JSPS London : Programmes to Invite Japanese Researchers to Overseas Research Group Research Fellowships for Young Scientists

Programmes to Invite Japanese Researchers to Overseas Research Group

Research Fellowships for Young Scientists

In view of the growing need to foster early career researchers who will play an important role in future scientific research activities, JSPS provides a special programme under which fellowships are granted to 1) Japanese postdoctoral researchers at their early stages of career who conduct research activities at Japanese universities or research institutions on a non-employment basis and to 2) graduate students who conduct research as part of Japanese university doctoral programmes. JSPS strongly recommends the successful researchers to conduct their research abroad because it would be extremely helpful to train researchers with overseas experience for the advancement of world class research taking place in Japan.

Call for FY2024

Award Categories	(1)DC1: Doctoral student 1 (2)DC2: Doctoral student 2 (3)PD: Post Doctorate
Number of Awards Available	(1)DC1: 700 (2)DC2: 1,100 (3)PD: 350
Duration of Award	(1) DC1: 3 years from 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2027 (2) DC2: 2 years from 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2026 (3) PD: 3 years from 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2027
Application Method:	Complete the e-application process on the JSPS Tokyo website. For details, please refer to http://www-shinsei.jsps.go.jp/ (only the Japanese version is available)
Application Period:	Deadline for sending applications through the e-application system: 7 June 2023 17:00 (Japan Standard Time)
Coverage of Fellowship	Monthly stipend (1) DC1: ¥200,000 (2) DC2: ¥200,000 (3) PD: ¥362,000 Fellowship recipients may apply for an additional research grant of the following amounts. (1) DC1: up to ¥1,500,000 per year (2) DC2: up to ¥1,500,000 per year (3) PD: up to ¥1,500,000 per year
Link to JSPS Tokyo Website	For more detailed information, please visit JSPS Tokyo Website below. http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-pd/index.html (English) http://www.jsps.go.jp/j-pd/index.html (Japanese)

ELIGIBILITY

(1) DC1 (Doctoral students)
● Applicants must meet one of the following requirements as of 1 April 2024:
a) Be enrolled in the 3rd year of a 5 year graduate program consisting of a 2 year first stage program (generally called a master’s program) and a 3 year program following that.
b) Be enrolled in the 3rd year of a continuous 5 year graduate program.
c) Be enrolled in the 1st year of a doctoral program as part of a 3 year program.
d) Be enrolled in the 2nd year of a 4 year doctoral program in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy or veterinary medicine.

(2) DC2 (Doctoral students)
● Applicants must meet one of the following requirements as of 1 April 2024:
a) Be enrolled in the 4th or 5th year of a 5 year graduate program consisting of a 2 year first stage program (generally called a master’s program) and a 3 year program following that.
b) Be enrolled in the 4th or 5th year of a continuous 5 year graduate program.
c) Be enrolled in the 2nd or 3rd year of a doctoral program as part of a 3 year program.
d) Be enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of a 4 year doctoral program in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy or veterinary medicine.

(3) PD (Post Doctorate)
● Applicants must meet all of the following criteria:
a) The applicant must have obtained their doctoral degree within the last 5 years, which means after 2 April 2018, or must be currently enrolled in a doctoral course and scheduled to receive their Ph.D by 1 April 2024.

b) In principle, an applicant must be affiliated to a different institution from where they used to belong during their doctoral course.
● Applicants must be Japanese nationals or foreign citizens possessing proof of permanent residency.

Duration and Commencement of Awards

(1) DC1: 3 years from 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2027
(2) DC2: 2 years from 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2026
(3) PD: 3 years from 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2027

Terms of the Award

● Monthly stipend
(1) DC1: ¥200,000
(2) DC2: ¥200,000
(3) PD: ¥362,000

● Fellowship recipients may apply for an additional research grant of the following amounts:
(1) DC1: up to ¥1,500,000 per year
(2) DC2: up to ¥1,500,000 per year
(3) PD: up to ¥1,500,000 per year

Application Period

Deadline for sending applications on the e-application system: 7 June 2023 17:00 (Japan Standard Time)

Selection Process

1 Selection of this fellowship includes a first stage mail review by expert reviewers followed by interviews conducted by a special panel of expert reviewers which consists of researchers considered at the top of their research field in Japan. There are 59 such panel members and around 1,800 expert reviewers in total in the JSPS College of Peer Reviewers.

2 Each application is reviewed by 6 expert reviewers from the same research field as each applicant. If there is a specified research area which has a small number of applications, this area will be merged with another closely related field for an appropriate assessment. 6 reviewers are allocated to each review group and in the selection of applicants a balance of research fields and affiliations will be considered.

3 The panel meeting is conducted for nine research fields (humanities; social science; mathematics and physics; chemistry; engineering; information science; biology; agricultural and environmental science; medicine, dentistry and pharmacology). As a result of the meeting, some successful applicants may not be required to attend a further interview. Those invited to a further interview are selected based on the selection criteria described in the next part. The results are announced to applicants and their affiliated institutions on the e-application website around the middle to late October.

4 Interviews take place from late November to early December and last 10 minutes and take place in front of a panel of expert and non-expert reviewers. The first four minutes are allocated for the applicant to explain about their research accomplishments and research plans and the rest of the time is to be taken up with questions from the panel of reviewers. The result is announced to the applicants by early January as well as to their affiliated institution on the e-application website.

Selection Criteria

For DC 1, DC 2

Applications to JSPS Headquarters will be evaluated according to the following points:
・ Future prospects of researcher
・ Excellence of research plan with concrete purpose and direction
・ Research accomplishments, research capabilities and preparation that enables the research plan to be feasible
・(For PD) Research plan that aims to tackle a new area or that is expected to develop by carrying out research in a different research environment with a different advangtage.
・(For PD) It is mandatory to change the research institution from which the applicant was previously affiliated as a PhD student. This is an important point of the selection criteria.
・ The mail review uses a five scale grading system as: strongly recommended, recommended, fair, questionable, not recommended.

With regard to DC level, as minimal research experience is required, reviewers mainly consider the applicant’s research profile to date, future research plans, self-evaluation and references. For PD level, the applicant’s research accomplishments are highly considered.

Contact

For application enquiries and submissions, please contact:
Research Fellowship Division
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)

Kojimachi Business Center Building, 5-3-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
102-0083 JAPAN
Tel: +81-(0)3-3263-5070
E-mail: yousei2@jsps.go.jp

Research Fellowship for Young Scientists Restarting Work after a Career Break (RPD)

In view of the growing need to foster early career researchers who will play an important role in future scientific research activities, JSPS provides a special programme under which fellowships are granted to Japanese postdoctoral researchers at their early stage of career who restart conducting research activities after maternity leave or an interval taken for rearing children. JSPS strongly recommends the successful researchers to conduct their research abroad because it would be extremely helpful to train researchers with overseas experience for the advancement of world class research taking place in Japan.

Call for FY2024

Number of Awards Available	About 75 people
Duration of Award	(1): 3 years from 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2027 (2): 3 years from 1 July 2027 - 30 June 2027 (3): 3 years from 1 October 2024 - 30 September 2027 (4): 3 years from 1 January 2025 - 31 December 2027 Applicants would choose one of them from above at application. After selection, it can be changed into another only for a reason of giving birth and child-care.
Application Method:	Complete the e-application process on the JSPS website. For details, please refer to: http://www-shinsei.jsps.go.jp/. (only the Japanese version is available)
Application Period:	Deadline for sending applications on the e-application system: 15 May 2023 17:00 (Japan Standard Time)
Total Amount of Project Funding	Monthly stipend 362,000 yen Fellowship recipients may apply for an additional research grant of the following amount. up to ¥1,500,000 per year
For More Information	JSPS Tokyo website (only the Japanese version is available)