Scholarships at Osaka University-Unlike most universities in the world, Osaka University is not a conventional, academically-oriented university. It is the oldest and largest university in Western Japan; it has been around for over 1,350 years. With three faculties—Faculty of Science and Technology, Faculty of Cultural Heritage Studies, and Faculty of Humanities—Osaka has become an international leader in engineering studies through its cutting-edge nanotechnology research.
Within the next few decades, they hope to build another faculty to rival those of MIT and Cambridge by 2020. They are also making great strides toward becoming the first “global universities” by reaching out to international students right now.
Student Life at Osaka University
When it comes to student life, Osaka is known for its large and active campus clubs as well as its extensive sports facilities. They have a long history of success in inter-university competitions and produce some of the country’s best athletes, especially in baseball, judo, and kendo.
Education at Osaka University
In terms of faculty, Osaka has one of the highest ratios of international instructors at 52% to foster a globalized mindset among its students. The school even offers free English conversation classes for international students on Sundays!
Culture
Osaka is also famous for its food culture. The Japanese are notoriously proud of their food, and Osaka is one of the country’s culinary highlights, serving everything from traditional Japanese noodles to gourmet French cuisine and surf & turf.
With its welcoming community, top-quality research, and elite sports teams, Osaka University is a great choice for international students. The only thing holding you back is the English-language classes.
About Scholarships
Osaka University is not just going to be another school where you study hard and graduate with a degree that is essentially useless in the job market; it wants to contribute to world-class education by offering students an exceptional learning experience.
This goal will be most efficiently served by providing opportunities for international students, including those from economically underprivileged areas, so they can share their knowledge and experience of what it’s like to live in a different country.
Furthermore, Osaka University is also working hard to provide students with the skills that will make them industry-ready even before they graduate. This way; they will be able to transition seamlessly into the working world and start applying their respective skill sets to achieve organizational goals.
Tuition Fee Exemption Scholarship
International students from partner countries who have been accepted into Osaka University are required to pay a tuition fee of approximately $600 per semester. Due to this, some students are unable to pursue their higher education studies at Osaka University because they simply cannot afford it.
Purpose
To help these students, Osaka University offers scholarships under the tuition fee exemption program. These scholarships will exempt all or a portion of the cost of tuition fees for international students from partner countries who have been accepted into Osaka University for the academic year 2016–2017.
The scholarships will be awarded on a competitive basis and available for students with an amount offered per international student approximately 15,000 Yen (roughly $140) per month as partial payment of their tuition fee.
Partner Countries
International students from partner countries who have been accepted into Osaka University are required to pay a tuition fee of approximately $600 per semester; this is the same amount that they will be reimbursed if they accept the scholarship.
This means every international student who accepts a scholarship under the tuition fee exemption program will not only receive partial reimbursement of their tuition fees but also an additional stipend of approximately $140 per month.
This means the total amount they receive as salary during their first year at Osaka University is roughly $840 per month.
Mext Scholarships
Funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, and Technology (MEXT), this scholarship program is designed for international students who want to learn in Japan.
It allows students to get a Master’s degree in one of four fields:
- Bachelor’s or Graduate Program in Social Welfare or Public Health
- Bachelor’s or Graduate Program in Student Counseling and Guidance
- Bachelor’s or Graduate Program in History and International Relations
- Bachelors or Graduate Program in Liberal Arts & Sciences.
MEXT Scholarship at Osaka University is specifically designed for international students with excellent academic records. You must have good entrance scores in the Japanese national university admissions test and the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). You must have a good score in your undergraduate degree program.
Osaka University is an institution that produces many graduates each year, but only a handful of them will be awarded MEXT Scholarships at Osaka University.
To be eligible for this scholarship program, you should be able to speak English fluently and have only one year of study in Japan before applying for this scholarship program. The application requires you to submit:
- Your transcripts
- one-year study plan,
- A letter of recommendation and
- Personal Essay
JASSO Honors Scholarships for Privately Financed International Students
The Jasso Foundation is pleased to announce a new scholarship program for privately financed international students. The scholarship will cover all tuition costs necessary to complete a degree program as well as assist with living expenses and textbooks.
You may be wondering if you or someone you know is eligible. Here are some quick guidelines:
1) You must be an undergraduate student at Osaka University, enrolled in a degree program of the student’s choice.
2) You must have been accepted into Osaka University on the condition that you pay your tuition, but you are not able to meet that obligation because of financial hardship.
3) You must be a citizen, permanent resident of Japan, or national of Japan and Taiwan.
4) You must be able to demonstrate proof of qualifying income. To do this, you can submit your most recent tax return for each of the past 3 years, along with a letter saying that you are unable to meet your financial obligations because you have suffered financial hardship due to an accident or illness in which you lost all income.
5) Your annual household income must be less than 9 million yen (approximately $100,000 US dollars). More information can be found on the scholarship website.
6) Applicants must submit their application through Osaka University with their completed registration form by the deadline for applications.
Documents Needed to Apply for a Scholarship at Osaka University
This contains a list of documents needed to study at Osaka University, including detailed instructions on how to obtain each one.
- Application form: You can apply through the website, or download and submit a paper application form along with your necessary documents.
- Financial Documents: You need to enclose financial documents such as bank statements, income certificate/wage slip, or income certificate issued by the tax office.
- Certificate of Residence: A Certificate of Residence is required to prove you are legally allowed to live in Japan for more than 3 months without being granted special permission from the Immigration Bureau (except those from countries with agreements relating specifically to residence verification).
There are two ways to obtain one;
A) You can apply for the certificate in person at the municipal office where you live. It is a fairly simple process, but you need to visit your municipal office in person for this, so it is recommended that you plan enough time to visit and receive the Certificate of Residence.
Your university’s International Affairs Division will provide you with more detailed information about this later on.
B) You can get the certificate from your previous college/university or embassy/consulate in Japan.
Requirements for Studying at Osaka University
The Scholarship Programs at Osaka University aim to support the development and careers of students, from when they express their interest as high school students up to graduation and beyond.
To succeed in this scholarship, you should meet a few key requirements. These qualifications are listed below:
- Be an undergraduate student at Osaka University who is either enrolling for the first time or continuing for the fourth time this academic year.
- Be enrolled in a degree program in engineering, natural sciences, and humanities or social sciences at the university; the fields that can be chosen are not limited only to engineering.
- Be proficient in English and Japanese, and able to show potential for a profession.
- Have overall excellent achievement scores, certificates of honor, and recommendations.
- Prove that you are an outstanding student who has no criminal record or serious disciplinary issues, who is committed to being an excellent citizen, and who has shown character in the face of adversity throughout all of your academic careers.
- Achieve high scores on entrance examinations as well as at the end of the academic year.
Candidates must demonstrate their commitment to pursuing a professional career in their chosen field by showing their capacity for self-development; academics will likely be a key element here.
Frequently Asked Questions
A large number of classes are offered in English at Osaka University. However, there are various restrictions on who is able to enroll in such classes and such information is handled by the school/department “Course Affiliation” of each course.
Osaka University aims to increase the number of its international students to 3,000 and the number of its short-tern international students (studying for a year or less) to approximately 1,000 by 2020, the target year for G30.
A1 – Yes, submission of scores for either the TOEFL-PBT, TOEFL-iBT (TOEFL-ITP is not accepted), TOEIC (TOEIC bridge is not accepted) or IELTS tests is required for master’s program.
REFERENCES
- https://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/en
- https://www.jpss.jp/en/univ/63/
- https://www.osipp.osaka-u.ac.jp/en/osipp-faculty/
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