Center for International EducationWaseda University

This is the scholarship offered by the “Monbukagasho” or the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). There are a few different types of MEXT scholarships and here we give information about the MEXT scholarship of “University Recommendation”.

Waseda University accepts the university recommendation category (both “General Program” and “Special Program”) only for fall enrollment.

Graduate schools accepting university recommendation category (General Program);
-Graduate School of Fundamental Science and Engineering
-Graduate School of Creative Science and Engineering
-Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering
-Graduate School of Information, Production and Systems
-Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies
-Waseda Business School

*If there are any changes in the schools listed above, we will update the relevant sections of this page after receiving the application guidelines from MEXT around December each year.

Graduate schools accepting the university recommendation category (Special Program);
-Graduate School of Information, Production and Systems
-Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies

To apply for the university recommendation category, you must pass the school’s entrance examination as a degree course (MA, MBA or PhD courses). Please contact directly the school office among the listed schools above if you have any questions regarding the entrance examination schedule and requirements.
Academic Listings：http://www.waseda.jp/top/en/academics

This is a scholarship offered by the “Monbukagasho” or the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). There are a few different types of MEXT scholarship and here we will be mainly explaining about the MEXT scholarship of “Embassy Recommendation”.

Generally, MEXT students of Embassy Recommendation will enter the university as non-degree research students. In order to become regular degree students of MA, MBA or PhD courses, MEXT students have to accept and pass the entrance examinations of their desired graduate school during the period as non-degree research students. The designated period as non-degree research students is two years for those who enter the university from Spring semester (from April to March of the year after the next), and 1.5 year for those who enter the university from Fall semester (from September to March of the year after the next).

In addition to accepting and passing the entrance examinations of the desired graduate school, MEXT students also need to satisfy certain conditions specified by the MEXT. We will explain in detail about these rules after your arrival in Japan at the orientation held by our office, the Center for International Education.

Recruitment for the MEXT scholarship (Embassy Recommendation) is held at overseas Japanese embassies or consulates. Application procedures and deadlines differ per country but in general, recruitment is held during spring for those who plan on going the following year.

The first selection process at the embassy or consulate is called Primary Screening and is usually held around summer (*1). Upon passing the Primary Screening it will be necessary to apply for a “Letter of Acceptance” by directly contacting and sending necessary documents (*2) to your desired university. For more information please check with your home country’s Japanese embassy or consulate.

*1  It is not necessary to obtain an acceptance from your desired supervisor when you apply for the Primary Screening at your Japanese embassy or consulate.
*2  Documents necessary for application of Letter of Acceptance may be different depending on your desired university. In the case of Waseda University, please refer to the next question.

Please check the requirements from Application guidelines of our graduate schools that accepts Embassy Recommendation MEXT students.

After passing the Primary Screening held by the Japanese embassy or consulate, candidates who wish to enter our university as a MEXT student need to apply for a “Letter of Acceptance” from our university.
In order to apply for a Letter of Acceptance, please fill out the “Application Form for a Letter of Acceptance”* with the necessary information, upload all application documents (PDF or Word format) and submit. Please note that  submissions by email is not accepted.:

(Documents needed for Application)
1. Passing Certificate of the First Screening
2. Application form
3. Field of Study and Research Plan
4. Academic transcript for all academic years of university attended (undergraduate and above) in English or Japanese
5. Certificate of graduation (or completion) or degree certificate of the university attended (undergraduate and above) in English or Japanese. If you have yet to finish your course at the time of application and is expected to graduate/complete, submit a certificate of prospective graduation (or completion).
6. Recommendation letter from the president/dean or the academic advisor at the current or last university attended
7. Abstracts of theses, etc. (*Only if submitted to the Japanese diplomatic mission)
8. Certificate of language proficiency (e.g. JLPT/TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS certificate in Japanese or English). In principle, official stamp by the embassy/consulate is required. If you cannot submit a certificate, you can submit a support letter (MEXT_Certificate of Language Proficiency) .
* If you are not a native speaker of English (Japanese) but wish to study in English (Japanese), the above certificate is generally a requirement. If you have not obtained any certificate of English (Japanese) proficiency, please submit a support letter composed by a professor who can prove your English (Japanese) proficiency. If English (Japanese) is the medium of instruction in your university （meaning that the courses are provided entirely in English  (Japanese), a paper issued by your university proving this point could also serve as a certificate of English (Japanese) proficiency.
9. Letter of recommendation from your current superior at your place of work (*Only if submitted to the Japanese diplomatic mission).
10. *The following only concerns MEXT-ASCOJA students: If you are an ASCOJA recommended MEXT-ASCOJA student, please submit documents that prove you are such a student by submitting a certificate (letter of recommendation), a written oath to ASJA (Asia Japan Alumni) International, etc.
e.g.: The Letter of the Japanese-Language preparatory education (ASCOJA)
＊Note) If you are NOT a MEXT-ASCOJA student, you do not need to submit these documents.
FYR: ASJA (ASJA International) 　https://asja.gr.jp/en/
11.*Only for the applicants who wish to apply for the Graduate School of Fundamental Science and Engineering, Creative Science and Engineering, Advanced Science and Engineering, Education, Human Sciences, Information, Production and Systems, Environment and Energy Engineering : Please submit your passport ID page copy (clear and legible one including your name, gender and date of birth) in PDF or JPG file format to use for the screening in the graduate school office.
Name of file: country name_family name＋given name

* How to register information on the Application Form for a Letter of Acceptance: Click on the “申請/Submit” button in the center of the page, type in your information for each question and attached required images, click on the “保存/Save” button in the lower right-hand corner, and click on “はい/Yes”.

(IMPORTANT:)

• It is not necessary to contact your desired supervisor beforehand.
• Documents submitted to the Japanese Embassy must have a confirmation seal. Even if there is no seal on the documents, you will still need to submit the returned documents from the Embassy.
• Please take note that documents with unclear or illegible letterings and images will not be accepted as application documents.
• Your desired research professor must be affiliated with your desired graduate school. You may check each professor’s affiliation via each graduate school homepage.

Information regarding our graduate schools: http://www.waseda.jp/top/en/academics
Information regarding our researchers: https://w-rdb.waseda.jp/search?m=home&l=en
Application guidelines of our graduate schools: MEXT_Embassy_recommendation_2026

After submitting the “Letter of Acceptance” issued from our university to your local Japanese embassy or consulate, you will move onto the next selection process. However, a “Letter of Acceptance” issued by Waseda University does not guarantee that you will be placed at our university.

The final decision for university placements will be decided by the MEXT and notified to each university around January into February of the next year. In addition, university placement will be notified by the MEXT to the applicant via each embassy or consulate and cannot be notified by the university itself.

For those who are officially selected to be placed at Waseda University, we will inform you of orientation dates and housing options around February if you are entering the university from Spring semester, or July if you are entering from Fall semester. The information will be sent to the email address provided on your Information Sheet, so please make sure to check your email box periodically.

Ordinarily when MEXT students come to Japan they spend their first 6 months accepting Japanese courses at a language institution, and then enter the university and accept the professional courses in corresponding graduate schools.

However, at Waseda University you are able to accept the professional courses at your graduate school and take Japanese classes offered at Waseda University’s Center for Japanese Language from the beginning of your arrival. (If admitted to Waseda University’s Graduate School of Information, production and Systems (IPS) on Kitakyushu Campus, you can take Japanese classes provided at Kitakyushu Campus).

Nevertheless, Japanese classes are not mandatory since many of our graduate schools provide English curriculum. If your classes and/or research are conducted in English, you may decide if you would like to attend Japanese classes or not.

You may enroll as a degree student if you pass the entrance examination for the regular course of your preferred graduate school before you arrive in Japan. However, in that case, the MEXT screening result will not have been announced yet by the time you take the entrance examination. Therefore, you will once need to pay the tuition fee in full as with privately financed international students, and the fee will be reimbursed to you after enrolling at Waseda. Please note that the fee will not be refunded in full if you are not selected as a MEXT student or not placed to Waseda as a result of the MEXT screening.

For these risks, we do not recommend that you take entrance examinations before arriving in Japan. Provided that you arrive in Japan from the fall semester, you may be able to take the entrance examination for a degree student on time since there will be enough time before you come to Japan after being placed to Waseda.

If you have any questions regarding MEXT application, please contact the Center for International Education (CIE) Office.
Also, any questions regarding the admissions test, please contact at respective graduate school offices.