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Five Year Ph.D. Course
Entry requirements and evaluation criteria

Entry requirements

The basic requirements for entry to the five-year Master/Ph.D. course are as follows:

1. Completion of a bachelor's course (or expected completion by the day of admission) at a Japanese university.
2. Receipt of a bachelor's degree (or expected receipt by the day of admission) from the National Institution for Academic Degrees.
3. Completion of 16 years of formal education (or expected completion by the day of admission) at an accredited foreign institution within Japan or outside Japan.
4. Completion of 16 years of formal education (or expected completion by the day of admission) through a distance education program offered by a foreign school while living in Japan.
5. Applicants who are designated by the Ministry of MEXT in Japan.
6. Applicants who has completed the professional course of a special training school (of a duration of four years or more and which meets the requirements specified by the Ministry of MEXT) and a curriculum specified by the Ministry of MEXT on the day after the specified date, or who is expected to complete such a course and a curriculum by the month before admission.
7. Applicants who have been enrolled in a university in Japan for more than 3 years and have been approved by Sokendai as having an outstanding academic record.
8. Applicants who have completed 15 years of formal education outside Japan, or 15 years of formal education through a distance education program offered by a foreign school while living in Japan, and have been approved by Sokendai as having an outstanding academic record.
9. Applicants who have enrolled in a graduate university in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 67 of the School Education Law and have been approved by Sokendai as being eligible for entry in a graduate university.
10. Approval of an applicant through Sokendai's individual qualification screening procedure as one whose academic credentials are equivalent to or superior to those who have completed a master's course. Such an applicant must be at least 22 years old.

Note: Applicants who have not completed a bachelor's course (7-10) may be asked by Sokendai to undergo additional screening to determine their academic level.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria

You must present research plan in SOKENDAI.
Basically, our assessment covers the following five questions:
-Do you have strong motivation for research activity?
-Do you have a critical mind for the research theme?
-Do you have basic academic skills?
-Do you have sufficient communication capability?

Application Procedure
　

1. Application deadline: Documents must reach NII by the following dates:

For October 2013 entry course / April 2014 entry course (First application period) :
Friday, July 19, 2013, to Thursday, July 25, 2013

For April 2014 entry course (Second application period) Dead line:
Friday, December 6, 2013 to Thursday, December 12 2013

2. Notes for applicants

Please note that we are open to all people who satisfy our entry requirements. For applicants who are not able to apply in Japanese, please contact the NII faculty member in charge of the research field you are interested in, and ask in advance if he/she is able to be your research advisor.

Please refer to the following web page: Research topics of NII faculty members:
http://www.nii.ac.jp/graduate/advisor/index_e.html

Consultation prior to making a formal application is recommended.
Please note that applicants who do not have an advisor may not be eligible for the screening process.

3. Application for th National Institute of Informatics (NII) Scholarship

Privately financed students may also apply for the National Institute of Informatics (NII) Scholarship. For further details, please visit our web page Fees & Scholarships.

Examination Schedule (Interview)

The interview will be taken about for 40 minutes including the 10 minutes presentation. You will be interviewed for several questions on your basic knowledge, your submitted documents, and your communication ability.

On the presentation, present the planning of the research after you pass the entrance examination. Also, present the research you have been involved, your purpose of research at NII, or describe the academic papers and speeches the most you have been impressed latest. For the interview you should bring either OHP slides or a laptop that can display presentation software (e.g. MS PowerPoint) on a beam projector. We also require that you send us hard copy of all presentation material to arrive at least four days prior to the interview. Please send the material by registered mail and mark it as "Presentation Material".

- Interview date
- For October 2013 course entry: August 29-30, 2013(one day in this period)
- For April 2014 course entry:
1st Application: August 29-30, 2013 (one day in this period)
2nd Application: January 30-31, 2014 (one day in this period)

- Interview location
National Institute of Informatics (NII)
National Center of Sciences Building
2-1-2, Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan

NII is within 5 minutes walking distance from the "Jinbocho" subway station, exit No. A8 and "Takebashi" subway station, exit NO. 1b.

Presentation materials should be submitted to the above NII address no later than the date below;
- For October 2013 course entry: August 23, 2013
- For April 2014 course entry:
1st Application: August 23, 2013
2nd Application: January 24, 2014

Announcement of results

You will be notified of the results as follows:

Application for enrollment in October 2013: Late September 2013
Application for enrollment in April 2014:
1st Application period: Late September 2013
2nd Application period: Late February 2014