Choosing a research program at a japanese university

Hi and welcome to the forum stryx!

I hope other members will be able to provide some advices.

Regards
Armand

Hi stryx,

I work in a university international center and handle these applications on a regular basis. However, I can only tell you how my university handles them. I'm not certain about the others.

If you haven't already, check out MEXT's bulletin on Embassy-recommendation scholarships:
http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/ryu … 319066.htm

If you're applying as a Embassy-recommended scholar, then the university won't even look at you until you've passed the primary screening. Once you passed that screening, you'll need to mail a copy of all the documents that you got back from the Embassy (with the embassy's seal), including the Passing Certificate of the Primary Screening, to the university that you want to apply to.
It's a good idea to contact the university first to determine whether or not they require any other documents.

Before passing the primary screening, you'll definitely want to review the universities' homepages to see what their professors specialize in and find one who you think can supervise your research, but that's about all you can do.

If you have questions about a particular university, go ahead and contact them. They may bounce your question around for a while, but you'll get the information you need. Don't worry, they'll be used to dealing with people who don't understand the system.

Good luck!