Located in Sendai City and established in 1907, Tohoku University is one of the leading public universities in Japan. It made history in the country when it was the first university to admit female and international applicants.
Today, it is one of the best Asian universities in the world. Ranked in 2024 as the #79 university globally and #23 in Asia by QS Top Universities Rankings, it is a world-class center of education and research.
It has four different campuses in Sendai City that house more than 15,000 national students and around 2,000 international students. Despite its low foreign faculty ratio, it is one of the country’s leading universities in terms of international affairs with more than 249 agreements worldwide.
Its competitive environment, excellent educational system, and groundbreaking research, make Tohoku university a great university for applicants worldwide. Here, we will discuss Tohoku University scholarships for international students.
How do I apply to Tohoku University’s Scholarships?
To be eligible for Tohoku’s many financial aids, applicants must first be enrolled in one of these academic programs:
Undergraduate program
Courses in Japanese
Students that wish to conduct their undergraduate bachelor’s in Japanese will start their courses around April. All applicants must undergo the Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students (EJU) the year before their admission.
For more information on this program and its requirements, please see this webpage.
Courses in English
Tohoku offers three undergraduate courses in English through the Future Global Leadership program. Students who wish to pursue a course in chemistry, aerospace engineering, or marine biology in Tohoku can apply to the FGL program.
To be eligible for these undergraduate courses, students must have completed 12 years of basic study. Additionally, an English proficiency test and standardized examination must be presented beforehand.
If you want to learn more from this program, you can click here.
Graduate program
Tohoku University offers graduate degree programs both in Japanese and/or English from a variety of areas.
To apply, students must look for both a specific course that interests them along with a mentor. The application process differs according to the chosen program and instructor.
Instructors can be contacted from different departments and schools. Yet, it is important to have the consent of one of them to be accepted into their group prior to applying.
Once a mentor has been chosen and they have approved you. The enrollment process starts with the corresponding department. It is important to check your eligibility, entrance conditions and scholarships directly with them.
Finally, application documents are sent and an entrance examination is taken.
There are other modalities to the graduate program such as research students, auditing programs, and special visiting trainees.
For more information on these and the overall process, please refer to this page.
Tohoku’s Scholarships for International Students
1. Japanese Government (MEXT Scholarship)
- Web Page
- Scholarship Amount: JPY 119-147,000 per month
- Degrees Offered: Undergraduate and Graduate
The government of Japan has established the MEXT program in many of its universities. Tohoku University is the recipient of at least 350 scholars with MEXT scholarships.
The benefits from this scholarship at Tohoku University change according to the level of study. Undergraduate students are given an allowance of JPY 119,000 per month. On the other hand, research, master’s, and doctorates students are entitled to between JPY 145,000-147,000 monthly.
There are two ways to apply to this scholarship. The first one is through the Japanese embassy recommendation. The corresponding office will select applicants through a screening process and recommend them to MEXT for approval.
The second method is only available to graduate students. For this, Tohoku University directly recommends applicants to MEXT based on academic merit and the diplomatic relationships established. For more inquiries on this process, please refer to your graduate school.
If you want to learn more about the MEXT program, please see the link at the beginning of the section.
2. President Fellowship
- Web Page
- Scholarship Amount: Tuition fee coverage
- Degrees Offered: Graduate
The President Fellowship is a unique scholarship from Tohoku University. Scholars will be given a stipend to cover tuition fees in the university.
In order to be eligible for this Tohoku University scholarship, applicants must be enrolled in a graduate program. Selection criteria are based purely on the character and academic curricula of the prospective student.
The application process is carried out directly with the chosen faculty.
For more information see the link above.
3. Monbukagakusho Honors Scholarship
- Web Page
- Scholarship Amount: JPY 48,000 per month
- Degrees Offered: Undergraduate, Graduate
Monbukagakusho Honors Scholarship is a special program aimed at self-financed international students. It is offered by Japan’s Student Services Organization (JASSO).
Its main benefit is a monthly stipend for a full year of JPY 48,000.
Applicants of this Tohoku University scholarship must start their process in October if they are first-year students. In order to be nominated for this grant, the application must be filled through Tohoku’s office.
For more information, you can check the link above or the official page of JASSO.
Tohoku University has a wide range of scholarships available. To see their full offer, along with the ones offered by Jasso, check out this link.
