MEXT Scholarship: University Recommendation 2026

The MEXT Scholarship's University Recommendation route lets a Japanese university that holds a MEXT recommendation quota screen and nominate its own candidates directly, without going through a Japanese embassy. It funds bachelor's study and Research Student placements leading to a master's or doctoral degree, paying a monthly stipend of JPY 117,000 to JPY 145,000 depending on level, full tuition, and return airfare. Only MEXT-approved universities can nominate, and each sets its own internal deadline and selection process, so the first and only point of contact is the chosen university itself.

Last verified 7 September 2026. Sources · Official page

University Recommendation is one of the three main routes into the Japanese government's MEXT Scholarship, alongside Embassy Recommendation and the Japanese Studies route. Under this route, a Japanese university that has been approved by MEXT to hold a recommendation quota recruits and screens its own candidates, then recommends them to MEXT directly; the applicant's first and only point of contact is the university itself, not a Japanese embassy. Not every Japanese university can make these recommendations, and among those that can, quotas and available fields vary from year to year. Two tracks exist: Research Students, for applicants of graduate-school standard who are placed at the university before moving into a master's or doctoral programme, and Undergraduate Students, for applicants of undergraduate standard. Applicants need strong academic standing, generally a grade point average of about 2.30 or higher, or a class ranking in the top 30 percent, plus proof of Japanese or English language ability at the level the chosen programme requires. Typical age limits follow MEXT's general rule: applicants for Research Student places are generally expected to be under about 35, and undergraduate applicants under about 25, though a university's specific round sets its own reference birth date each year. The scholarship pays a monthly stipend of JPY 117,000 for bachelor's-level students, JPY 144,000 for master's or professional-degree students and JPY 145,000 for doctoral students, plus a JPY 2,000 or 3,000 monthly regional allowance for students in certain higher-cost areas. Entrance, matriculation and tuition fees are covered in full by the host university, and MEXT provides an economy-class return flight between the student's home country and Japan. Applicants who are already living in Japan may be nominated as domestic recommenders, capped at 40 percent of a university's total nominees, but do not receive the travel allowance. Because timing and the selection process are set entirely by the individual university rather than by one national date, applicants should contact the international admissions or graduate office of the specific Japanese university they want to attend well before that university's own internal deadline.