So I am planning to do my Master‘s degree at Kyushu University. As most people recommend, I checked out the MEXT scholarship.
Initially my plan was to do my Master‘s over there in Public Economics even though I‘ll do my Bachelor‘s in Computer Science. Now I read on the Japanese embassy- MEXT- info- website that it is only possible to get the scholarship if you do the Master‘s in the same (or a related) subject, in my case Computer Science.
Is it generally like that in Japan? Because I couldn’t find any hints on Kyudai‘s website that I’m not eligible to do a Master‘s in Economics over there. Or is that only the case for MEXT?
Was someone in a similar situation?
I mean worst case I will apply at Kyudai and pay for myself or look for another scholarship (I guess there are some).
But it would suck if I couldn’t even apply for that subject at all.
Help is appreciated.
Thanks a lot.
1 comment
Good luck with the MEXT scholarship! I’m unsure if you’re aware, but there is a separate r/MEXT subreddit which might be a good resource for you. To answer your question, though, it is possible. I did this personally and made it through, did my undergrad in International Relations and my grad school through MEXT in a Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering program. The biggest worry that MEXT has is whether or not you qualify to be admitted to the program you’re looking at. What I always recommend to people going down the same path is to reach out to the relevant department at the university you’re looking to apply to (in this case, the Economics department at Kyudai) and provide digital scans of your transcript and diploma (assuming that they are in English, otherwise, a translation to Japanese or English would help you) and ask them directly if you qualify to be admitted to the specific program you want to attend based on your previous academic background and history. If they say “Yes, you are eligible for admission to this program”, print out the email chain, highlight the official email address of the university and their response, and include it with your paperwork stack in your initial application to MEXT. It’s not a guarantee, but it basically helps your chances since they know your previous degree isn’t a barrier to being accepted by that university.
Please understand that MEXT only advances a certain number of applications each year, and that if there is uncertainty that you would be accepted by a university (which happens later in the MEXT application cycle) then it creates risk of wasted slots for MEXT that will not be filled which could have otherwise been filled with equally-qualified candidates who don’t have that uncertainty. Having proof that it isn’t an issue takes away that burden from MEXT and gives you an opportunity to potentially earn the scholarship even if it’s in a different field. It is my understanding that MEXT had put that stipulation in place due to rejections at the Letter of Provisional Acceptance stage for such issues and decided not to deal with it (although this is an educated hypothesis, as MEXT is not forthcoming with the reasons for any of their decisions).
Best of luck! Hope this helps!