Schedule of receiving
PhD
Q. I am a PhD student. It is stated in the JSPS guidelines that PhD
students must be scheduled to receive their PhD within 2 years. From when should
I count these 2 years?
A. It must be confirmed by your institution that you will receive
your PhD within 2 years of starting your research in Japan. For example, if you
start your research in Japan from June 2005, you must be scheduled to receive
your PhD by June 2007.
Host
Researcher
Q. What kind of person in Japan can I ask to be my host researcher?
A. Eligible host researchers are those employed
full time at a Japanese national, public or private university inter-university
research institutions, and national laboratories or other organizations* who are
actively engaged in research. These include independent administrative institutions,
public research corporations, nonprofit organizations, and prefectural research
institutes. In the case of universities, they must be above the level of Lecturer. Assistant Professors or Research Assistants (“jokyo” or “Joshu” in Japanese) are not eligible. In cases other than universities,
researchers holding equivalent positions are eligible. If a researcher meets the
above requirements, he/she does not need to be Japanese.
Q. What kind of responsibilities does the host researcher have?
A.
(1) The host researcher will, in cooperation
with the administration of the host institution, prepare a space for the Fellow
and arrange the facilities required for him/her to carry out, collaborative
research smoothly. When needed, the host will also arrange to provide the Fellow with an
official title.
(2) The host researcher will, in cooperation with the administration of the host institution, make necessary administrative
arrangements for the Fellows and offer him/her consultation on both collaborative
research and daily life in Japan.
(3) Within one month of completion of the
Fellow’s tenure in Japan, the host researcher will submit a research report to JSPS
Headquarters together with the report from the JSPS Fellow.
Tenure
Q.
Can I leave Japan temporarily if I am awarded?
A. The fellowship is only effective in Japan. Fellows are obliged
to be in Japan continuously during their fellowship tenure. However JSPS will
allow fellows to leave Japan due to illness in their family, attendance
at International conferences, collecting data or other unavoidable reasons. In
such cases, fellows must consult with JSPS thorough their host researcher. A temporary
leave of absence for under such kind of valid reasons is limited to a period of
15 days. Please note that JSPS will not pay
a Fellow’s maintenance allowance during the period he/she is on a temporary
leave of absence, nor does JSPS provide insurance coverage during that period.
Depending on the length of absence, JSPS may reduce the Fellow’s maintenance
or require him/her to reimburse a portion of it.
Q. I am planning to propose my fellowship start from June 2008. I
will need to leave Japan temporarily to collect research data during
August 2008 and plan to return to Japan in September 2008 to continue my research
until December 2008. In this case should I propose my tenure is split between
two visits or should I apply for a 7 month fellowship covering my temporary leave
of absence?
A. JSPS rules do not allow a Fellows’ tenure to be split between
two visits. Therefore a 7 month fellowship covering a temporary leave absence
should be applied for.
Q. Is it possible to change my starting date of the fellowship from
my proposed date after being awarded?
A. Yes. However, it should be noted that you cannot defer your departure
date into the next fiscal year. For example, if you propose to start your tenure
between 1st November 2008 and 31st March 2009, you cannot
change your starting date to after 31st March 2009.
Correspondence between applicant
and host
Q. What kind of contents should the correspondence include? Is it
necessary to submit an official letter from my host?
A. We need the correspondence between applicants and hosts to confirm
the host’s intention of acting as the applicant’s host. Correspondence
need not necessarily take the form of official letters. Faxes or e-mails are
also acceptable. Please note that correspondence between applicants and hosts
are evidence of how deeply they have discussed their collaborative research. This
will be considered when judging the application.
Q Is it possible to submit correspondence written in a foreign language,
for example Japanese?
A. No. If correspondence is written in a foreign language (even in
Japanese) please attach an English translation.
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