JSPS–UNU Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme 2019 for study in Japan (All Expense Paid Fully Funded)

Application Deadline: March 15th 2019

Jointly organized by the United Nations University and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), the JSPS–UNU Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme is designed to provide promising, highly qualified, young researchers with the opportunity to conduct advanced research relevant to the main thematic focus areas of the UNU Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS, Tokyo) in cooperation with host researchers at Japanese universities and research institutions. UNU-IAS acts as the nominating authority for the JSPS–UNU Programme. This fellowship is aimed at candidates who have completed their doctorates in the past six years and also have professional and/or research experience. UNU-IAS will assist in securing acceptance from host researchers for short-listed candidates.

Fellowships are awarded for a period of 24 months. Applicants must hold a doctoral degree (received on or after 2 April 2013) when the fellowship begins, or be scheduled to receive a doctoral degree before the fellowship begins. Japanese nationals are not eligible, nor are those of dual nationality if one is Japanese. Also, those who have permanent residency in Japan are not eligible. Those who have been previously awarded a Standard or Pathway Fellowship under the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research in Japan scheme are not eligible.

Terms of the Award

1. A round-trip air ticket (based on JSPS regulations)
2. A monthly maintenance allowance of JPY362,000
3. A settling-in allowance of JPY200,000 (based on JSPS regulations)
4. Overseas travel, accident, and sickness insurance coverage, etc.

[Note]

• The amounts of the awards indicated above are subject to change by JSPS.
• In the case that a Fellow is already residing in Japan before his/her fellowship starts or obtains resident status before his/her fellowship is designated to begin, the above-mentioned air ticket to Japan and settling-in allowance will not be provided.
• A research grant, “Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research”, is available to cover cooperative research-related expenses. Application for these grants is made by the host researcher through his/her institution.

JSPS–UNU Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme 2019

Research proposals for JSPS–UNU Postdoctoral Fellowships should relate clearly to one of the research areas of UNU-IAS listed below, and also aim to be policy-relevant.

The following research projects at UNU-IAS are accepting applications for JSPS–UNU Postdoctoral Fellows:

• Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services Assessment
• Governance for Sustainable Development
• International Satoyama Initiative
• Water for Sustainable Development

Requirements:

Applicants must be citizens of countries that have diplomatic relations with Japan. Japanese nationals are not eligible, nor are those of dual nationality if one is Japanese. Also, those who have permanent residency in Japan are not eligible. Applicants must hold a doctorate received on or after 2 April 2013 (i.e., the degree must have been received within six years prior to 1 April 2019), when the fellowship begins or be scheduled to receive doctorate before the fellowship begins.

Applicants with at least 10 months research and/or professional experience are especially encouraged to apply.

Those who have previously been awarded a Standard or Pathway Fellowship under the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research in Japan scheme are not eligible.

Duration of the fellowship

Fellowships are awarded for a period of 24 months.

Nomination of candidates

UNU-IAS will act as the nominating authority of the programme; and applications should be submitted to UNU-IAS, which will assist in securing acceptance from host researchers for short-listed candidates. UNU-IAS nominates candidates to JSPS based on the following criteria:

• the research objectives of the applicant and the quality of his/her research proposal,
• the relevance of the research proposal to the ongoing or planned research activities of the applicant’s indicated Research Programme at UNU-IAS, and
• the applicant’s academic merit and his/her potential for successful research while in Japan.

UNU intends to inform successful candidates of the results of the nomination in June 2019. JSPS takes up to 3 months after receiving the nominations to process its award decisions.

Starting date and deadline for applications

The JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme begins on 1 September and the selected Fellows are required to be in Japan by this date. The deadline for applications for the 2019 Fellowships is 15 March 2019.

Applications

Interested and eligible candidates are invited to submit a completed application form and supporting documents to fellowships@unu.edu. If an applicant does not have access to the Internet, he or she should contact UNU-IAS. The form and the required documents indicated in the form must be in English. If supporting documents are not in English, English translations must be attached.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the JSPS–UNU Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme 2019