Four-Year Doctoral Course
HIGO Program for Graduate School
Application Information for International Students
Enrolled in April or October 2018

The applicants must take TOEFL, TOEIC or IELTS.

Graduate School of Medical Sciences
Kumamoto University

The Student Affairs Section, School of Medicine, Kumamoto University
1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan
TEL: +81-96-373-5025 FAX: +81-96-373-5030
E-mail: iyg-igaku-3@jimu.kumamoto-u.ac.jp
The Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University recruits international students who wish
to enroll in the four-year doctoral course of the HIGO Program. The English language is used for all classes
and research instructions in this program.

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Number of Students Accepted for Admission
About two (2)Qualifications of Applicants
1) Educational Background:
All applicants should have completed 18 years of education and research experience by the entrance
date of Kumamoto University. Thus applicants must satisfy at least one of the following five education
backgrounds and research experience.
However, if applicants have completed a bachelor degree in medical, dental, pharmaceutical, or
veterinary sciences or an equivalent education after a five-year training program in overseas institutes,
they are eligible to apply for the program with 17 years of education (including applicants who expect
to complete their current program in March2018 to commence in April 2018 and in September 2018 tocommence October 2018).
① Overseas applicants must complete a five-year or longer training program for a bachelor degree inmedical, dental, pharmaceutical, or veterinary sciences, or an equivalent education, to apply for theprogram. Applicants must complete the current program by March 2018 to commence in April2018, andby September 2018 to commence in October 2018.
② Applicants must be graduates of a four-year medical, dental, pharmaceutical or veterinary schooloutside of Japan, and must have conducted research for at least two years in a university or a research
institute outside of Japan after completion of formal education, or be expected to finish such a processby March 2018 to be eligible to enroll in April 2018, or by September 2018 to be eligible to enroll inOctober 2018.
③ Applicants must hold a Master’s degree from an institution which has two-year education programs
outside of Japan, after completion of 16 years of formal education outside of Japan, or be expected tomeet this requirement by March 2018 to be eligible to enroll in April 2018, or by September 2018 to beeligible to enroll in October 2018.
④ Applicants must have conducted research for at least two years in a university or a research institute, after
completion of 16 years of formal education outside of Japan, and be recognized as having an educationthat is equivalent to a Master’s degree.
⑤ Applicants must be recognized by the Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University as
having attainments equal to or greater than a Master’s degree.
Persons who intend to apply under categories ④ and ⑤ must undergo a preliminary qualification
screening prior to formal registration. Their prospective supervisors must contact the school affairs section,
Graduate School of Medical Sciences by November 1.
2) Health:Applicants must be in a good physical and mental health.
3) Language:
Applicants must have earned the minimum required score in any one of the following:①TOEFL-iBT(50 or higher) ②TOEFL-PBT(463 or higher) ③TOEIC(480 or higher)④ IELTS(4.5 or higher)
4) Visa:
Applicants must have a student visa when coming to Japan2

Period of Study
Four (4) years from April 2018 to March 2022 or from October 2018 to September 2022
Scholarship Benefits
Successful applicants are eligible to receive a stipend while in school (Students are receiving stipend of
200,000 JPY per month for the 2017 academic year).
Note that the amount of scholarship is subject to change each academic year.
However, it should be noted that, since the issuance of the current leading program subsidies are scheduled
until 2018 academic year, there is no decision about provision of scholarship of April 2019 or later.

Screening Procedure
1) Applicants must choose one of the research leaders in the Graduate School of Medical Sciences,
Kumamoto University as his/her prospective supervisor, and must obtain permission to apply for thisprogram from the supervisor beforehand.
2) Applicants must obtain all application information and forms through Internet by themselves. After
filling in all the forms, they must send them to their prospective supervisor of the Graduate School ofMedical Sciences.
3) Their prospective supervisors must submit all application forms to the committee for this program
before the deadline for application.
4) The committee will have examinations for those who apply to the program. The main parts of theexamination are the English test (TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS), essay and interviews.
5) Interviews by three committee members will be held over Internet. For details of the internet-based
interview, please refer to “Instruction for internet-based interview of Graduate School of MedicalSciences, Kumamoto University” The essay exam will also be held over Internet. As an alternative,
if the foreign applicants are visiting Japan on the day of the entrance examination (November28,2017), they will be able to take the essay exam and have interviews with three committee members
in Kumamoto University.
6) The total of scores of the English test, essay and interviews with three committee members will be used
to score the examination.
Date of Enrollment
April 1, 2018 or October 1, 2018
Degrees
After successful fulfillment of the four-year course of the HIGO Program, a Doctor of Philosophy degree
will be conferred.
Application Period
From November 6 (Mon.) through November 13 (Mon.) ,2017
The research leaders, or prospective supervisors, of the international students should collect and submit
all documents required for application to the Student Affairs Section, School of Medicine.
Examination DateNovember 28 (Tue.), 20173Required Documents【Applicants must submit the following documents.】
1) Application form for admission (Form 1)2) Photo ID card, examination card, certificate of residence (Form 2)3) One photograph (Paste a 4×3cm photograph taken no more than three months prior to application,
upper frontal view without a hat, with upper body showing)4) A certificate of graduation (completion) or prospective graduation (completion) from the university
attended5) Academic record issued by the university attended
6) Written Statement of Reasons for Application (Form 3)7) Health certificate completed within 6 months prior to the date of application (Form 4).
8) Examination fee (30,000 JPY) ※1
9) A copy of the applicant’s English examination score (Either of the following: TOEFL-iBT (Score
should be 50 or higher), TOEFL ｰ PBT (463 or higher), IELTS (4.5 or higher) or TOEIC (480 orhigher)
10) If the applicant has completed, or expects to complete, a five-year bachelor degree program overseasin Medical, Dental, Pharmaceutical, or Veterinary Sciences, a certificate of graduation issued by thePresident of the university or equivalent institute and a copy of certified accreditation document of
the university or equivalent institute (※2) issued by the President of the institutes or the evaluation
agencies.
11) A letter from the applicant’s employer indicating agreement with this application, if the applicant is
an employee.
※1 Please inform iyg-igaku-3@jimu.kumamoto-u.ac.jp (The Student Affairs Section, School ofMedicine) before you make a payment for examination fee.
※2 An accreditation document by the national government or other relevant official agencies withregard to the overall education and research activities of the university or equivalent institute.
Additional Statements:
1) Applicants are urged to discuss a research plan with their prospective supervisors of the Graduate
School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University beforehand.
2) All documents should be typewritten on A4 size paper.
3) Applications with incomplete information, or those submitted after the deadline, will not be accepted.
4) No application materials will be returned to the applicants.
Announcement of Results
December 28(Thu.), 20174Admission Procedure◎The details of admission procedures will be described in the letter of acceptance.
1) When and How to Pursue Admission Procedures
The details will be described in the letter of acceptance.
*The prospective instructors for the students who wish to enroll in April should familiarize themselveswith admission procedures (including deadlines) beforehand, and make sure that the students cancomplete the procedures before enrollment.
2) Important Point Regarding Admission Procedures
If a successful applicant does not complete the admission procedures before the deadline,
he/she will be considered to have declined enrollment.
3) Fee to Pay at the Time of Admission Procedures
Admission fee (scheduled amount) 282,000 JPY
4) Main Documents Required for Admission Procedures①Pledge ②Letter of Guarantee ③Color photo of face (4cm length x 3cm width)◎Tuition fee
Tuition for the first semester 267,900 JPY (535,800 JPY annually)
Attentions
1) Students will not be allowed to continue studying at Kumamoto University if any of the following
occur:
1. There are false statements in the application.
2. Student is expelled or dismissed from the university as a disciplinary measure, or determined
to be unlikely to complete academic requirements.
3. Student leaves the university or transfers to another university.
4. The status of the student visa is changed to another type of visa.
2) Applicants are advised to become familiar with Japanese culture, customs, climate, and theuniversity system before coming to Japan. Japanese language skills for daily life would also beadvantageous.

Inquiries
The Student Affairs Section, School of Medicine,
Kumamoto University
1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan
TEL: +81-96-373-5025 FAX: +81-96-373-5030
E-mail: iyg-igaku-3@jimu.kumamoto-u.ac.jp

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