Kumamoto University Health Life Science S-HIGO Professional Fellowship Program
Application Guidelines for AY2023 (Third recruitment)

Kumamoto University’s Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Health Sciences andGraduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences were selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology (MEXT) for the "University Fellowship Establishment Project for the Creation ofScience and Technology Innovation". With that support, a new fellowship program “Health and Life Science
S-HIGO Professional Fellowship (S-HIGO Fellowship)” has been started which will support students inDoctoral (PhD) courses by creating an environment in which students can devote themselves to their researchand by helping to secure a career path after graduation. This fellowship support program aims to motivate
students to enter in doctoral courses and it will offer advanced courses to nurture human resources withadvanced research abilities.
Kumamoto University was previously selected for MEXT’s Program for Leading Graduate Schools in2012 and is actively involved in nurturing future health life science leaders through Health life science:
Interdisciplinary and Glocal Oriented (HIGO) Program in close collaboration with governmental and businessorganizations.
The S-HIGO Fellowship Program inherits the unique elements of the HIGO program and aims to produce
doctoral course graduates who have advanced research capabilities in health and life sciences along withinterdisciplinary mindset and practical skills.
As a general rule, students selected for the S-HIGO Fellowship will be provided with a Fellowship(research dedication stipend and research grant) until they complete the program, as well as training for
research skills in health and life sciences, and interdisciplinary mindset and practical skills. An educational
program (S-HIGO Professional Program) will be provided. (For details, please see https://higoprogram.jp/shigo_english/ )1. Eligibility for Application
Students who fall under all of following categories (1) to (5) can apply for the S-HIGO Fellowship support.
However, this excludes students who are taking a leave or repeating a school year on April 1, 2023.
(1) Students who are enrolled in the any of the following grades on April 1, 2023.
- 2nd year of 4-year doctoral course at the Graduate School of Medical Sciences- 1st year of 3-year doctoral course at the Graduate School of Health Sciences- 2nd year of 3-year doctoral course at the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences- 3rd year of 4-year doctoral course at the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences(2) Students who are not supported by “Support for Pioneering Research Initiated by the Next-Generation”
program at Kumamoto University, JSPS special research fellowship or MEXT scholarship or foreign
students who are not supported by the scholarship programs of their home country.
(3) Students who are deemed to not be receiving a stable income which is sufficient to meet living expenses(more than 2.4 million yen per year).
(4) Students who have never received a disciplinary action based on the school regulations, etc.
(5) Students who can take the courses (S-HIGO Professional Program Course) provided by the Graduate
Schools of Medical Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Health Sciences throughout the duration of thefellowship support.

12. Number of Students Accepted for Admission
Graduate School and Grade (As of April 1, 2023)

Number of Student

2nd year of 4-year doctoral course at the Graduate School of Medical Sciences

1st1 year of 3-year doctoral course at the Graduate School of Health Sciencesnd1rd2 year of 3-year doctoral course or 3 year of 4-year doctoral course at theGraduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences

13. Support Amounts
Students selected for S-HIGO Fellowship will receive (1) Research dedication stipend and (2) Research grant
for the standard course completion period of 3-year doctoral course or 4-year doctoral course.
(1) Research dedication stipend: 150,000 JPY/month*
Research dedication stipend (150,000 JPY/month) will be deposited directly to student’s bank account fromJune, 2023.
(2) Research grant: 200,000 JPY/year
Research grant (200,000 JPY/year) will be provided to the laboratory where student is affiliated.
(3) Tuition fee support: Exemption of full amount of the tuition fee for the academic year 2023
Full amount of the tuition fee for AY2023 will be exempted. (Regarding the tuition fee support for AY2024
and after that, it has not been yet decided.)* This program is operated with the financial support from the government. Thus, the actual amounts of supports
we provide may vary based on government’s regulation.
4. Obligations of Fellowship Recipients
Students receiving the S-HIGO Fellowship must comply with the following terms. If any students violatethese terms, he/she might be suspended from receiving the fellowship.
(1) Students should focus on their research activities.
(2) Students should attend courses on research ethics and compliance organized by the program director.
(3) Students should get confirmation of enrollment every month.
(4) Students should submit a research plan and a research report every year to the program director.
(5) Students should take the courses (S-HIGO Professional Program courses) provided by the Graduate Schoolsof Medical Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Health Sciences throughout the duration of the fellowshipsupport.
5. Application Procedures(1) Application Documents
1) Application form for S-HIGO fellowship program
2) Research plan

3) Written statement of reasons for application
Forms can be downloaded from the S-HIGO Fellowship website.
https://higoprogram.jp/s-higo_english/4) Scores of external English proficiency tests taken within two years prior to the start of the S-HIGO

2Fellowship application process.
Please check the details about English proficiency test in section “6. Selection Procedures andNotification of Results”. > If you hold scores for those tests specified in (1)-(3) you do not need tosubmit the proof of score. However, if you hold score applicable to (4), please submit the original ora copy of the score at the time of application.
[Important points]- In general, the contents of application documents cannot be changed after submission.
- Application documents should be written in Japanese or English.
- Application documents will not be returned to applicants.
- Applicants who make false statements in the application documents will be disqualified from taking theselection examination or will be disqualified to receive the fellowship even after selection.
(2) Application Period
From May 10, 2023 (Wed.) through May 12, 2023 (Fri.) 17:00
Those arriving by post after the application period will only be accepted if they have been stamped before
May 10 (2 days before the application period).
(3) Application Process
Application documents can directly be submitted or sent by postal mail (including inter-university postal
service) to S-HIGO Fellowship Program Office. In addition, if you want to withdraw your application aftersubmitting the application documents, please notify the S-HIGO Fellowship Office.
6. Selection Procedures and Notification of Results(1) Selection process
Selection will be based on the English Score, evaluation of application documents and evaluation interview.
Evaluation interview will be based on the questions related to career vision, reasons for application, research
activities till the time of interview and future research plans.
(2) Selection examination
Selection exam will be held on following date and time.
Date and Time: Mid-May, 2023
Morning: Evaluation interview (about 15 min. per student)
Venue: Honjo campus, Kumamoto University(3) Handling of scores of English Language Tests
Approved English Language Tests
The English external tests that can be used the score for selection are TOEFL-iBT, TOEFL-PBT,TOEFL-ITP, TOEIC, TOEIC-IP and IELTS. However, TOEFL-ITP and TOEIC-IP are limited to those
conducted at our university.
Scores to be used during selection:
For selection, you have to submit one of the following (1) to (4). For those who submit multiple
scores, we will use the highest one.
(1) English language test score submitted during admission to doctoral course3

(2) External English language test score taken during the entrance examination of doctoral course(3) English language test taken during previous selection exam for S-HIGO Fellowship(4) English language test score from any valid test (external test) taken within 2 years before
application to S-HIGO Fellowship (excluding (1),(2) and (3))(4) Notification of results
The selection results will be notified by early June, 2023.
7. Handling of Personal Information(1) Personal information contained in the application documents will be used for selection of fellowshiprecipients and other purposes related to the fellowship program.
(2) Personal information such as test results used for the selection of fellowship recipients will be used for thecompilation and analysis of selection results and also for the investigation and analysis of selection method.
(3) For carrying out the above (1) and (2) operations, some operations may be outsourced to an external businessform. In that case, all or part of the acquired personal information will be provided to external business form
after making an appropriate contract for careful handling of personal information.
8. Points to be considered(1) The research dedication stipend is treated as miscellaneous income under tax law and is subject to income
tax. Students must file your tax return their self.
(2) If the program student has taken out the health insurance of his / her relatives as a dependent, he / she will
be excluded from the dependents by receiving the research dedication stipend, and the program student mustregister in the national health insurance by himself / herself.
(3) The names of the program students will be announced on the university website.
9. Office for Submission of Application Documents/Inquiries
S-HIGO Fellowship Office (HIGO Program Office)Phone: 096-373-5006
Email: higo-program@jimu.kumamoto-u.ac.jp〒860-8556 Kumamoto City, Chuo-ku, Honjo 1-1-1
The office is on the 3rd floor of Medical Education & Library Building, Honjo Campus
https://ewww.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/en/about/access/campus/ Building No.10 in Campus Map
An orientation video about the program and the application procedure is uploaded to S-HIGO
Fellowship website ( https://higoprogram.jp/s-higo_english/ ). If you have any questions or concerns,
feel free to contact the S-HIGO Fellowship Office.

* If there are any unclear points, the content of the Japanese version of application guidelines should be followed.

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