Graduate School of Science and Technology,
Degree Programs in Life and Earth Sciences
University of Tsukuba
APPLICATION GUIDELINES for“Bioresource Engineering and Economics Course”
Call for Applications: 2024 October Entrance
1. Objectives of Education and Admission Policy
Objectives ofThe objectives of this Doctoral Course (3 years) are to provide education
Educationand train international students, enabling them to deal with global

Admission Policy

warming and environmental degradation, along with reduction on
biological resources and extinction of living species. This course
provides comprehensive education based on multidisciplinary fields ofstudy, encompassing common subjects and specialized subjects
covering research on various areas such as biological, environmental
and rural development. In addition, the course provides field study trips
to orient the students regarding bioresources and utilization system forsustainability.
Bioresource Engineering and Economics Course for Doctoral Program
has been established at University of Tsukuba to target applicants whowish to be instructed by supervisors in the three research fields:
Ecoregion Development Engineering, Food and Biomass Sciences, andRural Development Economics in the doctoral program in AgriculturalSciences, Degree Programs in Graduate School of Life and EarthSciences. The awarded degree is “Doctor of Philosophy in AgriculturalSciences”. The aim of this course is to nurture and develop potential
human resources, enabling them to deal with actual problems ofunderutilized bioresources, besides training them to work on aninternational basis, with basic understanding of world food andagriculture. For this purpose, the prospective candidates should be able
to identify global issues related to environmental degradation, energyand food safety.
Successful candidates must have the willingness to work on amultidisciplinary environment. Through the education, based oncommon and specialized subjects, graduates from this course should be
able to deal concretely with the effective utilization of bioresources forsustainable development. Focus is placed on the sustainable utilizationof bioresources, biological engineering system integrates with biomass,environmental and rural development, measures of development
economics, and various research fields offered by the program. This1

course has been adapted over the former Arid Land Resources Science
Course that was introduced by the former doctoral program in
Appropriate Technology and Science for Sustainable Development, theformer Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences. Theclasses are taught in English.
2. Entrance Examination Schedule
The entrance examination schedule is as follows.
(1) Announce Guide for 2024 applications: January, 2024
(2) Application Period: March 1, 2024 to March 28, 2024
(3) Submission of Required Documents (PDF) by Email: March 1, 2024 to March 12, 2024
(4) Submission of Required Documents (Originals) by Hand or Postal mail: March 13, 2024 to March28, 2024
(5) Individual Interviews: April 16, 2024 to April 26, 2024
(6) Announcement of Examination Results: May 27, 2024
(7) Enrollment Procedures: From the end of June to late August, 2024
(A notification on the procedure will be sent individually.)(8) Enrollment Date: October 1, 2024
(9) Entrance Ceremony: The end of September
3. Number of Students Acceptance per Year
Limited4. Qualifications of ApplicantsIndividuals falling under any one of the categories below may apply for this program.
(1) Persons who graduated or are expected to graduate from a Master Course by September 30, 2024.
(2) Persons who have earned or expect to earn a specialized degree by September 30, 2024.
(3) Persons who have been recognized eligible during the screening process conducted by theGraduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Tsukuba. In thescreening process, the demonstrating academic abilities of those should be superior among theuniversity graduates and have reached 24 years old or are going to reach 24 years old by September30, 2024.
5. Documents Required for Application
The following documents are necessary for application.
PreparedbyRemarks

1Application Formfor Admission

AllComplete Form 1 and attach a passport size photo(frontal view of the face and upper half of your body (4cm x 5 cm) taken within 6 months. See Section 7.

2Study PlanAllUse Form 2

3

Recommendation
LetterAll

A sealed confidential recommendation letter from thereference person. Use Form 3.
For details, see Section 6(1).

Necessary Documents2

A letter of agreement prepared by the prospective
supervisor to serve as an academic advisor if theapplicant is successfully accepted by the Graduate
School of the University of Tsukuba. Please use theForm 4. For details, see section 6 (2).
Certificate of Master’s Graduation,
or Letter from the academic office of your university
describing the expected date for completion of theMaster’s degree program (original with official stamp).
Please make sure that the type of (expected or obtained)
degree, enrolment date, (expected) completion date areincluded.
If you graduated from a graduate school outside Japan,
please submit a degree certificate of your master's degree(original with official stamp). Please make sure that thetype of (expected or obtained) degree, enrolment date,(expected) completion date are included.
Original transcripts of record from previous universities,including bachelor’s degree and master’s degree.
If you are still attending a Graduate School, submit
transcript of records for the period available.

4Supervisor’sAgreementAll5(Expected)
Completion
Certificate*All

6Degree Certificate*

7Transcript*

All

8Passport

For thosewhoalready
have apassport

If you already possess a passport, please submit a copyof your passport with your name. The passport will besolely used to confirm the name of applicant.

9ResearchAchievements

All

Please provide a list of publications (If any, A4 format)

10

Certificate ofSponsorship

FundedApplicant

Graduated
outsideJapan

Certificate ofPayment of
Examination FeeAll

12English proficiency

All Nonnative
Englishspeakers

13

Checklist

11

All

Certificate from Funding Agency (If any)

￥30,000
Use Form 5.
[Following applicants are exempted.]
1. MEXT financed international students
2. Who have completed the University of Tsukuba
Master’s Program and will continue on to the
University Doctoral Program within one year of thecompletion date.
Results of Official English Test
TOEFL(including TOEFL iBT Home Edition), TOEIC
or IELTS etc. (original copy). TOEFL Essentials result
is not acceptable. See section 8..
Please submit this checklist (Form 6) as the first page ofthe application documents.
3Note:*In case your current name is different from that on the documents you have submitted (for example,because of marriage), submit proof of the name change (e.g., copy of marriage license).
i) All application documents must be filled in English. If the documents or qualification certificatesissued by your school are in a language other than English or Japanese, translate and type the entire
text into English (no specific format is designated; please use A4/Letter size paper).
ii) Forms 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 can be found at the end of this “Guidelines for Application”.
6. Recommendations and Prospective Advisor’s Agreement Letters(1) A confidential recommendation letter from the Dean/research supervisor issued by theUniversity/Institution where applicant has obtained a master’s degree is required forapplication. In case of our current research students, the letter can be issued by the academic
advisor of University of Tsukuba. The letter should be sealed by the Dean/research supervisorfor confidentiality. Use Form 3(2) Applicants are requested to submit a prospective academic advisor’s agreement letter alongwith the necessary documents. The letter shall mention that the academic advisor has agreed tosupervise the applicant’s research if the applicant successfully passes the entrance examination.
Please use A4/Letter size paper for the recommendation letter and supervisor agreement letter.
7. Submission of Application Forms(A) Preliminary E-mail submission of the application forms.
(1) Required documents : Forms 1, 2 and 6, Graduation Certificate, Degree Certificate,Transcript, English score as well as other documents.
(2) Format : PDF(3) Submission Period: March 1, 2024 to March 12, 2024 (Japan Standard Time).
(4) E-mail Address : intagrsciadm@un.tsukuba.ac.jp(5) Eligibility of the applicants will be checked by the administration office.
(6) Eligible applicants will receive an E-mail message instructing them to pay the examination
fee and submit the hard copy of their application forms.
(B) Payment of the Examination Fee through the Japan Post Bank (JP Bank).
Applicants are requested to pay the examination fee by the due date. Please make a payment toUniversity of Tsukuba through the Japan Post Bank (JP Bank).
[ATTENITION]
Payment should be made only AFTER eligibility of application has been confirmed.
Payment period:
March 1, 2024 to March 28, 2024
URL for payment:
To be informed after the confirmation of eligibility.
Amount:30,000 Japanese yen
Receipt:
Please attach the receipt to Form 4.
Please be aware that the examination fee is non- refundable.
(C) Final Submission of the Original printouts of Application Form.
(1) Required documents
All original documents(2) Submission period
March 13, 2024 to March 28, 2024 (Japan Standard Time).
(3) Mailing address
Graduate Program Office for Agricultural Sciences (F306),
University of Tsukuba
1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba,4

Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
Tel: +81-29-853-7228(D) Remarks.
(1) If any document is missing, not filled correctly or incomplete, your application will not beaccepted. Please check thoroughly and carefully before sending the documents. Please notethat the original application documents shall be received not later than the submission period
in Japan Standard time.
(2) Application documents will not be returned.
(3) For persons who require special considerations for study due to disabilities or other issues,
please consult by sending an e-mail to the address below before applying.
E-mail address: “Bioresource Engineering and Economics Course.”< intagrsciadm@un.tsukuba.ac.jp>(4) If any factual discrepancies are found in the application or application documents even afteradmission to the University, the admission may be revoked.
8. English proficiency.
(1) Non-native English speakers must submit TOEFL/TOEIC/IELTS test resultsPlease send one of the following test results (original copy) with Photo ID of the applicanti) Examinee Score Report (TOEFL, including TOEFL iBT Home Edition)ii) Official Score Certificate (TOEIC)iii) Test Results Form (IELTS)(2) In principle, an applicant whose native language is English is not required to take an examination.
It will be judged by the applicant’s academic history.
[ATTENTION]
Only original certificates with scores of tests taken in April 2022 or later are valid.
9. Selection Method
The applicants will be requested to have an interview in person or by teleconferences such as zoom.
In the individual interview, a comprehensive evaluation will be made on English ability, basic
scholastic knowledge, research achievements and plan, and motivation for the “Bioresource
Engineering and Economics Course for Doctoral Program”.
10. Announcement of Examination Results
Examination results will be announced on May 27, 2024
Notification of the results will be sent by e-mail and postal mail to all applicants. “Documents
Required for Enrollment Procedures” to University of Tsukuba will be mailed to successful
applicants at the end of June 2024.
11. Enrollment Procedures(A) Time period(1) The time period for enrollment procedures is from the end of June 2024 to early
September 2024.
(2) Following receipt of the “Documents Required for Enrollment Procedures,” submit all
documents required for admission to Division of Admission,
Department of Educational Promotion by the above deadline.
(B) Payment required by students(1) The normal admission fee is ¥282,000.
5MEXT Scholarship students and Who have completed the University of Tsukuba
Master’s Program and will continue on to the University Doctoral Program within one
year of the completion date.
(2) The tuition fee is ¥267,900 for the spring semester and ¥267,900 for the fall semester(¥535,800/year).
(3) If the amount of payment for these fees is revised at the time of admission or during
enrollment, the new amount will be applied at the time of revision.
(4) The University offers, upon selection, a waiver of all or part of the tuition fee forstudents who are deemed to find it difficult to pay tuition due to financial reasons andfor students who have other unavoidable circumstances.
12. Confidentiality of Personal Information
Personal information obtained by University of Tsukuba from the application documents and otherpersonal information will be used only for selecting applicants for admission and who applied for atuition waiver will only be used as a part of the examination materials for selection.
13. Questions and Contact

If you have any questions about the application process, please contact the address below:
E-mail address: intagrsciadm@un.tsukuba.ac.jp

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