The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) has been carrying out the RONPAKU (Dissertation PhD) Program since 1978.
The aim of JSPS RONPAKU (Dissertation PhD) Program is to provide tutorial and financial support for promising researchers in Asia and Africa or other specified countries who wish to obtain their Ph.D. degrees from Japanese universities through the submission of a dissertation without matriculating a doctoral course.
Grantees under the program (RONPAKU fellows) are required to conduct their dissertation research under the joint supervision of an advisor in Japan and an advisor in their home country, and are expected to obtain their PhD degree within a maximum period of three years.
RONPAKU fellows are required to visit a Japanese university to conduct research under the direct supervision of their advisor in Japan. The advisor may visit the RONPAKU fellow’s home university or research institution when deemed necessary to supervise the fellow’s research together with his/her home advisor.
The applicant under this program is the advisor on the Japan side.
If there should be any differences between the original guidelines in Japanese and its translation into English, the original Japanese text is valid.
Benefits
- Total funding provided to Japanese host university
- Maximum of 3.6 million yen (Up to 1.2 million yen per fiscal year)
- The following expenses can be covered by the above funding:
- Travel expenses (RONPAKU fellow’s visits to Japan, advisor’s visit to fellow’s country), goods/materials, other dissertation-related expenses
- Payment procedure
- JSPS will enter into a contract with the Japanese host institution commissioning it to carry out the RONPAKU program’s operation.
This program is administered based on the annual budget, paid and executed each Japanese fiscal year (from 1 April to 31 March).
Duration of program: Maximum of 3 years starting from 1 April 2024
As the situation with the novel coronavirus changes, we may consider applying flexibility to some of the items in these Application Guidelines.
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Requirements
Eligibility of Advisor in Japan
The candidate’s advisor in Japan must be a full-time professor or associate professor who, as of 1 April 2023, is engaged in implementing a doctoral course at the Japanese university to which the prospective RONPAKU fellow will submit his/her PhD thesis.
If the applicant (Japanese advisor) should commit an unethical act and be punished via measures imposed by the host institution, s/he will be restricted from applying for JSPS RONPAKU program for a period of five years starting from the day that the punishment is administered.
Eligibility of RONPAKU Fellow
The candidate must be a researcher
- Who has not obtained a PhD degree from a university
- Who wishes to obtain a PhD degree from a Japanese university through the submission of a dissertation
- Who has already achieved substantial research results and is likely through dissertation research under the program to successfully obtain a PhD degree, and who is nominated by a home advisor and the president of his/her affiliated university/research institution
- Who has nationality in an applicable country (listed in Section 3)
- Who is employed full time at a university or research institution in his/her home country or will be appointed to such a position by 1 April 2024
- Who is 45 years of age or younger as of 1 April 2024
Regarding (1), if, during the period of JSPS support, the fellow obtains a PhD degree through another program, JSPS
Method of Application
- Applications for this program are received via JSPS’s electronic application system.
- Only applications submitted by the applicant’s (Japanese advisor) affiliated institution together with the required documents (listed in ? below) by the deadline will be accepted.
- (Applications submitted individually by applicants or candidates or submitted by postal mail will not be accepted.) For details on using the system, please refer to the electronic application system guide at https://www-shinsei.jsps.go.jp/ (in Japanese).
Please note: Being awarded a RONPAKU fellowship does not automatically guarantee the obtaining of a PhD degree. Each RONPAKU Fellow is responsible for making the necessary effort to succeed in his/her dissertation research.
- Application Forms
For more information, visit JSPS website
Application Deadline: August 15, 2023
