u.ac.jp/cspa/

8. Inquiries
Inquiries by phone cannot be accepted. Written inquiries regarding this programme and submitted materials
should be addressed to:Admission Office of the CSPA Programme,Graduate School of Law, Kyushu University,
744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan.
Alternatively, candidates may correspond by fax or e-mail:Fax: +81[Japan]-92-802-5407
E-mail: admission@law.kyushu-u.ac.jp

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