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.
Eligibility Criteria
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 2023
- Who is 45 years of age or younger as of 1 April 2023
Offered Benefits
(1) Total funding provided to Japanese host university
Application Process
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).
