Types of examination

1. General Admission:General admission is the most basic type of entrance to SOKENDAI. It is available for all programs of SOKENDAI and open to every applicant, regardless of nationality or place of residence.
2. Special Admissions for Applicants Residing Abroad:Examination for specially for "privately-financed foreign students"
3. Japanese Government Scholarship Students Admission:SOKENDAI accepts MEXT scholarship students as graduate-level Research Students. There are three ways to apply for this type of scholarship. For more details, please refer to the following webpages.
   〇 University Recommendation
   〇 University Recommendation -PGP(The International Priority Graduate Programs）-

Schedules of the examination

The entrance examination will be conducted through the Internet remotely.
Please check the Application Guidelines for more details.
 

Type (1)  General Admission

Five-year doctoral program / Three-year doctoral program

[1st round] (October 2026 / April 2027 Admission)
   Application: June 25 to July 1, 2026 (Expected date of mailing of Admission Ticket: July 23, 2026)​
    Examination: August 18 and August 19, 2026
[2nd round] (April and October 2027 Admission)
    Application: December 3 to December 9, 2026 (Expected date of mailing of Admission Ticket:January 7, 2027)
    Examination: January 19 and January 20, 2027

Please check the Application Guidelines for more details.
 

Type (2)  Special Admissions for Applicants Residing Abroad

Five-year doctoral program / Three-year doctoral program

[1st round] (April and October 2026 admission)
    Application: May 29 to June 25, 2025
    Examination: August 18 and August 19, 2025
[2nd round] (October 2026 admission only)
     Application: November 6 to December 3, 2025 
     Examination: January 20 and January 21, 2026

Please check the Application Guidelines for more details.
 

Type (3) Japanese Government Scholarship Students Admission

〇 University Recommendation -PGP(The International Priority Graduate Programs）-
Five-year doctoral program (October 2026 admission only)

[1st round]
    Application: May 29 to June 25, 2025
    Examination: August 18 and August 19, 2025
[2nd round]
    Application: November 6 to December 3, 2025
    Examination: January 20 and January 21, 2026

Please check the Application Guidelines for more details.
 

   The MEXT scholarship "Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Information Science and Life Science for Leading Researchers on Data Science" is open for application.  
See more details.

Important notice

Graduate Student Affairs Section
International Relations & Research Cooperation Division
National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS)
Nishigonaka 38, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585
Phone: +81 564 55 7139