Exciting doctoral international legal studies
with MEXT scholarshipat the Graduate School of International
Cooperation Studies (GSICS)

Akiho Shibata & Mami Furuhata
Polar Cooperation Research Centre (PCRC)
Kobe University1

Doctoral Program in English (course work & thesis)

http://www.gsics.kobe-u.ac.jp/en/programs/doctor_course.html

Start on October 1st every year
Research oriented (a few required credits), 3-year programNon-mandatory “Internship” and “Advanced Overseas Research” encouraged
Degrees offered: LL.D or Ph.D. (in case of Prof. Shibata as supervising professor)

Mascot of Kobe UnivURIBO

Distinctive Features
Diversity of international students: Many from ASEAN, African, European Countries (exchange
program with University of Grenoble-Alps, France).
Interdisciplinary research environment: comparative legal studies on Asian countries; Japanesepolitical science studies; developmental studies; public health studies; etc

Doctoral Course Application (Oct. enrollment) :Procedures and required documents： http://www.gsics.kobe-u.ac.jp/en/prospective/index.html#doctor
With draft research proposal (2000 words maximum) and Master’s thesis (or its draft), pleaseapproach prospective supervising professor around November of the previous year. Application
deadlines are set in mid-January, with entrance examination (interviews) in February.
2Doctoral studies at Kobe, connected with the global academic communities,
through research activities at Polar Cooperation Research Centre (PCRC)
Polar Cooperation Research Center (PCRC)

https://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/index.html

Members and visiting scholars from around the world.
 Exciting academic workshops and seminars around the year.
• Hosting most important academic conferences on polar legal studies.
2021 SCAR SC-HASS Biennial Conferencehttps://www.2021scarschass.org/14th Polar Law Symposium 2021
https://www.2021polarlawsymposium.org/• Active engagement of early-career scholars, both from Japanand the world (JSPS post doctoral fellows, etc)
• Policy relevant legal studies with strong connections withJapanese relevant ministries (MOFA, MEXT, MOE, etc)3On-going funded research project at PCRC
https://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/researchprojects.html

Doctoral students are more than welcome to engage in these projects, withadditional research funding, particularly:• MEXT ArCS II International Law Research Programon the Arctic (2020-25)• JSPS The Resilience of the Antarctic Treaty System
under the Anthropocene (2021-26)
Ending projects:
Mitsubishi Foundation on Antarctic Treaty System Studies (2020-23)
Mitsui Environment Fund on Arctic International Legal Research Forum (2020-22)
4About myself
Akiho SHIBATA
Director of the PCRC
Professor of International Law, Vice-Dean of GSICS, Kobe University
https://www.kobeu.ac.jp/research_at_kobe_en/NEWS/people/2020_06_01_02.html• Interest: Public International Law; Arctic Law; Antarctic Treaty System;
International Environmental Law, International Lawmaking Process. He is amember of the International Arctic Science Committee’s Social and Human
Working Group (IASC-SHWG) and an Executive Committee member of theScientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Standing Committee on
Humanities and Social Sciences (SC-HASS).
• E-mail: kobe_arctic_research[at]diamond.kobe-u.ac.jp
5Japanese government (MEXT) scholarshipfor arrival in Kobe, April or Oct. 2023
The application will start around April 2022 and its deadline is between late
May and early June 2022, depending on the embassies.
• Monthly allowance ¥145,000 JPY (€1,100) for Doctoral Course students withround trip traveling costs and the tuition exemption of ¥535,800 (€4,050) peryear.
• Check the Japanese embassy website of the country of your nationality (notthe country of residence) or Contact the embassy directly for its
announcement.
MEXT Application guidelines （documents from previous year）
https://www.mext.go.jp/content/20210510-mxt_gakushi02-000014806-02.pdf
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Subscribe to the PCRC mailing list
PCRC’s announcements on fellowships
and scholarships, major academic events, etc
Please send an email to:
kobe_arctic_research[at]diamond.kobe-u.ac.jp
with your name and affiliation

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