GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS (2024)
to the Graduate Program on Science and Engineering for Sustainable
Development：Environmental/Energy Science and Engineering(International Interactive Educational Course for Sustainable Development)(Ph.D. Program)in the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology
Kanazawa University
The Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology is pleased to announce its Program for theDoctoral Degree in Natural Science and Technology with a special course in English and scholarshipfor overseas students with outstanding scholastic ability. Students who are accepted will be awarded aJapanese Government Scholarship through the financial support of the Ministry of Education, Culture,Sports, Science and Technology. (Monbukagakusho:MEXT)

1 Qualifications
1) Nationality:
An applicant must have the nationality of a country which has diplomatic relations with theJapanese government. Applicants who have Japanese nationality at the time of application are noteligible in principal. However, applicants of dual nationality who reside outside of Japan is eligible
only if they will expatriate from Japan by the time of arrival in Japan.
2) Age:Applicant must have been born on or after April 2, 1989.
3) Academic Background:
All applicants must satisfy one of the following requirements:①Has obtained a Master’s degree, or expects to obtain a Master’s degree by the end of September,
2024.
②Has successfully obtained a degree equivalent to a Master’s degree at a university or college
abroad, or expects to gain such a degree by the end of September, 2024.
③Has spent two years or more at a university or research institution after graduating from auniversity or completed a 16-year course of school education abroad.
Be deemed by the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology at Kanazawa University
to have academic ability equal to or higher than a Master degree holder, based on results ofresearch reported in submitted documents.
④Be deemed by the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology at Kanazawa University
to have academic ability equal to or higher than a Master degree holder, based on submitted
documents.
Be 24 (years old) or older as of September 30, 2024.
4) Academic Record:
Eligible applicants must have GPA (Grade Point Average) of 2.30 or higher at the last university
attended.
＊NOTICE＊
After admission, applicants should keep his/her GPA higher than 2.30 point as well. If his/her GPA
will be lower than 2.30 point each year, he/she will be disqualified from the MEXT scholarshipstudent.
The academic record will be calculated by the method which is designated by Monbukagakusho.
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Method to Determine GPA
Grade Point
4-point scale

Excellent

GoodAverageFail4-point scaleABCD

4-point scale

80~100%70~79%

60~69%

0~59%

5-point scale

SABC

F

5-point scale

ABCDF

5-point scale

90~100%80~89%

70~79%

60~69%

0~59%

Point value

33210(number of 3 point grades) x 3 + (number of 2 point grades) x 2 (number of 1 point grades) x 1 + (number of 0 point grades) x 0
Total number of grades (including those with a value of 0)5) Language:
The thesis work will be carried out in English.
An applicant must have enough English skills to conduct academic research and education. An
applicant is required to satisfy any of the following conditions.
1. An applicant who has a score of any test of English language ability equivalent to / higher
level than Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) B2, the test
date must be after November 1, 2021.
2. An applicant who completed the curriculum which meets the qualification to enter JapaneseDoctoral course of graduate school, in an institution where main instruction was in English.
3. An applicant who can be concluded that he/she has English ability equal to or more higher
than 1.
*If you want to convert your English scores into CEFR, please refer to the website below.
https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/koudai/detail/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2019/09/25/1420500_3_2.pdf
6) Health:All applicants should be certified as healthy by a qualified and recognized physician.
7) Arrival in Japan:
In principle, an applicant must arrive in Japan within two weeks of the date set by Kanazawa
University for the beginning of the semester (around on October 1, 2024).
8) Other:
Any applicant who meets any or all of the following conditions is ineligible. If identified after
acceptance of the scholarship grantees, the applicant will be required to withdraw from thescholarship.
[1] Those who are military personnel or military civilian employees;[2] Those who cannot arrive in Japan by the date specified by MEXT or the accepting university;[3] Those who are previous grantees of Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship programs(including those who withdraw from the scholarship program after acquisition of studentstatus). However, this does not apply to those who wish to apply for Research Students
program and meet any one of the following conditions. In addition, since the Monbukagakusho
Honors Scholarship for Privately-Financed International Students does not apply to theJapanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship programs, the previous grantees can apply.
・those who have at least three years of educational or work experience following the end of thepayment of the previous scholarship and the start of this scholarship;・the past grantees of Japanese Studies Students program who have graduated or are going to2

graduate from universities in their home countries, Japan-Korea Joint Government Scholarship
Program for the Students in Science and Engineering Departments and Young Leaders’
Program;・those who have obtained or are expected to obtain a degree as undergraduate students of theJapanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship programs (university recommendation/specialselection).
[4] Those who are currently also applying to another program under the Japanese Government(MEXT) Scholarship system. This includes the programs for which scholarship payments will
begin in FY2024;[5] Those who are planning to receive scholarship money from an organization other thanMEXT(including a government organization of the applicant’s country) on top of thescholarship money provided by MEXT after the start of the scholarship payment (theacquisition of student status);[6] Those who are expected to graduate at the time of application and cannot satisfy the conditionof academic background by the deadline given;[7] Holders of dual nationality at the time of application who cannot verify that they will give up
Japanese nationality by the time of the arrival in Japan (the acquisition of student status);[8] Those who plan to, from the time of application for the MEXT scholarship program, engage
in long-term research (such as fieldwork or internship) outside Japan or plan to take along-term leave of absence from the university;[9] Those who have no intention to obtain a degree.
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Enrollment
Maximum 5 research students will be accepted.

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Scholarship Benefits1) Stipend: 145,000 yen per month (subject to change)※Stipend will be paid for 3 years from October, 2024 to September, 2027. The recipient
admitted into the Doctoral program of Kanazawa University will not be able to extend his/herterms of scholarship.
Monbukagakusho strictly requires that students admitted to this program complete theirdoctoral studies within three years from the start of their financial support.
2) Travel expenses: round-trip airfare between the applicant’s country and Japana) Transportation to Japan: The grantee will be supplied with an economy class air ticket fromthe international airport nearest to his/her address at the time of leaving his/her country to aninternational airport in Japan, such as Kansai International Airport. Domestic flight fee, airport
usage fee, airport tax, etc. will NOT be covered. (The address in the country of the grantee’snationality stated in the application is in principle considered as the “Address at the time ofleaving your country”, ex his/her family’s house). Air travel from a country other than thegrantee’s nationality will not be covered.
b) Transportation from Japan: The grantee who returns to his/her home country within thelast-payment month of his/her scholarship will be provided, upon application, with aneconomy class air ticket from an international airport in Japan to the international airport
nearest to his/her home address.
Note1: The cost of any aviation and accident insurance for travel to and from Japan shall be3

borne by the grantee.
Note2: If a grantee continues to stay in Japan after the scholarship period has ended, he/she will
not be paid travel expenses to return home as the temporary return.
Note 3: Those who are staying in Japan are not eligible for payment.
3) Admission /Tuition fee: waived.
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Application Procedures
The following documents must be submitted in either English or Japanese on A4-sized papers. If
this is not possible, you must attach English or Japanese translations to each document.
1) Cover sheet (use the format supplied)2) Application form (with photo) (use the format supplied, in electronic files)
3) Field of Study and Research Plan (use the format supplied, in electronic files)
4) Certificate of Master’s degree, or a certified letter from the university at which the applicant iscurrently enrolled, stating the expected graduation date.
5) Official academic transcript in your Master’s program.
6) A copy of applicant’s passport (or copy of a certificate of family register, certificate ofcitizenship or other identification issued by the government of his/her home country)
7) A letter of recommendation written by the President, Dean or above of the institution addressedto the President of Kanazawa University (use the format supplied)8) Photographs (4.5×3.5cm; upper front figure without a hat) taken within the past 6 months. Nameand nationality must be indicated on the back. The photographs should be pasted on the specified
place of the application form (2). Electronic data can be acceptable.
9) A photocopy of the Master's thesis and a summary of the thesis written in English on A4-sizedpapers. Copies of any academic results in English are also acceptable with the thesis.
An applicant who was not required to write a thesis for their Master's degree must state this in hisor her application form and submit copies of any academic research papers (instead of the thesis.)10) Acceptance letter written by a prospective academic advisor from Kanazawa University(An emailed one is also available.)11) Documents certifying that the applicant meets the requirements of the language ability
described on page 212) For those currently employed, a letter of release/recognition from their supervisor, recognizing
their right to apply and/or pursue further education in the doctoral program.
13) Certificate of health (use the format supplied to be completed by the examining physician)14) Pledge to the President of Kanazawa University (use the format supplied)15) Pledge to the Director of Graduate school of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa
University (use the format supplied)16) Research achievements (in English)※ The academic transcripts of the last university attended must show the grade scale applied andthe grades earned by the applicant on all the subjects studied. If it is impossible to calculate yourGPA, for example because your grade is judged only by pass / fail etc., please include in “7) A
letter of recommendation” the meaning that your academic record is in the top 30% of faculty,
university or graduate school.
※ Submit the following documents as “11) Documents certifying that the applicant meets therequirements of the language ability”.
4[1] A certificate stating that the main instruction is English, from an institution you havecompleted / will have completed which meets the qualification to enter Japanese Doctoral
course of graduate school.
And / or[2] An original score of any test of English language ability such as TOEFL-iBT or IELTS.
In case you cannot submit both [1] and [2], submit any documents showing your English ability.
The application documents must be submitted by email to the address below by noon (JST) onJanuary 5, 2024, include “[MEXT ESD]” in the subject header. The originals of the documents
submitted by email must be sent by registered air mail after receiving a notification of application
complete.
Email address: s-nyusi@adm.kanazawa-u.ac.jp
Application period: from 9:00(JST) on December 18, 2023 to noon (JST) on January 5, 2024
※Applications will not be accepted if any of the above documents are incomplete, incorrect or notsupported by evidence. Those not meeting the specified deadline will not be accepted.
5Notes1) All applicants must keep in close contact with their prospective academic advisors at Kanazawa
University to formulate their research plan.
2) Once submitted no documents will be returned.
3) After an applicant has agreed to accept the scholarship, he/she may not change their hostinstitution in Japan.
4) The scholarship will be cancelled for a grantee in the following cases. Furthermore, ifscholarship payments were made during the period the following cases applied, the grantee may
be ordered to return scholarship payments received during that period.
① Any information supplied with an application is later found to be false. Admission can becanceled any time after enrollment.
② They violate the pledge declared to the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science,and Technology.
③ They have been subjected to a disciplinary punishment or judged by the faculty as not
being able to continue the program.
④ If it becomes definitive that the grantee will not be able to graduate(or complete his/hercourse) within the standard course term because of his/her poor academic achievement orsuspension;⑤ They quit Kanazawa university.
⑥ They change to other university.
⑦ They change the status of residence to one other than “college student”.
⑧ They receive financial support from their government or other organizations (except for ascholarship designated for research expenses).
⑨ At each point in every one years, the recipient’s GPA fell below 2.30. This GPA will becalculated by the method which is designated by Monbukagakusho.
5) The scholarship will be suspended should a leave of absence occur or when the student fails toattend school for a long time.
6) Applicants are expected to learn and understand the geography, climate, customs and traditionsof Japan as well as the rules of Kanazawa University. Although thesis work can be carried out inEnglish, it is recommended to get accustomed to the Japanese language essential for daily life.
7) Do not use erasable ball-point pens for application documents.
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※An applicant who is applying for another university with MEXT scholarship at the same time is noteligible. If identified after acceptance of the scholarship grantees, the applicant will be required towithdraw from the scholarship.
6Selection and Admission
Preliminary selection is carried out by the International Educational Course Selecting Committee,
based on the submitted documents listed in Item“4 Application Procedure”. The Committee makes
much of applicant’s aspiration to interactive study in this course. Kanazawa University submits therecommendation of candidates to Monbukagakusho, which will makes the final decision ofrecipients. Admission starts from the semester beginning October 1, 2024.
Applicants will be notified of the results by March 2024. Documents such as Certificate ofAdmission will be sent to applicants around June 2024, since it takes time to conduct procedures at
Monbukagakusho and Kanazawa University.

7Force majeure
Due to force majeure, the schedule to come to Japan may be changed, the scholarshipmay be canceled, or the contents of the application guidelines may be changed at any
time before or after the notification of acceptance.
Force majeure means events beyond the reasonable control of Monbukagakusho, suchas natural disasters, government (including local governments; hereinafter the same applies in thissection), or acts of government agencies (including border measures such as immigration restrictions
and travel restrictions by the Japanese government or national governments concerning infectiousdiseases), compliance with laws, regulations or orders, fire, storm, flood or earthquake, war (whetherdeclared or not), rebellion, revolution or riot, strike or lockout including but not limited to.

8Information
For further information, please contact us via email, or air mail:Admission Affairs Section
Science and Engineering Administration Department
Kanazawa University
Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan
Email: s-nyusi@adm.kanazawa-u.ac.jp

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