Offered by the Japanese Government, MEXT Scholarships are the most prestigious scholarships that are funded by Japan’s Department of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. In order to help students who are interested in studying in Japan, MEXT Scholarship was established to remove that financial burden.
Since we have a lot of information to cover, let’s get straight into the types of MEXT Scholarships, and scholarship application procedure for each one! Even though it may be hard reading through it at first, this is a full-ride scholarship, so it will probably pay off in the end.
If you are an International Student, Click Here. If not, please continue reading this post.
Types of MEXT Scholarships
For US Citizens, there are four types of MEXT Scholarship that you can apply for. Whether you are a graduate or an undergraduate, it doesn’t matter since the MEXT Scholarship covers different student groups of varying ages.
If you meet the eligibility requirements of a particular group and you want to apply, don’t stop with the requirements! Continue scrolling down to see your scholarship’s application procedures.
General Benefits of All MEXT Scholarships:
- Covers Full Tuition for the Duration of Your Scholarship
- Travelling Fees (Roundtrip)
- Monthly Living Stipend for Room & Board
- Provides Unique Opportunities to Travel and Have Fun!
These benefits apply to all four types of MEXT Scholarships, so please apply if you are eligible and the scholarship deadline is open! Some scholarships might differ in values, but these are the basic amounts that you will receive as a MEXT Scholar.
1. MEXT Undergraduate Student Scholarship
As its name states, this MEXT Scholarship is for high school seniors that are about to graduate. Even though you did not graduate from your high school yet, you can still apply for this undergraduate scholarship if you can get your high school diploma before departing as a MEXT Scholar.
General Eligibility Requirements:
- Be at least the Age of 17 and Under 22*
- Completed 12 Years of Education OR Completed High School**
*The age requirement is in question since the MEXT homepage lists under 25. Either the US Embassy of Japan contains wrong information or the MEXT Scholarship Homepage holds incorrect information. For students who are under 22, don’t worry; however, for students between 22 ~ 25, please double-check the MEXT eligibility requirements to make sure.
**Instead of completing high school, you can have completed courses comparable to a high school. Even for homeschool students, you can still apply if you have finished high school level courses.
2. MEXT Specialized Traning College Student Scholarship
This type of MEXT Scholarship is very similar to MEXT Undergraduate Scholarship, but it has a special tweak to it. However, to meet the requirements, you probably have to know the Japanese educational structures.
General Eligibility Requirements:
- Be at least the Age of 17 and Under 22*
- Finished 12 Years of Education OR Completed Japanese HS**
*Age differences between homepages of MEXT and US Embassy of Japan.
**Instead of finishing high school, this scholarship requires the prospective student to finish the high school curriculum comparable to a Japanese High School. To fulfill this requirement, the applicant needs to have knowledge concerning courses that need to be completed at a Japanese High School.
If you do not have the educational information regarding Japanese High Schools, please email the MEXT Scholarship Department for more information. However, if you don’t know it now as a high school senior, you probably can’t fulfill all educational requirements in a few months. Never hurts to ask!
3. MEXT Japanese Studies Scholarship
This MEXT Scholarship is for currently-enrolled college students who want to study the Japanese language and/or the Japanese culture. There are specific requirements that need to be met if you want to apply for MEXT Japanese Studies Scholarships.
General Eligibility Requirements:
- Be from 18 to 30 Years of Age
- Enrolled in an Undergraduate Institution Outside of Japan*
- Be Majoring in Japanese Language or Japanese Culture**
*Prior to being a MEXT Scholarship Recipient, the applicant needs to be enrolled as an undergraduate student in an institution. Also, after completing the MEXT Scholarship, the scholarship recipient needs to return to his home undergraduate institution.
**For students who want to major in other subjects other than Japanese Language or Japanese Culture, they can apply for a student exchange program called JASSO.
4. MEXT Research Student Scholarship
After awarding prospective and current students, the MEXT Scholarship Program is giving out awards to students who are interested in graduate studies. A similar thing applies to prospective graduate students as high school students, and I will mention this underneath the eligibility requirements.
General Eligibility Requirements:
- Be Under 35 Years of Age
- Completed 16 Years of Education or Be a College Graduate*
*Even though you might be a senior in college, you can still apply for this scholarship as long as you receive your undergraduate degree before departing as a MEXT Scholar.
For MEXT Scholarships for US Citizens, Click Here.
For MEXT Scholarships Homepage Eligibility Requirements, Click Here.
Key Step of MEXT Scholarship Application
The important step of MEXT Scholarship application differs by each type of MEXT Scholarship, so you should have already chosen yours after reading the eligibility requirements listed above. If not, please read the requirements since they are a vital step of every scholarship application.
Find Your Embassy and Apply!
For US Citizens, you can start your MEXT Scholarship Application by finding a Consulate-General close to your location. Since the United States is so vast, Japan didn’t want to build multiple embassies in the surrounding states, so they built stationed multiple Consulate-Generals that are representing the Japanese Government.
Since some of the Consulate-General links are not working, please email the Embassy of Japan if you have that kind of a problem. After finding your MEXT location, you can start the application process since they list the application guidelines and the deadlines for each MEXT Scholarships.
Because each scholarship has its own guidelines and requirements, please check yours very carefully! This post is for US Citizens only, and for international students, please visit the MEXT Hompage for your requirements and deadlines.
To Find Your MEXT Location, Click Here.
Conclusion: Need More?
If you want to study abroad, there are many opportunities that await you since there are many government scholarships established by various foreign countries. Also, most government scholarships are full-ride, so you don’t have to worry about financial problems after getting the scholarship.
Before going too far from your country, there are also many full-ride scholarships in the United States. Offered by various institutions and colleges from all 50 states, the full-ride scholarships are always available to US Citizens and Permanent Residents.
For More Scholarship Posts, Click Here.
