October 2016 Guidelines for ApplicantsSpecial Selection Prior to Arrival in Japan
Doctoral Program, Yokohama National University
Graduate School of Urban Innovation

How to Apply
Please read carefully the information in this section and follow the instructions.
All applicants must send hard copies of the application forms and other documents by post
after applying online.
In order to complete the application process, applicants need PCs connected to the internet,
printers and their own email addresses.
Outline of Application Process
Step 1 – Register1) Visit YNU Web Application System;
http://e-apply.jp/e/ynu/2) Choose “Department of Urban Innovation”
3) Register your name, email that the registration process is completed/
Step 2 – Apply online
1) Complete and register the application from by logging in to the system using your email
address and date of birth at the start of the process.
2) Choose how to pay your application fee.
3) Pay the application fee.
4) Print out all the forms through the YNU Web Application System after you have received anemail that your payment was confirmed.
Step 3 – Apply by post
1) Send all the application forms printed out and other required materials by post.
2) All the required materials sent by post must arrive at YNU by December 11, 2015.
Note: Applicants are requested to complete both processes; online and postal application.
Please read the instructions in this application guideline and the YNU Web Application Systemcarefully.

-1-1. Introduction
Yokohama National University’s Graduate School of Urban Innovation offers applicants
living outside Japan the opportunity to take the entrance examination for its doctoral
program without coming to Japan. We are currently seeking students for matriculation inOctober of 2016.
If you wish to apply for enrollment, please read these guidelines carefully, make sure thatyou accurately understand the necessary information, and then correctly carry out theapplication procedures.
This graduate school is composed of four fields, and the number of applicants that canbe accepted in each field is different. Therefore, applicants should find the field in which theywant to major, consult with the academic advisor in charge of that field, and then proceedwith the application. Moreover, classes in this graduate school are as a rule conducted inJapanese, but some of our faculty members are able to provide academic supervision in
English, so please check with the academic advisor in charge of your preferred field about
the level of Japanese proficiency required.
You may contact the faculty member in charge of academic affairs in thedepartment/course to which you intend to apply. You may send your inquiries by e-mail ineither Japanese or English.

Contact Information
Office of Academic Affairs
Graduate School of Urban Innovation
Yokohama National University79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501
E-mail: ses.daigakuin-urb@ynu.ac.jp

Faculty member in charge of Academic Affairs
・Architectural Field: Satoshi Yoshida, Associate Professor (syoshida@ynu.ac.jp)
・Urban Culture Field: Fabien Carpentras, Associate Professor (f-carpentras@ynu.ac.jp)
・Urban Infrastructure Field: Mayuko Nishio, Associate Professor (nishio@ynu.ac.jp)
・Global Studies Field: Mihoko Matsuyuki, Associate Professor (mihoko@ynu.ac.jp)

2. Overview of Doctoral Program
The Department of Urban Innovation has been set up for the Doctoral Program of theGraduate School of Urban Innovation. We are committed to developing professionals-2-through our Doctoral Program who are capable of addressing urban and community issues
globally. Toward that end, we facilitate growth of individuals who can wield expertise in therealms of technology, society, culture and history, with practical abilities to conceive, design
and build social hardware in terms of space, infrastructure and cultural foundations. At thesame time, we aim to give rise to professionals competent at providing ongoing andpragmatic leadership and support in also giving rise to social software, in terms of academic,
cultural, artistic and citizenship realms of cities and localities.

3. Academic Advisors, Research Fields, and Language Requirements
Please visit the following websites.
http://www.ynu.ac.jp/english/exam/professors.html

4. Application Requirements
Applicants must be individuals who reside outside of Japan at the time of application, andwho have earned an academic degree equivalent to a master’s degree or a professional
degree outside of Japan or who expect to do so by September 30, 2016.
*An applicant who expects to earn an academic degree equivalent to a master’s degree
or a professional degree outside of Japan by September 30, 2016 and passes theentrance examination but then is unable to obtain the degree by September 30, 2016
will be denied admission.

5. Number of Openings for New Incoming Students in October 2016
Department of Urban Innovation: A few

6. Application Procedures(1) After selecting the faculty member that you would like to have as your academic
advisor after you enroll in this graduate school, contact that teacher directly by e-mail orsome other means and obtain permission to apply. To see which faculty members areavailable to serve as academic advisors and their research fields, visit the appropriate
website, which you can access via the link in Section 3 above. To find your preferredadvisor’s contact information, please search the list of faculty members on the following
website.
http://er-web.jmk.ynu.ac.jp/*If your preferred advisor’s contact information is unavailable, please request it fromthe appropriate faculty member in charge of academic affairs in the field to which you
intend to apply mentioned on the list in Section 1.
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When consulting with your prospective academic advisor, please submit, asdirected, your resume, a list of your past achievements, your intended research plan,
your foreign language test results (TOEIC, TOEFL, Japanese Language Proficiency
Test, etc.), and any other necessary information.
(2) The online application form must be completed during the period between November
16, 2015 and December 4, 2015. Required materials including printed application frommust be sent by post.
YNU Web Application System URL: http://e-apply.jp/e/ynu/(3) Please mail the documents mentioned below, by international express mail or someother service that allows mail to be tracked, so that they arrive from November16(Monday), 2015 to December 11(Friday), 2015. Moreover, if the undermentioned
certificate and transcript of grades are in a language other than English or Japanese,
please attach an English or Japanese translation to them.
Address: Office of Academic Affairs
Graduate School of Urban Innovation
Yokohama National University79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, 240-8501

JAPANNote: Application materials will not be accepted if they are incomplete or if they reach theOffice of Academic Affairs (Graduate School of Urban Innovation) after theapplication deadline. Please be sure to apply early in full consideration of possible
due to postal conditions.
(4) Required Materials
a. Application for Admission: Type your name, address, phone, educational history, etc.
and print out it. Attach offprints and a summary of your achievements and an abstract ofyour master’s thesis.
b. Intended Research Plan: Type your intended research plan in 1,000 characters or lessin Japanese, in 400 words or less in English and print out it.
c. Photograph: One taken in the 3 months prior to application, height 4.5 cm x width 3.5 cm.
Please affix it to the Application for Admission.
d. Certificate of completion, or certificate of expected completion, from last graduate school
attendede. Transcript of grades
f. Documents that objectively indicate your linguistic abilities (Only if requested)
A TOEIC, TOEFL or IELTS score certificate or score sheet (This must be submitted
by applicants whose native language is not English and who have been asked to-4-

submit it by their academic advisor, and must have been issued within the 24 months
prior to application.)
Japanese Language Proficiency Test score certificate (This must be submitted byapplicants whose native language is not Japanese and who have been asked tosubmit it by their academic advisor.)g. Letter of recommendation: This must be from someone who is at least the equivalent of
the applicant’s academic advisor or graduate school dean at the university, etc., which
the applicant attends or attended.
h. A copy of a personal ID containing a photograph of the applicant
For example, a passport (the page with your name, nationality and photograph), a
driver’s license, etc.
i. Entrance examination fee: 30,000 yen [International students on Japanese government
scholarship (MEXT) are not required to pay this fee, but must include a MEXT
scholarship certificate with application documents.]
According to payment guide of the YNU Web Application system, please pay by credit
card (VISA, MasterCard, JCB, American Express, MUFG, DC, UFJ, NICOS) or China
UnionPay by December 4, 2015.
Attach a printout of the email confirmation of payment to the prescribed form and enclose
it with the submitted documents. If the entrance examination fee is not paid, or if theprintout and prescribed form are not enclosed, the application will not be accepted.

7. Method of Applicant Selection
The submitted documents will be reviewed, and a scholastic ability test (written test or oral
test (including interview over the Internet)) will be carried out. Applicants will be directly
notified at a later date of the test time, the method for carrying out the test, and otherinformation.

8. Announcement of Acceptance
On February 16 (Tuesday), 2016, the results from the selection process will be announced
on the Graduate School of Urban Innovation website, and notifications will also be mailed tothe applicants.

9. Necessary Tuition and Fees at the Time of Enrollment[International students on Japanese government [MEXT] scholarship will not be assessed thefee]-5-(1) Enrollment fee: 282,000 yen (currently)(2) Tuition: Annual amount: 535,800 yen (currently)[Note 1] Please note that enrollment fee and tuition fee are subject to revision. If tuition
is revised while you are attending the university, the new tuition fee will apply toyou.
[Note 2] Information about the payment method will be sent together with documents on
the enrollment procedures if your application is accepted.

10. Financial Aid
A post-enrollment financial aid program has been established, and provides forenrollment fees and tuition waivers, scholarships and other such forms of assistance. For
further details, check the scholarship and tuition/enrollment fee waiver section of theStudent Affairs and International Relations Department, Student Support Division website.
http://www.gakuseisupport.ynu.ac.jp/

11. Procedures for Coming to Japan Following Notification of Acceptance
The following procedures are necessary before coming to Japan.
(1) Obtaining a Passport
A passport is something issued by the government of one’s country. Without apassport a person cannot leave or enter a country. If you are obtaining a passport for
the first time, you may need a certificate of enrollment or test-taking, and it may takesome time to receive the passport. Please check the situation before applying for apassport. In case you need a certificate, please ask for one when applying foradmission.
(2) Obtaining a Visa
The residence status of foreign students at this university is “student”. When you firstenter the country for the purpose of study at this university, it is absolutely necessarythat you do so with a “student” visa. You can obtain a “student” visa by submitting, toyour local Japanese consulate or legation, a Certificate of Eligibility for Residence inJapan, issued by Japan’s Immigration Bureau. This certificate can be applied for onlyby 1) a parent or sibling living in Japan, 2) a scholarship provider, or 3) an academicadvisor.
Changing from another visa status (except for “family stay”) to “student” requires anextremely complicated procedure, and the change may not be allowed, so pleaseobtain a “student” visa before entering the country. Students who have a different typeof visa will not be regarded as foreign students and will thus be unable to apply for-6-

foreign student scholarships or obtain services intended for foreign students.
(3) Securing a Residence
Through an agent or another foreign student from your country who is living in Japan,
please arrange for a residence where you can live once you come to Japan. In thisconnection, please visit the following websites.
http://www.ynu.ac.jp/english/campus/institution/index.html
http://www.ynu.ac.jp/english/international/accept/guidebook.html

12. Points to Heed
(1) The documents submitted in the application procedures cannot be changed after theprocedures are complete.
(2) Your application documents will not be accepted if required information has been
omitted from them or if they contain other deficiencies.
(3) The examination fee will not be refunded once the application procedure is completed,
except for the following circumstances:- Where the payment was made, but the application was not made (either by
non-submission of the application materials or by non-acceptance of the materials).
- Where double payment of the fee was made.
If you want to get a refund of the fee, contact Office of Academic Affairs by email(ses.daigakuin-urban@ynu.ac.jp).
(4) After the enrollment procedures, the enrollment fee will not be refunded for any reason.
(5) To obtain “student” residence status, you must be able to demonstrate that you
possess the economic resources to support your daily life as a foreign student inJapan.

13. Handling of Personal Information
In addition to being used for the applicant selection process, the personal informationentered in an applicant’s entrance examination results, application documents and so on
may be used in materials related to welfare measures applied for by the student – such as
the waiving of the enrollment fee – or in surveys and research conducted by the school.
However, if survey and research results are published, this will be done in a way so that
individuals cannot be identified from them. Personal information will not be used or providedfor any other purpose.

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