Science Tokyo MEXT Scholarship 2027 Is Open — Full Application Process Explained
Ready to turn a research question from your degree into a longer project in Japan? The Institute of Science Tokyo, formerly Tokyo Institute of Technology, is accepting applications for its MEXT Scholarship route for Fall 2027, offering selected international students tuition waivers and a monthly living allowance.
What is the Science Tokyo MEXT Scholarship?
This Japanese Government scholarship supports eligible international graduates who want to develop their research through Science Tokyo’s integrated master’s and doctoral programmes. Study begins at master’s level, with English-taught routes spanning engineering, materials science, life science, civil engineering and architecture. Science Tokyo recommends selected applicants to MEXT under its University Recommendation Priority scheme, and the Japanese government makes the final scholarship decision.
To pursue that support, you need a programme with MEXT places and a professor willing to supervise your work. Which route fits your background, and how do you apply for admission and funding together? Start with the degree commitment below, then follow the programme choices and application steps through to submission.
01 Is Science Tokyo’s MEXT route right for your degree plans?
Science Tokyo’s MEXT-funded IGP(A) route is for integrated master’s and doctoral study, beginning at master’s level. A bachelor’s graduate can therefore pursue both degrees through one continuous programme, normally lasting three to five years.
If you want only a master’s, the environmental programme’s standalone option does not qualify for this scholarship. Existing master’s holders also start the integrated Science Tokyo route at master’s level, although previous study may shorten its duration.
My recommendation is to choose your Science Tokyo programme by research fit and MEXT availability together. A course can match your subject while offering no scholarship nomination places, so both parts of that choice need to work for your plans.
02 Which Science Tokyo programmes can support your MEXT application?
Science Tokyo lists MEXT nomination places in engineering, life science and the built environment, with materials funding conditional on programme approval. The table below connects your subject with the published Fall 2027 scholarship allocation.
| Science Tokyo programme | Related research fields | MEXT availability |
|---|---|---|
| Super-Smart Society | Mechanical engineering; systems and control; electrical and electronic engineering; information and communications; industrial engineering and economics | 8 Priority nomination places |
| Materials with Innovative Functions (eMAT) | Materials science and engineering; chemical science and engineering | 8 places if Priority approval is granted; otherwise none |
| Sustainable Bio-Economy | Life science and technology | 8 Priority nomination places |
| Environmental Designers Contributing to Resilient Cities | Civil and environmental engineering; architecture and building engineering | 8 Priority nomination places for integrated study only |
| Innovative Leaders in Quantum Technology (PSIL) | Mathematics; physics; chemistry; earth and planetary science | No MEXT nomination places in the published allocation |
If eMAT does not receive Priority approval, its MEXT applicants move into privately funded admission selection. Consider that risk if funding is essential. Science Tokyo’s General recommendation scheme is suspended from 2026 onward.
For selected recipients, the Science Tokyo MEXT Scholarship provides JPY 147,000 per month during master’s study and JPY 148,000 during doctoral study, enrollment and tuition waivers, and airfare under the award’s travel conditions. Accommodation is part of your living budget, rather than a separately advertised free-housing benefit.
The initial award covers two years of master’s study. Doctoral funding requires an approved extension, including a master’s GPA of at least 2.50/3.00 and other conditions; Priority recipients must maintain at least 2.30/3.00 annually. These funding conditions make your academic eligibility the next decision.
03 Do you meet Science Tokyo’s MEXT eligibility and English rules?
You must qualify for both Science Tokyo admission and the MEXT Scholarship. A bachelor’s degree following 16 years of education is a standard admission route; applicants using a three-year degree or another alternative route must contact Admissions before applying for the relevant eligibility assessment instructions. Final-year applicants can submit expected graduation and degree certificates, provided they complete the qualification before enrollment.
For MEXT consideration, your last-attended degree programme must reach 2.30/3.00 on the MEXT grading scale. This score is calculated from your grades and credits rather than compared directly with your raw GPA. The MEXT grade-conversion appendix explains how course grades and credits are assessed.
The Science Tokyo scholarship’s published age rule is 34 or younger on 1 April of the first scholarship year, which is 2027 for this intake. Applicants need citizenship of a country with diplomatic relations with Japan; Japanese citizens are generally excluded, with a narrow exception for eligible overseas dual nationals who renounce Japanese nationality before arrival.
If you already live in Japan, programme choice matters again: the published MEXT allocation accepts Japan-resident applications for Super-Smart Society, Sustainable Bio-Economy and Environmental Designers, but not eMAT.
IELTS is not compulsory for every Science Tokyo MEXT applicant. Scholarship English evidence can be an eligible IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT or TOEIC Listening & Reading report, or a certificate that your most recently attended degree programme was taught in English. The published proficiency standard is CEFR B2 or an accepted equivalent; TOEIC applicants must additionally demonstrate speaking and writing ability.
Science Tokyo’s general IGP admission policy no longer routinely requires an external English test, but the MEXT evidence requirement still applies and a supervisor may request a score. Prepare that proof alongside the academic documents you will share with a professor.
04 How to apply for Science Tokyo admission and the MEXT Scholarship
Submit your Science Tokyo admission application through the university system and your MEXT request through its separate scholarship form during the same application window. You do not wait for an admission offer to request scholarship consideration. This university recommendation route starts with a Science Tokyo supervisor’s consent, which unlocks the admission system.
- Match your research with a Science Tokyo supervisor. Start with the official Fall 2027 MEXT allocation to identify your funding route, then use the faculty list in the 2027 IGP(A) application guide alongside the Science Tokyo researcher database. Email a self-introduction and letter of intent connecting your proposed work with the professor’s research. I would make that connection concrete by naming a relevant paper, method or research question and explaining how it relates to your proposed work. Provide a CV, transcripts or additional evidence if the professor requests them.
- Send the consent letter to Science Tokyo Admissions. After the professor agrees, email a copy to [email protected]. The letter must identify you, the enrollment period, intended IGP and programme. Science Tokyo says access details normally follow in about a week, so leave time before the consent cutoff in the official Science Tokyo admissions schedule.
- Build your Science Tokyo admission file. Prepare an ID photo, consent letter, passport copy or Japanese residence card, transcripts (using the MEXT grade-conversion appendix for scholarship GPA guidance), graduation and degree certificates, and the designated Field of Study and Study Program. Include an outline of your undergraduate study or research as the thesis/research summary; the study programme explains the work you propose to undertake at Science Tokyo.
- Pay the university application fee and submit for admission. New applicants pay JPY 30,000 plus the service charge through E-shiharai and upload payment verification. Use the URL and token supplied by Admissions to select your agreed programme and graduate major. Selected MEXT recipients receive an application-fee refund after enrolling.
- Arrange the admission recommendation. Designate your recommender inside the Science Tokyo system. The system emails them instructions to register and upload the Evaluation Sheet with Recommendation directly; this submission must be completed by the university deadline.
- Complete the separate Science Tokyo MEXT form. Use your admission-application token in the official scholarship application form. Follow the Science Tokyo MEXT document requirements and upload the tentative 2027 MEXT application, English evidence and a recommendation signed by your university’s dean, addressed to the President of Institute of Science Tokyo. This dean letter is separate from the admission evaluation above.
After submission, look for Science Tokyo Admissions’ email acknowledging receipt: the guide says the application is officially accepted upon that notice. The university may later request the final MEXT form, and successful admission or nomination still requires MEXT’s approval before scholarship funding is confirmed.
05 MEXT application questions that can delay your Science Tokyo submission
Before submitting to Science Tokyo, resolve these recommendation, translation and MEXT application restrictions.
Can my supervisor write the Science Tokyo MEXT recommendation if the dean does not know me?
Yes, your academic supervisor can draft it, provided the dean confirms and signs it. Science Tokyo does not accept a department chair’s signature as a substitute for the required dean signature.
Will an independently certified translation satisfy Science Tokyo’s document rules?
No. Academic documents in another language need an English or Japanese translation certified by the issuing university or a public institution, alongside the original. Science Tokyo does not accept translations prepared by independently sworn or certified translators.
Can I seek another university’s MEXT recommendation while applying to Science Tokyo?
No. The MEXT rules prohibit concurrent applications through other universities or another MEXT programme for the same scholarship-start academic year. Choose your MEXT route before making competing scholarship submissions.
06 Science Tokyo MEXT Scholarship 2027 application deadlines
The Science Tokyo IGP(A) Fall 2027 admission and MEXT scholarship application period runs from 9 September to 22 November 2026. The official Science Tokyo admissions schedule gives an earlier mandatory deadline for supervisor consent.
The last date to submit the supervisor consent letter for Institute of Science Tokyo IGP(A) Fall 2027 admission is 15 November 2026 at 23:59 JST (UTC+9). Allow time for both the professor’s response and Admissions’ processing.
The last date to complete the Science Tokyo IGP(A) admission application and recommender’s evaluation is 22 November 2026 at 23:59 JST (UTC+9). Your separate MEXT scholarship submission and application-fee payment must also be completed within the published application period.
Science Tokyo’s admission result is scheduled for 3 March 2027 at 15:00 JST, with MEXT’s final scholarship decision expected in July–August 2027. Approach a suitable Science Tokyo supervisor with a specific research proposal while there is time to prepare both submissions.