MEXT Scholarship for Postgraduate 2011: General Discussions.

[blurcheryl]

This might be a little late, but, GOOD LUCK everyone! ^^v

Hi ekoy,

No, it's never too late. Thanks for your wish. We still need the luck IF we pass the test
If I remember correctly, you're one of the scholars of the previous batch. So, how are you doing in japan?

 

[akaitsume1]

hi all;
i have a question, the japanese embassy mentioned that i should not contact any professors before i pass the first screening, but all around the net ppl saying that there will be no time to contact them after the embassy tells us to.
so do u think i should contact professors anyway or not??

Yup, I would recommend contacting some professors and getting a feel for them. It helps in your interview if you can say that you have someone interested in taking you on, and if you get the recommendation, there's significantly less time to get to know professors and get an okay from them.

Good luck everybody!!

 

[ralukchris]

to architek:

hi, i'm glad to hear that i'm not alone in this mmm, yeah, i don't think i can include my portfolio since it has no relation whatsoever with what i want to study. since i finished a general architecture course, we did pretty much of everything, so i can't say i'm actually 'specialized' in something. My research will be about traditional architecture, more specifically, a comparison between the traditional architecture of my own country and the japanese minka houses. There are certain similarities that I want to emphasize, similarities that come in my opinion from the common sense of every person who is conscious about his surroundings. So, i guess the field would be Architectural history and architectural planning, or somewhere close, because the implications of the research extend beyond planning.
I have a few doubts of my own regarding the selection procedure, and i'm a little scared since my graduation project (i had a racecourse rehabilitation and modernization project) wasn't related to my current field of research.. In my country the applications will close on july 2nd and now i'm still working on my research plan and trying to gather all the papers, which is a little difficult since my job keeps me at the studio from 9 am to 9 pm...

have you already started to contact professors from titech? or since it's an university's recommendation your university will contact them for you?

 

[mozda]

ok, no one is answering my questions, but your post made me think about something again and i really want to know, was i right here or not:

Originally Posted by Scalemx View Post
If this is university recommendation, the right place to look for information would be your university: International department/Japanese studies department. It might be that your university or in your whole country there is no such option as university recommendation. To find this out you go to the right department at your university and they will tell you or they should call the embassy to find out.


i don't understand this, correct me if i'm wrong, i don't think your domestic university has anything to do with recommendation, only thing what your domestic university needs to do is that if they don't have an exchange agreement with the Japanese university you would like to attend to, the dean of your domestic university needs to give you a strong recommendation letter. If your country has a diplomatic relations with Japan you can apply for scholarship through university but if your domestic university does not have exchange agreement you need to contact the department of your interest at Japanese university to ask about your eligibility...am i right? or not?

sorry, i don't have permission to past links...

 

[blurcheryl]

Yup, I would recommend contacting some professors and getting a feel for them. It helps in your interview if you can say that you have someone interested in taking you on, and if you get the recommendation, there's significantly less time to get to know professors and get an okay from them.
Good luck everybody!!

Say if you've obtained a favorable consent from the first professor whom you've contacted, do you still move on contacting the second, third and so on..you know, just in case?
I'm asking because I understood from previous batches that they contacted a few professors because their first contact was either not responding or giving negative replies and they can't afford the time to just wait for the answer from one. As for us now, if we start sending emails to professors, I'm sure we'll have ample time to wait for the replies

 

[kyn]

Yup, I would recommend contacting some professors and getting a feel for them. It helps in your interview if you can say that you have someone interested in taking you on, and if you get the recommendation, there's significantly less time to get to know professors and get an okay from them.
Good luck everybody!!

hi, i'm trying to search for some potential supervisor but i found that most of their
contact details and info is in japanese.so how can I reach them since I can't read japanese?
and also it is hard for me to know what their working on, I mean their
research projects....
where can I find one that related to my research theme.
please help :?
thanx.

 

[kouun9]

Is anyone here applying for Japanese language and Japanese Linguistics or Japanese Literature. I am applying for Japanese linguistics.

 

[kouun9]

Hi everyone. can someone (who has given the exam this year) tell me how was the english paper, was it very tough, what type of questions were asked. was there any question regarding finding out grammatical mistakes.

did anyone gave japanese language exam. what was its content like. was it very tough.

answers to these questions will be highly appreciated.

 

[architek]

to architek:
hi, i'm glad to hear that i'm not alone in this mmm, yeah, i don't think i can include my portfolio since it has no relation whatsoever with what i want to study. since i finished a general architecture course, we did pretty much of everything, so i can't say i'm actually 'specialized' in something. My research will be about traditional architecture, more specifically, a comparison between the traditional architecture of my own country and the japanese minka houses. There are certain similarities that I want to emphasize, similarities that come in my opinion from the common sense of every person who is conscious about his surroundings. So, i guess the field would be Architectural history and architectural planning, or somewhere close, because the implications of the research extend beyond planning.
I have a few doubts of my own regarding the selection procedure, and i'm a little scared since my graduation project (i had a racecourse rehabilitation and modernization project) wasn't related to my current field of research.. In my country the applications will close on july 2nd and now i'm still working on my research plan and trying to gather all the papers, which is a little difficult since my job keeps me at the studio from 9 am to 9 pm...
have you already started to contact professors from titech? or since it's an university's recommendation your university will contact them for you?

Yeah my portfolio is fairly broad as well but the university recommendation process requires portfolio submission as well as research proposal in order to get a recommendation. I was going to apply via the embassy, but I will traveling internationally during the time period in which they do interviews so I figured the university rec would make more sense. Your research project relative to japanese minka houses sounds great & good luck wrapping up the proposal before the july 2 deadline!! My research deals w/ architecture in relation to hyperdense conditions, thus tokyo is ideal & I'm really excited about the faculty at Titech - they also have a history dept. if you're interested! Titech doesn't require portfolio submission/research proposal until november in order to make their deadlines, which I believe are at the end of December, with applicants being notified in June. If your embassy recommendation doesn't work out, I imagine you could also apply for uni recommendation as well since the deadline is later. Have you contacted any professors yet? I'm still working on my proposal... There is a sampling of architecture grad projects from different unis online at the Japanese Architecture Institute's website (Kanto-Koshinetsu area). Good luck!

 

[ralukchris]

Yeah my portfolio is fairly broad as well but the university recommendation process requires portfolio submission as well as research proposal in order to get a recommendation. I was going to apply via the embassy, but I will traveling internationally during the time period in which they do interviews so I figured the university rec would make more sense. Your research project relative to japanese minka houses sounds great & good luck wrapping up the proposal before the july 2 deadline!! My research deals w/ architecture in relation to hyperdense conditions, thus tokyo is ideal & I'm really excited about the faculty at Titech - they also have a history dept. if you're interested! Titech doesn't require portfolio submission/research proposal until november in order to make their deadlines, which I believe are at the end of December, with applicants being notified in June. If your embassy recommendation doesn't work out, I imagine you could also apply for uni recommendation as well since the deadline is later. Have you contacted any professors yet? I'm still working on my proposal... There is a sampling of architecture grad projects from different unis online at the Japanese Architecture Institute's website (Kanto-Koshinetsu area). Good luck!

I don't think i can apply for uni recommendation, since i am not in uni anymore, i graduated last year. Anyway, i don't think our university has any kind of relationship with the japanese univeristies, so it will probably be useless ^^;;;

Thanks for the info, i will check that website! If you wanna talk more about architectural stuff without annoying the good people on this forum, please feel free to send a private message. And do your best with your research proposal, if you talk about hyperdensity, then there's no better place than Tokyo!

 

[sporkthedork]

University Recommendation

I've noticed that some of you guys are confused about what University Recommendation is. Univeristy recommendation is when you get accepted by the Japanese University you want/plan to attend either by:
1. [officially] by passing their entrance exam and getting admitted,
2. [officially] going by the application procedure and getting admitted,
3. [unofficially] or getting some sort of acceptance by one of their faculty.

The Japanese university and/or Japanese professor then sends your application to MEXT directly with their stamp of approval (recommendation). It has nothing to do with your domestic university.

Also there's a completely different thread about that.

 

[ralukchris]

sporkthedorkﾂ、thanks for making that clear. i was not familiar with this subject, so i assumed it has something to do with the university i graduated from. i'll search the thread about that, thank you.

 

[mozda]

I've noticed that some of you guys are confused about what University Recommendation is. Univeristy recommendation is when you get accepted by the Japanese University you want/plan to attend either by:
1. [officially] by passing their entrance exam and getting admitted,
2. [officially] going by the application procedure and getting admitted,
3. [unofficially] or getting some sort of acceptance by one of their faculty.
The Japanese university and/or Japanese professor then sends your application to MEXT directly with their stamp of approval (recommendation). It has nothing to do with your domestic university.
Also there's a completely different thread about that.

I am saying that all the time but no one pays attention. Domestic universities has nothing to do with Japanese uni recommendation.

 

[asanoki]

Hello, I'm new here, so let me introduce myself. I'm Tomek from Poland, 23 years old. I'm applying for Monbukagakusho Scholarship in 2011 as Research Student. I have got a question about this scholarship.

What is the plan of study for research student on japanese university? Are students required to participate in courses or just do their research?

Kind regards.

 

[pout]

I have did a search through the thread, but I didn't get my answer.

The questions I have is, MEXT requires that you have a 16-year curriculum, but when filling out the application, you have to count years and months. After adding up the years and months, I ended up with 12year and 2months (I finished Underg. in three years, instead of four). Is that... okay? Should I just count the years -ignoring summer vacation- and put down 15 year? I am confused and the embassy has not been answering their phone? :?

any help would be appreciated!

 

[Tom_Prete]

I have did a search through the thread, but I didn't get my answer.
The questions I have is, MEXT requires that you have a 16-year curriculum, but when filling out the application, you have to count years and months. After adding up the years and months, I ended up with 12year and 2months (I finished Underg. in three years, instead of four). Is that... okay? Should I just count the years -ignoring summer vacation- and put down 15 year? I am confused and the embassy has not been answering their phone? :?
any help would be appreciated!

12 years? So you can become a student after only 9 years of education? Maybe you misunderstood something?
It should look something like this (EXAMPLE!):
6 years of elementary school
6 years at gymnasium
4 years at university
--
16 years

 

[mozda]

I have did a search through the thread, but I didn't get my answer.
The questions I have is, MEXT requires that you have a 16-year curriculum, but when filling out the application, you have to count years and months. After adding up the years and months, I ended up with 12year and 2months (I finished Underg. in three years, instead of four). Is that... okay? Should I just count the years -ignoring summer vacation- and put down 15 year? I am confused and the embassy has not been answering their phone? :?
any help would be appreciated!

if you have finished 3-year college then you have 15 years of education, however, my advice is: contact Japanese university that you're interested in, embassy will not help you with this and probably will not know the answers coz it all depends on Japanese university...
plus, eligibility varies a lot between the programs, the best thing is to contact one of the professors at their university, you will get all the answers you're looking for, i'm sure!

 

[pout]

12 years? So you can become a student after only 9 years of education? Maybe you misunderstood something?
It should look something like this (EXAMPLE!):
6 years of elementary school
6 years at gymnasium
4 years at university
--
16 years

I understand that, but in the application form they ask for years & months of attendance. For example, I studied abroad for a year, started 9/2004 and finished 6/2005 and that's 0year 10months. I've counted the rest the same way, excluding summer vacation. another example: started university 9/2007 and is going to finish 6/2010. That would be 2years and 10months.

Should I just ignore months and put down a whole year? :?

if you have finished 3-year college then you have 15 years of education, however, my advice is: contact Japanese university that you're interested in, embassy will not help you with this and probably will not know the answers coz it all depends on Japanese university...
plus, eligibility varies a lot between the programs, the best thing is to contact one of the professors at their university, you will get all the answers you're looking for, i'm sure!

Perhaps I wasn't clear, but I haven't finished a 3-year college, I've finished 4-year college in 3 years. I am not asking about the number of years, I'm asking about the application... they ask for years and months of attendance and that doesn't add up to 15/16 years.

 

[mozda]

I understand that, but in the application form they ask for years & months of attendance. For example, I studied abroad for a year, started 9/2004 and finished 6/2005 and that's 0year 10months. I've counted the rest the same way, excluding summer vacation. another example: started university 9/2007 and is going to finish 6/2010. That would be 2years and 10months.

Should I just ignore months and put down a whole year? :?



Perhaps I wasn't clear, but I haven't finished a 3-year college, I've finished 4-year college in 3 years. I am not asking about the number of years, I'm asking about the application... they ask for years and months of attendance and that doesn't add up to 15/16 years.

yes, if you entered some school for example 2001. and finished it 2005. (just an example), you didn't sign off from that school during the summer, so it's 4 years of education...as far as i know...


hmm well you did asked about years/months like i said...it would be best to contact university of your choice and ask them about application requirements, that's what i did...

 

[pout]

yes, if you entered some school for example 2001. and finished it 2005. (just an example), you didn't sign off from that school during the summer, so it's 4 years of education...as far as i know...


hmm well you did asked about years/months like i said...it would be best to contact university of your choice and ask them about application requirements, that's what i did...

The application I'm filling out is the scholarship app. form provided by the Japanese embassy, not an application for a Japanese uni, I'm sorry if I wasn't clear- again

In the app form, under section 7. Educational Background, they have the following:

Year and Month of Entrance and Completion
Duration of Attendances: Year & Months

I have filled out, for an example:

Y&M of Entrance and Completeion
From: 9/1997 To: 6/2000
Duration of Attendances:
2 Years 10months

Should I just answer 3 years? But then they're asking for months, specifically.

I apologize if this doesn't make much sense to you, and thank you for the help you've provided so far. much appreciated

 

[mozda]

well... no matter how you're applying (embassy/uni) you can contact uni to ask, i think that info from them would be the best info...

i saw some applications like yours yes, and your question is a good question, but usually they put:
required time to finish and time that you needed to finish it, and at the bottom __years and __months, and now, actually, you confused me with this...but it definitely can't be like that, coz if we count all schooling years like that we get 12 years of schooling instead of 15 or 16....
:S

 

[pout]

well... no matter how you're applying (embassy/uni) you can contact uni to ask, i think that info from them would be the best info...

i saw some applications like yours yes, and you're question is a good question, but usually they put:
required time to finish and time that you needed to finish it, and at the bottom __years and __months, and now, actually, you confused me with this...but it definitely can't be like that, coz if we count all schooling years like that we get 12 years of schooling instead of 15 or 16....
:S

whoops! Sorry for confusing you, that wasn't my intention! But hey, at least you know how I feel at the moment

Thank you. I've decided to go ahead and put down the number of years without the months so I can get my 15 years. I wish there was more help online for filling out the application

 

[mozda]

whoops! Sorry for confusing you, that wasn't my intention! But hey, at least you know how I feel at the moment
Thank you. I've decided to go ahead and put down the number of years without the months so I can get my 15 years. I wish there was more help online for filling out the application

yes, i know how you feel...some parts of the applications are really confusing, but Japanese universities and their stuff are really REALLY helpful, you can ask them to clear out some things for you...well i wish i can solve your problem, but when you find out the answer please be so nice and share that with us here....

 

[hjordis]

Yeah I was confused about the years and months thing as well. I just put down years except for high school, which I finished early, but by less than a year. Don't forget to write in the 4th column that you finished in 3 years instead of 4.

 

[pout]

Yeah I was confused about the years and months thing as well. I just put down years except for high school, which I finished early, but by less than a year. Don't forget to write in the 4th column that you finished in 3 years instead of 4.

Oh, thank God I'm not the only one who got confused about this; I don't feel like such an idiot anymore

Thank you for the reminder~ I've already put down that note! Good luck, everyone