UNOFFICIAL guidelines for the JSPS DC fellowship application in English

(by Koichi Hamaguchi. Last update: April 2023)

(April 2023)
An English version of the Application Guideline for JSPS DC fellowship is now available on the official JSPS website!

(Note: The information on this page is for the JSPS DC fellowship (for doctor students); for the JSPS PD fellowship (postdoc), see, e.g., this and this pages.)

1. Overview and Eligibility

First of all, check the overview of the JSPS DC fellowship and the eligibility on this page. (Note that some of the information there may not be updated. )

• Tenure: 3 years for DC1, and 2 years for DC2. From April to March.
• Monthly stipend: 200,000 JPY.
• Research grant: up to 1,500,000 JPY / year.
• Eligibility: If you are in your first (second or third) year of the doctoral course when the fellowship starts, i.e., in April of the following year, apply for DC1 (DC2).

This Q&A page by JSPS may also be helpful.

2. Preparation

• The application documents should be submitted electronically through this site, and you will need a login ID and password. You can obtain the login ID and password from your university/institution. Ask your supervisor and colleagues how to obtain the ID and password.
• Check the deadline. Note that the internal deadlines vary from university to university or institute to institute. Check with your supervisor and colleagues.
• Also ask your supervisor to prepare the evaluation document (see below).

3. Application documents

• (1) The applicant's information.
  • This part should be filled out through this page.
  • An example output can be found here.
  It may not be easy for international students (who don't speak Japanese) to fill in the form by themselves. Ask your supervisor or colleagues what to fill in for each item.
• (2) The application content file. This is the main part.
  • The formats and an English translation are available here.
  • A LaTeX format is also available from the KAKENHI LaTeX page (in Japanese). This LaTeX version is not prepared by JSPS, but is accepted. It is convenient for those who usually write papers in LaTeX. Ask your supervisor or colleagues which file to download and how to use it.
  • Although the form is written in Japanese, the content (the parts that the applicant fills in) can be written in English.
• (3) The evaluation document. This part should be submitted by your supervisor. Once you enter your supervisor's information through this page, I think an e-mail will be sent to your supervisor to fill out the form.

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions on this page, please contact Koichi Hamaguchi.