JSPS RONPAKU (Dissertation PhD) Program

Deadline: August 19, 2022

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.
The applicant under this program is the advisor on the Japan side.
If there should be any differences between the original guidelines in Japanese and its translation into English, the original Japanese text is valid.

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

Applicable Countries

Candidates must be a researcher whose university/institution is located in one of the following countries and areas among all those listed as Japanese ODA recipients:
ASIA (including the Middle East) Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Vietnam, and Yemen
AFRICA
Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali,
Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Cabo Verde, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Eligibility of Advisor in Japan

The candidate’s advisor in Japan must be a full-time professor or associate professor who, as of 1 April 2023, is engaged in implementing a doctoral course at the Japanese university to which the prospective RONPAKU fellow will submit his/her PhD thesis.
If the applicant (Japanese advisor) should commit an unethical act and be punished via measures imposed by the host institution, s/he will be restricted from applying for JSPS RONPAKU program for a period of five years starting from the day that the punishment is administered.

Eligibility of RONPAKU Fellow

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
Regarding (1), if, during the period of JSPS support, the fellow obtains a PhD degree through another program, JSPS will take prescribed measures including discontinuation of the RONPAKU allowance.

Fellowship Tenure
Maximum of 3 years starting from 1 April 2023
※ As the situation with the novel coronavirus changes, we may consider applying flexibility some of the items in these Application Guidelines.

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)