Japan-IMF Scholarships for Asian Students: Master's in Japan

The Japan-IMF Scholarship Program for Asia (JISPA) pays for graduate study in macroeconomics at universities in Japan. The Government of Japan funds it, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) runs it, and it is taught at graduate schools across Japan. Its goal is to strengthen economic policy-making in Asia and the Pacific by training officials from emerging and developing economies.

The partnership track lets scholars take a specially designed graduate course focused on macroeconomics at an IMF partner university.

The open track supports scholars who want to study graduate-level macroeconomics or a related field at the master's or PhD level at any leading university in Japan. It is aimed at highly motivated officials who can find a course in Japan that fits their public-sector work and supports their future role as an economic policy maker. Read the brochure for full details on the open track.

In 2014-2015, the partnership universities accepting scholars are:

• National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS): one-year and two-year programs
• Hitotsubashi University (HIT): two-year program
• International University of Japan (IUJ): two-year program
• University of Tokyo (UT): two-year program

The scholarship is for graduate-level courses that concentrate on macroeconomics. See the 2014-2015 brochure (link below) for the complete course list under the program.

For 2014-15, 36 new scholarships are available for the partnership track. The open track has no fixed limit on new scholarships, but generally only a small number are awarded.

The JISPA is open to qualified candidates from these countries:

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao P.D.R., Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pacific Island Countries, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

The program targets highly motivated government officials who may become future macroeconomic policy makers with the capacity and vision to contribute effectively to their countries' economic development.

The scholarship covers tuition fees; a monthly stipend (including housing allowance and medical/accident insurance); one round-trip economy class air ticket; and a lump-sum allowance for visa application costs, testing fees (such as TOEFL), and book-shipping costs. It covers expenses for the scholar only.

The scholarship covers one year. For two-year master's programs, it can be renewed for the second year based on academic performance and the university's recommendation, along with nomination by the scholar's sponsoring agency.

Under current program guidelines, candidates must be a national of one of the eligible countries (see above).

Candidates should also currently work for one of the following or related agencies: central bank, ministry of economy, ministry of finance, ministry of planning/development, ministry of trade/commerce, tax administration, or national statistics bureau.

The program will also consider officials working in other areas of government that have a significant impact on the formulation or implementation of macroeconomic policy.

Candidates must have a Bachelor's degree or an equivalent with at least 16 years of formal education. Names of schools and attending dates beginning from primary school must be listed in the application. In some cases, 15 years of formal education may be accepted if there is an official explanation (a country's particular educational system or other exceptional circumstances).

Applicants must have English language proficiency equivalent to or more than an official TOEFL score of 550, CBT213, or iBT79-80. If TOEFL scores are not available, an overall IELTS score of at least 6.0 can be substituted.

Applicants must be committed to contributing to the development of their home country, and if selected, are expected to return to their sponsoring agency upon completion of their studies under the JISPA. Priority is given to applicants (1) whose age is below 40; and (2) who have not yet obtained a master's degree from a university outside of their own country.

Important: In addition, each partner university has its own admission/eligibility requirements.

Application instructions:

For 2014-2015 AY, the deadline is 10 December 2013. There is no application deadline for the open track applications; applications are accepted and reviewed year-round.

It is important to read the 2014-2015 Scholarship Brochure and visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.