JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (Short-term) for North American and European Researchers

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) is inviting applications for the postdoctoral fellowship program (Short-term). These fellowships are awarded for pre/post-doctoral researchers from US, Canada, the European Union Countries, (as of 1 April 2013) Switzerland, Norway and Russia to conduct cooperative research with leading research groups in universities and other Japanese institutions. Approximately 60 fellowships will be granted in FY 2014 for a period of 1 to 12 months. Successful candidates must start the fellowship in Japan during the period of 1 April 2014 – 31 March 2015.

Study Subject (s): All fields of the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences are included under this program.
Course Level: Fellowships are awarded for pre-/post-doctoral researchers to conduct under the guidance of their hosts, cooperative research with leading research groups in universities and other Japanese institutions.
Scholarship Provider: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
Scholarship can be taken at: Japan

Eligibility: Applicant (Host Researcher) Eligibility:
-The applicant (host researcher) must be employed full-time or classified as being employed full-time (excluding jokyo, assistant professor, and joshu, research assistant) at a research institution specified in Article 2 of the Rules for Handling Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (MEXT Notification) and must want to host an overseas researcher.
-Eligible host institutions include the following:
(1) Universities and inter-university research institutes
(2) MEXT-affiliated institutions that conduct scientific research
(3) Technical colleges
(4) Other institutions designated by the Minister of MEXT
Note: Full-time employment classification is determined by the regulations of the host institution.
Candidate (Fellow)

Eligibility:
(1) Be a citizen or permanent resident of an eligible country. Also eligible are persons who have earned a master’s or higher degree and continuously thereafter been engaged in research for a period of at least three years at a university or research institution in an eligible country. Such persons must be from a country that has diplomatic relations with Japan or from Taiwan or Palestine, have conducted research continuously for three or more years before the time their application was submitted, and must possess an excellent research record.
(2) Candidates must have obtained their doctoral degree at a university outside Japan within six years of the date the fellowship goes into effect (on or after 2 April 2008), or must be currently enrolled in a doctoral course at a university outside Japan, and scheduled to receive a Ph.D. within two years from the time that their research starts in Japan.
(3) Have arranged in advance a research plan with a host researcher in Japan.
Note 1: Those who have previously been awarded a fellowship under the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Foreign Researchers are not eligible. This Obei-Tanki Fellowship is only awarded once per researcher.
Note 2: Foreign researchers doing research at a Japanese research institution at the time of application are not eligible.
Note 3: Japanese citizens who have permanent resident status in a country listed under Section 1 are not eligible.

Scholarship Open for International Students: Students of US, Canada, the European Union Countries, as of 1 April 2013, (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom), Switzerland, Norway and Russia can apply for these fellowships.

Scholarship Description: The purpose of the program is to provide opportunities for young and excellent pre/post-doctoral researchers from the US, Canada and Europe (as of 1 April 2013), Switzerland, Norway and Russia to conduct, under the guidance of their hosts, 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 augmenting opportunities for young researchers to come to Japan from the US, Canada and Europe. Applications for this program are submitted by a host researcher in Japan who wishes to host a foreign postdoctoral fellow.

Number of award (s): Approximately 60 Fellowships will be granted in FY 2014.

Duration of award (s): Fellowships are awarded for a period of 1 to 12 months.

What does it cover? The amounts of the Awards indicated below are subject to change for budgetary reasons.
-A round-trip air ticket (according to JSPS’s regulations)
-A settling-in allowance of ¥200,000 (only applicable for Fellows with 4 or more months of tenure)
-A monthly maintenance allowance
(a) For Ph.D. holders: ¥362,000
(b) For non-PhD holders at the time research starts in Japan: ¥200,000
Overseas travel insurance coverage, etc.
Note 1: If the Fellow resides in Japan on or after the date his/her award letter is issued, the above-mentioned air ticket to Japan and settling-in allowance will not be provided.
Note 2: A research support allowance is available to cover cooperative research-related expenses. Application is made by the host researcher.

Selection Criteria: 
1) The fellowship should help advance both the candidate’s and the host’s research work
2) The host and candidate must have established close communication and devised a concrete research plan
3) The implementation of the fellowship should contribute to promoting exchange between Japan and countries of North America and Europe
4) In the research plan, consideration should be given to honing the research skills of pre-doctoral candidates
5) As much as possible, preference should not be given to the host institution or field of specialization in making selections.

Notification: Notices of selection results are issued about 3 months after applications are received by JSPS.

How to Apply: Applicants (host researchers) will be required to use JSPS’s web application system to apply for fellowships. Applications for this program must be submitted to JSPS by a host researcher in Japan through the head of his/her university or institution. Foreign researchers wishing to participate in this program are advised to establish contact with a Japanese or foreign-resident researcher in their field and to ask him/her to submit an application. They should make this contact well in advance of the host institution’s application periods. Materials to be submitted:
Materials to be prepared by the applicant (host researcher) and submitted to his/her institution.
-Application form to be filled in by the host researcher (Form 1)
-Application form to be filled in by the foreign candidate (Form 2)
-A letter of reference/recommendation from the candidate’s current or previous academic supervisor (not from his/her prospective host researcher in Japan)
Note: Only successful candidates will be required to provide a copy of their diploma. If the degree has not yet been awarded, a letter is required from the candidate’s institution stating the date that he/she will officially receive the degree.
Materials to be prepared by the administrative office of the host institution
-Number of applications
-List of applicants

Scholarship Application Deadline: The application deadlines are: 1st recruitment: 7-11 Oct 2013, 2nd recruitment: 6-10 Jan 2014, 3rd recruitment: 7-11 Apr 2014 and 4th recruitment: 7-11 Jul 2014.

Note: These deadlines are for the head of the host institution to submit the application to JSPS; the time frames for applicants (host researchers) to submit their applications are normally earlier.

Further Official Scholarship Information and Application