Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP)

Application Guidelines for September 2012 Enrollment

Based on its agreement with the World Bank, Ritsumeikan University is recruiting International Students for the 2012 Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) as follows:

Recruiting Graduate Schools, Majors, Courses, Programs and Number of Students: Enrollment Recruited Graduate School Major Program Cap Students
Economics International Relations Policy Science Graduate School Economics Major Masters Program in Economic Development International Relations Major Policy Science Major Major Advanced Electrical, Electronic, and Computer Systems Advanced Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Course Electrical, Electronic, and Computer Systems
Mechanical Engineering Robotics Micro Systems Technology Civil and Disaster Mitigation Engineering for Historic Cities Environmental Systems and Civil Engineering Architecture and Urban Design

Master s Master s Master s

50 60 40

A few A few A few

Program Name

Program Level

Enrollment Recruited Cap Students 180

Science and Engineering

Advanced Architectural, Environmental and Civil Engineering

International Program for Advanced Industrial Technology (IPAIT)

140 Masters A few

80

International Computer Program for Science Information Masters 200 20 Human Science and Information Engineering Science Applied Chemistry International Life Advanced Life Biotechnology Program for Masters 150 A few Sciences Sciences Bioinformatics Life Sciences Biomedical Science *The enrollment cap includes students admitted through all application processes. *Actual number recruited may be lower, based on number of applications and entrance examination results.

Information Science and Engineering

Advanced Information Science and Engineering

Eligibility Requirements Have sufficient English language ability to understand graduate-level lectures in English. Be in possession of a College Student status of residence for Japan, or intend to acquire that

status of residence prior to enrollment. Meet one of the following 11 criteria: (1) Have graduated from university*1 or be scheduled to graduate university before enrollment. (2) Have acquired a bachelors degree from the National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation, or intend to acquire the same before enrollment. (3) Have completed, or be scheduled to complete before enrollment, schooling outside Japan that is judged to be equivalent to 16 years of education in Japan. (4) Have completed, or be scheduled to complete before enrollment, in Japan, a distance learning program conducted by a suitable academic institution outside of the country that is judged to be equivalent to 16 years of education in the programs home country. (5) Have completed, or be scheduled to complete before enrollment, studies at an international school in Japan that the Japanese Minister of Education has designated as being equivalent to a university education in the schools home country. (6) Have completed, or be scheduled to complete before enrollment, a specialized training program at a Japanese Minister of Education-designated Vocational School on or after the date of said designation. (7) Have completed university education under the Japanese prewar system (Ministry of Education Bulletin 5: 1-4, 1953; Ministry of Education Bulletin 39: 1, 1955.) (8) Have completed, or be scheduled to complete before enrollment, a course of education at the Japanese National Defense Academy, Japan Coast Guard Academy, Meteorological College, or other, similar Japanese Ministry Academy (Ministry of Education Bulletin 5: 5-9, 1953; Ministry of Education Bulletin 39: 2, 1955.) (9) Be at least 22 years of age by the time of enrollment and be the holder of, or acquire before enrollment, a specialized teaching certificate for elementary school, middle school, high school, pre-school, or a school for disabled children, or other teaching certificate recognized by Japans Teacher License Act (Ministry of Education Bulletin 5: 10-12, 1953) (10) Be a student who entered graduate school by grade-skipping and be recognized by the graduate school at which you plan to study as having the requisite academic ability for studies.*2 (11) Be at least 22 years of age by the time of enrollment and be recognized by the graduate school to which you intend to apply as having academic ability equivalent to or greater than that of a university graduate, based on an individual review of your entrance eligibility.*2 *1 Universities must meet the criteria established in Article 83 of the School Education Act. *2 Applicants in categories (10) or (11) must complete the necessary pre-application evaluation at their desired graduate school for an individual evaluation prior to applying. * Applicants who are scheduled to complete the requirements above, but have not yet done so by the time of application, must fully meet the required conditions no later than September 25, 2012, or they will not be admitted. * In addition to the requirements above, applicants must meet all requirements for the scholarship as defined by the World Bank. * Applicants who have any questions or concerns whatsoever about their years of study, educational system, or degree equivalency should be certain to inquire at the address below prior to the application period: Ritsumeikan University, International Center at BKC 1-1-1 Noji-higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga, 525-8577, Japan Phone: +81 (0)77-561-3946 Fax: +81 (0)77-561-3956

Selection Procedures Applicants will be evaluated primarily based on submitted documents. However, individual Graduate Schools may additionally require language ability tests, written exams, or interviews as part of their evaluation.

* This selection process will determine admission to Ritsumeikan University. Ritsumeikan will recommend applicants who pass this screening to the JJ/WBGSP for scholarship consideration. Final determination of whether or not to award the 2012 JJ/WBGSP scholarship to individual applicants will be made by the World Bank following their evaluation. Application Procedures 1. Application Documents Please submit the following documents in a single package. (1) Admission Application Form (University-designated form) (2) Research Plan Form (University-designated form) (3) Letters of Recommendation (2 academic, 2 professional; World Bank-designated form) (4) Scholarship Application Form (World Bank-designated form) (5) Resume (Freeform, A4-size, no longer than 2 pages) (6) Original Certificate of Graduation and Certificate of Grades achieved (Must be created and sealed by the president or dean of most recent academic institution) (7) Original Certificate of Employment for each full-time position held in the past. (8) Copy of photo and information pages from passport (for applicants in possession of a passport) or copy of applicants birth certificate. (9) Copy of objectively verifiable English language proficiency test results (e.g. TOEFL TOEIC, etc) (10) Copies of any other objectively verifiable, relevant specialty proficiency certificates. (11) Certificate of Health (University-designated form or form with identical contents) (12) Three passport-style photographs.
2. Important Points for Application (1) All application documents must be in Japanese or English and, to the maximum extent possible, should be typed in word processing-type software and printed on A4-sized paper. Documents in any other language must be accompanied by a certified Japanese translation. (2) Be sure to enter your name and birth date exactly as it appears in your passport on all forms. (3) All application documents must be sent together, by registered, express mail to the address in number 4, below. (4) Once submitted documents are accepted by the university, they cannot be returned for any reason, even if it is later determined that the applicant does not meet the eligibility requirements. 3. Application Period Monday, February 20 Monday, March 19, 2012 (Applications will be accepted by mail only. Applications must arrive before the deadline.) 4. Application Mailing Address: Ritsumeikan University, International Center at BKC 1-1-1 Noji-higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga 525-8577, Japan Phone: +81 (0)77-561-3946 Fax: +81 (0)77-561-3956

Notification of Results Friday, April 13, 2012 * Applicants who pass Ritsumeikans screening will be sent a letter of acceptance from Ritsumeikan University. Ritsumeikan will simultaneously recommend the application to the World Bank for scholarship consideration. * Passing Ritsumeikans admission screening does not guarantee that applicants will receive the 2012 JJ/WBGSP scholarship. Admissions Procedures Detailed information will be provided to successful applicants once results are released.