JSPS RONPAKU Dissertation PhD Program 2022/2023

The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) has been carrying out the RONPAKU (Dissertation PhD) Program since 1978. The aim of this program is to provide tutorial and financial support for promising researchers in the countries of Asia and Africa or other specified countries among all those listed as Japanese ODA recipients who wish to obtain a PhD degree from a Japanese university 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

Eligible Fields
All fields within the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences are included

Eligibility Requirement

The candidate must be a researcher
(1) Who has not obtained a PhD degree from a university
(2) Who wishes to obtain a PhD degree from a Japanese university through the submission of a dissertation
(3) 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
(4) Who has nationality in an applicable country (listed in Section 3)
(5) 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
(6) Who is 45 years of age or younger as of 1 April 2023

Fellowship Tenure
Maximum of 3 years starting from 1 April 2023

JSPS Financial Support
(1) Total funding provided to Japanese host university Maximum of 3.6 million yen (Up to 1.2 million yen per fiscal year)
(2) The following expenses can be covered by the above funding:

Travel expenses (RONPAKU fellow’s visits to Japan, advisor’s visit to fellow’s country), goods/materials, other dissertation related expenses
(3) Payment procedure
JSPS will enter into a contract with the Japanese host institution commissioning it to carry out the RONPAKU program’s operation.
This program is administered based on the annual budget, paid and executed each Japanese fiscal year (from 1 April to 31 March).

Application Procedure:
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 ② below) by the deadline will be accepted. (Applications submitted individually by applicants or candidates or submitted by postal mail will not be accepted.)

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the JSPS RONPAKU Dissertation PhD Program 2022/2023