Graduate International Research Students (kenkyusei)

The gating step of the whole route, and the one that must start earliest. Before submitting an application, please contact a prospective supervisor and obtain his/her consent to supervise you. The consent obtained here is the consent to be your supervisor if you are accepted and does not guarantee your acceptance.

Ten application items (application form in Excel plus items 2-10 combined into a single scanned PDF) are uploaded to a route-specific URL within the designated window, the 9,800 yen examination fee is paid inside the same window, and the Graduate School Office is notified by email; it replies within six business days after confirming receipt of your files.

Enrolment on April 1 or October 1. Normally the period of enrollment for a Graduate International Research Student is six months. Self-supported entrants pay the admission fee (84,600 yen) and the six-month tuition fee (173,400 yen) after being admitted, on deadlines notified individually.

The Graduate School Office contacts students twice a year (around June and December) and students may apply for an extension of their research period, subject to approval from their supervising professors. Each approved extension adds a further research period; the supervising professor's approval is the decisive condition.

The total period as a Graduate International Research Student cannot exceed 2 years. On leaving, no degree, qualification or credit is conferred. A student who wants a University of Tokyo degree must have applied separately, and competitively, to the Master's or Doctoral programme; kenkyusei status neither substitutes for nor advantages that application.