Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Master Course HIGO Program Basic Course
Application Information for International Students
Enrolled in April or October 2015

The applicants must take TOEFL, TOEIC or IELTS.

Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Kumamoto University

The Student Affair Section, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Kumamoto University
5-1 Oe-honmachi, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 862-0973, Japan
Tel: +81-96-371-4635

Fax: +81-96-371-4639

Email: sky-kyomu@jimu.kumamoto-u.ac.jp

The Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University recruits international
students who wish to enroll in the Master Course of the HIGO Program Basic Course. The English
language is used for all classes and research instructions in this program.

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Number of Students Accepted for Admission
few students

Qualifications of Applicants
1） Applicants should be persons without Japanese nationality who meet any of the following
educational background from ① to ④.
① Applicants who have completed, or are due to complete in March 2015 to be eligible to enroll inApril 2015 ,or in September 2015 to be eligible to enroll in October 2015. 16 years of school
education abroad.
② Applicants must have finished 16 years of school education by taking correspondence courses
provided by the school outside of Japan, while residing in Japan, or expected to finish suchprocess by March 2015, to be eligible to enroll in April 2015, or by September 2015 to beeligible to enroll in October 2015.
③ Applicants must be recognized as having attainment of equal or a greater academic ability thanother graduates of our university in the qualification examination provided by Graduate Schoolof Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University and reach 22 years old by March 2015, to beenrolled in April 2015, or reach 22 years old by September 2015, to be enrolled in October 2015.
④Applicants must have completed a 15-year education outside of Japan, or must have finished 15years of education through correspondence education provided by the school outside of Japan
while residing in Japan, and must be recognized to have achieved excellent academic standing by
the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University.
Note: Applicants who would like to apply with educational backgrounds ③～④should contact theStudent Affair Section, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Tel: +81-96-371-4635,
E-mail: sky-kyomu@jimu.kumamoto-u.ac.jp)

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 (Score should be 50 or higher) ②TOEFL-PBT (463 or higher)③TOEIC(480 or higher) ④IELTS (4.5 or higher)

4) Visa:
Applicants must have a student visa when coming to Japan

Period of Study

・ Basic Course: from April 2015 to March 2017 (two years)-2-Advanced Course: from April 2017 to March 2020 (three years)
Or Basic Course: from October 2015 to September 2017 (two years)
Advanced Course: from October 2017 to September 2020 (three years)
Scholarship Benefits
Successful applicants are eligible to receive a stipend while in school (200,000 JPY per month forthe 2014 academic year).
Note that the amount of scholarship is subject to change each academic year.
Also note that the qualifications for this privilege may be reassessed during mid-term evaluations.
The Leading Program Scholarship is currently scheduled to be offered until 2018 academic year.
The granting from April 2019 onward is not decided yet.

Screening Procedure
1)

Applicants must choose one of the research leaders in the Graduate School of PharmaceuticalSciences, Kumamoto University as his/her prospective supervisor, and must obtain
permission to apply for this program 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 theGraduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

3)

Their prospective supervisors must submit all application forms to the committee for thisprogram before the deadline for application.

4)

The committee will have examinations for those who apply to the program. The main parts ofthe examination are the English test (TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS), essay and interviews.

5)Interviews by three committee members will be held over Internet. For details of theinternet-based interview, please refer to “Instruction for internet-based interview ofGraduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University” The essay exam will
also be held over Internet. As an alternative, if the foreign applicants are visiting Japan on theday of the entrance examination (February 10, 2015) for Japanese applicants, 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, 2015 or October 1, 2015 (Students who wish to enroll on April 1 should have completed
their admission procedures by March 27, after the announcement of examination results on March2.)

Degrees
Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) is conferred to students who successfully fulfill all the-3-

requirements of the basic and the specialist courses of the HIGO program.

Application Deadline
From 17 December 2014 through 24 December 2014.

The research leaders, or prospective supervisors, of the international students should collect andsubmit all documents required for application to the Student Affairs Section, School ofPharmaceutical Sciences.

Examination Date
Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Required Documents【Applicants must submit the following documents.】
1)

Application form for HIGO Program (Form 1)2） Photo Identity Slip, Admission Card, Address Label (Form 2)3） One photograph (Paste a 4×3cm photograph taken no more than three months prior toapplication, upper frontal view without a hat, with upper body showing)4） A certificate of graduation (completion) or prospective graduation (completion) from theuniversity attended
5） Academic record issued by the university attended
6） Written Statement of Reasons for Application (Form 3)7） Examination fee (30,000 JPY)
8） A copy of the applicant’s score of English examination that you took within 2 years from theday of the entrance examination (Either of the following: TOEFLibt (Score should be 50 orhigher), TOEFLpbt (463 or higher), IELTS (4.5 or higher) or TOEIC (480 or higher)
9) A letter from the applicant’s employer indicating agreement with this application, if theapplicant is an employee.
10) Letter of recommendation (Form 4)

Additional Statements:
1)

Applicants are urged to discuss a research plan with their prospective supervisors of theGraduate School of Pharmaceutical 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 beaccepted.

4)

No application materials will be returned to the applicants.

Announcement of Results
Monday, March 2, 2015

-4-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
themselves with admission procedures (including deadlines) beforehand, and make sure that thestudents can complete 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 Procedures① Pledge 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 thefollowing 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: Student Affair Section, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Kumamoto University
5-1 Oe-honmachi, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto
Tel: +81-96-371-4635

Fax: +81-96-371-3639

Email: sky-kyomu@jimu.kumamoto-u.ac.jp-5-