Carlton Lab, Kyoto University

The Carlton lab is recruiting both students and postdoctoral fellows.

We have many international researchers and students working in the graduate school, and English is extensively used and promoted to promote an international environment. We also provide opportunities and support for improving your Japanese language skills. Please contact Pete at any time if you are interested.

Below is some information that may be of use.

1-1. For potential students from abroad:

The Global Frontier in Life Science program at Kyoto University offers Master's degree (2 years) and Doctoral degree (3 years) courses held entirely in English.

The Graduate School of Biostudies will soon commence recruitment of students for next year’s incoming class, which will arrive in Japan and commence courses in October.

Applications for this enrollment will be accepted between March and May, in the previous year.

If you are interested in coming to Japan for graduate studies, the best starting point is to read up on the various funding opportunities that exist. There are several different scholarships and programs you might apply for, depending on your country of residence and which university you are interested in.

What you can do now:

• Read and understand the information supplied below and in the linked sites, and ask by email (carlton.petermark.3v(at)kyoto-u.ac.jp) if anything is unclear. We welcome all inquiries from interested students.
• Obtain application materials, and begin the application process as soon as possible.
• If you’re interested in joining our lab, send me an informal inquiry via email.

Around ten international students per year are accepted to the Master’s degree program in the Graduate School of Biostudies. Of these, some obtain scholarships while others are self-funded. The Japanese government provides full scholarships (MEXT* scholarships) to qualified international students undertaking post-graduate studies at Japanese universities. Tuition and travel costs are both covered, and a monthly stipend is also provided. Acceptance to the program is competitive, with success rates around 25%.

*MEXT is an abbreviation for the Japanese Ministry for Education, Culture, Science, Sports, and Technology.

Further Information links:

• Study at Kyoto University
• Scholarships for Study in Japan
• Scholarships for Study in Kyoto university
• The MEXT Scholarship

Qualifications for the MEXT Scholarship:

1. Nationality: Any country that has diplomatic relations with Japan, also including stateless persons. Applicants with Japanese nationality are not eligible.
2. Age: Applicants must be at most 34 years old.
3. Academic Background: Applicant must have graduated from a university before the commencement date of studies in Japan.
4. Japanese Language: No previous knowledge of Japanese is necessary, but applicants should be willing to learn the language to a degree sufficient to support day-to-day life, and capable of engaging in study and research while adapting to life in Japan. Students enrolled in Master's or Doctoral degree programs are not required to take Japanese language classes.
5. Health: A doctor’s certificate must be provided to show applicants are physically and mentally healthy enough to pursue study at university.
6. Arrival in Japan: Applicants must arrive in Japan within two weeks of the beginning of the semester. Travel expenses will not be provided if an applicant chooses to travel to Japan before this period.

MEXT Scholarship Benefits

1. Allowance: Each grantee will be provided monthly with 143,000 yen (non-degree research students), 144,000 yen (Master’s course), or 145,000 yen (Doctoral course). These amounts are subject to change depending on the annual budget of each year.

Note: 144,000 yen is about 1422 USD, 1274 Euro, 1858 AUD or 1921 SGD per month (Currency exchange rate as of 2016 August)

1. Traveling Costs
   • Transportation to Japan: Each grantee will be provided, according to their itinerary and route as designated by MEXT, with an economy class air ticket from the international airport closest to their place of residence to Narita International Airport (or following the itinerary normally used by the university where the grantee is placed).
   • Transportation from Japan: Grantees who return to their home country within the last-payment month of the scholarship will be provided, upon application, with an economy class air ticket for a flight from Narita International Airport (or following the itinerary normally used by the university where the grantee is placed) to the international airport closest to their place of return.

1-2. For potential doctoral course students:

Kyoto university SPRING program and Science and Technology Innovation Fellowship Program

Kyoto university has its own fellowship programs to support doctoral students, available for both domestic and international students.

Kyoto university financial support programs

SPRING program： Research incentive grant of 2.2 million yen per year (1.8 million yen for living expenses + 0.4 million yen for research expenses)

Science and Technology Innovation Fellowship program： Research incentive grant of 2.1 million yen per year (1.8 million yen for living expenses + 0.3 million yen for research expenses) (Part of the amount corresponding to living expenses may be paid as salary by employing the student as an RA(reserach assistant).)

1-3. For potential students from Asia:

THE MARCO POLO GRADUATE STUDY PROGRAM

This is a newly established fellowship by the Graduate School of Biostudies (GSB) at Kyoto University and designed for the students from Asian nations under-represented in science research in Japan. We seek motivated, adventurous, internationally-minded students who wish to pursue either a Masters or a Ph.D. degree in biological science. Up to four outstanding students from Asian nations listed below will be selected every year. The fellowship provides generous financial support for studies and daily life.

Eligible countries are : Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam

For details, please go to The Marco Polo Program

2. For potential postdoctoral fellows from abroad:

The Carlton lab is recruiting postdocs via funding through JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) fellowships. These are competitive fellowships that fully fund your expenses and research for up to two years.

There are two major fellowships for foreign researchers, arranged by JSPS . Please contact us early on if you are interested in applying for either of them. Further information and application procedures can be found here (JSPS website).

1: JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Foreign Researchers (Standard: 2 years)

Link to JSPS website

JSPS will provide:

• A round-trip air ticket (ticket fare will be calculated based on JSPS’s regulations)
• ¥362,000 per month salary, and a settling-in allowance of ¥200,000.
• A research grant of up to ¥1,500,000 per year (total of ¥3,000,000 for two years) is available after additional application.

2: JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for North America/Europe ^※ Researchers (Short term)

Link to JSPS website

This fellowship provides opportunities for excellent pre-/post-doctoral researchers from the US, Canada and Europe　(Link) to conduct cooperative research with leading research groups in universities and other Japanese institutions. In so doing, the program is designed to help advance the research of the visiting fellows, while expanding opportunities for young researchers to come to Japan from the US, Canada and Europe.

※Eligible countries are the US, Canada, European Union countries (as of 1 April 2014), Switzerland, Norway and Russia)