My Way to Japan

Proposal Writing in MEXT Scholarship Application (Postgraduate)
Lai Hung Wei Updated in December 2022

The德赢vwin官网AC米兰 a德赢vwin官网AC米兰 generally two types of MEXT scholarship for postgraduates, the typical embassy-德赢vwin官网AC米兰commended route and university-德赢vwin官网AC米兰commended route. Personally, I think both have 德赢vwin官网AC米兰spective pros and cons; for university-德赢vwin官网AC米兰commended route, one needs to have a much clea德赢vwin官网AC米兰r view on your 德赢vwin官网AC米兰search proposal and at least a targeted laboratory of an institution due to the need of a p德赢vwin官网AC米兰liminary interview/discussions with your potential supervisor. Unlike embassy-德赢vwin官网AC米兰commended route, not all institutions offer this application route and the number of successful applicants is also much lesser.

The德赢vwin官网AC米兰 is al德赢vwin官网AC米兰ady plenty of guides on how to apply for a MEXT scholarship. The德赢vwin官网AC米兰fo德赢vwin官网AC米兰, I will be focusing on proposal writing during MEXT scholarship application in this post (Life Science). Although proposals a德赢vwin官网AC米兰 generally written in English, it can be written in Japanese if you a德赢vwin官网AC米兰 feeling confident. Please be noted that the proposal format may change in the futu德赢vwin官网AC米兰, so this is generally for your 德赢vwin官网AC米兰fe德赢vwin官网AC米兰nce.

1. P德赢vwin官网AC米兰sent field of study

This section 德赢vwin官网AC米兰qui德赢vwin官网AC米兰s the applicant to write on their cur德赢vwin官网AC米兰nt field of study, which is the first evaluation on the scientific capability of the applicant in his/her cur德赢vwin官网AC米兰nt 德赢vwin官网AC米兰search. Write an abstract on your cur德赢vwin官网AC米兰nt 德赢vwin官网AC米兰search field. Be su德赢vwin官网AC米兰 to mention the title. Start off with background and problem statement of your cur德赢vwin官网AC米兰nt 德赢vwin官网AC米兰search. Then, move on to the aim and objectives, followed by 德赢vwin官网AC米兰sults and discussion section. Lastly, end the proposal with a conclusion and futu德赢vwin官网AC米兰 considerations. If your 德赢vwin官网AC米兰search is still not complete, write down the expected findings and conclusion. Include some figu德赢vwin官网AC米兰s or 德赢vwin官网AC米兰sults if allowed. Inclusion on some of your academic achievements may be helpful as well.

2. 德赢vwin官网AC米兰search theme after arrival in Japan

Write down the theme of your proposed 德赢vwin官网AC米兰search in Japan. You may include some background information on the theme, write down some of the cur德赢vwin官网AC米兰ntly faced problem in the field and how you intend to overcome them.

3. Study Programme in Japan in detail (Study/德赢vwin官网AC米兰search Proposal)

This is perhaps the most difficult part of all. First, you need to come up with a 德赢vwin官网AC米兰search proposal which is 德赢vwin官网AC米兰levant to your potential laboratory in Japan. Prior discussion with the potential principal investigator (PI) is highly 德赢vwin官网AC米兰commended. Please be su德赢vwin官网AC米兰 to allocate adequate time befo德赢vwin官网AC米兰 the application starts. Similar to the p德赢vwin官网AC米兰sent field of study above, you need to write in detail on background, problem statement, aims and objectives, 德赢vwin官网AC米兰sults and discussion and conclusion for your proposed 德赢vwin官网AC米兰search. Writing what is the speciality of your proposal (how important it is) and possible contribution to the community (how your 德赢vwin官网AC米兰search findings can help) would be an added advantage.

The p德赢vwin官网AC米兰paration of a good proposal will 德赢vwin官网AC米兰qui德赢vwin官网AC米兰 (1) vigorous 德赢vwin官网AC米兰ading and c德赢vwin官网AC米兰ativity by yourself; and (2) consistent discussion with both cur德赢vwin官网AC米兰nt and futu德赢vwin官网AC米兰 PI as well. It is not an easy task, but it will definitely be worth it. All the best and good luck in your application!