Fully funded OIST graduate scholarship is a financial aid provided to international students undertaking their graduate program at OIST in Japan. All students receive an internationally competitive financial support package. Every year about 2.4 million yen per year (taxable) is provided for each year of approved full-time study by Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). This scholarship aid is enough for international students to live comfortably and focus on their research program.
Fully Funded OIST Scholarship Details:
Application Deadline : April 15th 2025, 23:59 (JST UTC+9).
Eligible Countries: Open to all countries.
Host Institutions : Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology.
Type of Degree : Graduate programs.
Fields of Study : Courses offered at the universities.
Number of Scholarship Seats Available : About sixty seats.
Host Country : Japan.
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) is a leading graduate research institute located in Japan. OIST provide a modern research environment for students to explore their field into much detail. All students receive an internationally competitive financial support package. OIST offers financial support comparable to that offered by other leading research universities. OIST strives to create and maintain an inclusive, equitable, and diverse environment that does not discriminate against gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, medical condition, race, ethnicity, ancestry, culture, national origin, religion, or marital status. Applications from women and other underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged.
Fully Funded OIST Scholarship Requirements
Completion of a Bachelors, Masters or equivalent degree. Furthermore, we accept applications from persons, who expect to complete their degree before the date of enrollment at the Graduate School. Interested students must have good academic interest and good research intent to help increase their chance of getting this opportunity.
Students should apply with the following Required documents;
1.Transcript and Diploma
Scanned copies of your current academic transcript and any other transcript from your past degree (BSc, MSc, etc.) in PDF format
Completed diploma (BSc, MSc, etc.) in PDF format.
- A scan of an unofficial transcript or other record of grades may be uploaded to the application website.
- English explanation is required for transcripts that are not written in English.
- If you have not graduated and do not have a diploma yet, please upload a certificate of enrolment from your institution (which preferably indicates your expected graduation date)
2.Applicant’s Statement
This should be not more than 400 words (2500 characters) and should address the following points:
- The applicant’s scientific interests and aspirations, and
- What the applicant hopes to gain from undertaking graduate studies at OIST.
3.Passport
The application system requires applicants to submit a passport number and upload a scan of their passport photo page. It is essential that applicants from outside Japan have a valid passport for travel to Japan. You must supply your passport details in the application process.
If you do not have a passport at the time of application, you can upload other government issued identification documents instead. However, if you receive an offer after the Admissions Selection, OIST will need the copy of your valid passport immediately to prepare your visa application and travel arrangement to relocate to Okinawa.
4.Recommendation Letter
Each applicant is required to have at least two and no more than five letters of recommendation from appropriate academic referees. Two is the minimum requirement, but as a rule, it is very helpful for the admissions committee to have three or more letters. In the online application system, the applicant will enter the name and email of each recommender. The system will then contact the referee directly for their letter.
- OIST strongly recommends that applicants ask academic referees in advance for permission to list them as recommenders. Recommendation letters needs to be submitted by the deadline. Referee comments are a very important part of the selection process, and it is the applicant’s responsibility to first ensure that referees are willing to submit such a letter, and then that they do submit before the deadline.
- Recommender’s letters will be treated as confidential material and will not be available to applicants or parties other than OIST faculty members assessing the application. In registering a recommender the applicant acknowledges that there is no right to read the recommender’s letter.
- You can only submit your application after at least two recommendation letter are received in the application system.
5.Proof of English Proficiency
An applicant who is seeking admission on the basis of a qualification from a university for which the language of teaching and/or examination is not English is required to provide a TOEFL iBT or IELTS score obtained within the last 2 years. Please upload a digital copy of your official score report to the application website.
- There is no minimum score required but the information is necessary in determining preparatory course requirements.
Optional Documents
The following documents may be submitted optionally, and will be taken into consideration by the selection committee if available:
- Additional evidence of academic ability such as GRE general or specific test scores obtained within the last 2 years.
- Additional material such as the title and abstract of publications and oral presentations, and other evidence of achievement.
Note: The OIST Graduate School reserves the right to request an external evaluation of academic qualifications from any applicant.
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Fully Funded OIST Scholarship Benefits.
Accepted applicants will receive the following benefits from the fully funded OIST scholarship program;
- Covers tuition fee.
- Accommodation.
- Relocation support to Okinawa.
- A personal computer and financial support for educational travel and conference attendance.
- Students in the Research Internship program will be provided with a living allowance of 2,400 JPY per day ( about $485 per month)
Aside this students can form a strong network with other international researcher’s at OIST.
How to Apply
Interested applicants can apply for the Fully funded OIST scholarship on the OIST application portal. We accept application documents only online. Please prepare all necessary documents written below in English and in a PDF file and upload all necessary documents into the application portal.