StudyDesk Scholarships
About the scholarship
The INPEX Scholarship Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Japanese energy company INPEX, funds master’s study in Japan for students from just three countries — Indonesia, Australia and the United Arab Emirates — reflecting the company’s operating footprint. What makes the program unusual is its pre-departure recruitment model: unlike most Japan scholarships that target students already enrolled in Japan, INPEX selects scholars while they are still overseas, so you have full funding certainty before you ever leave home.
The support is fully funded in the real sense: examination, entrance and tuition fees paid in full, a JPY 160,000 monthly living stipend, a JPY 60,000 settling-in grant on arrival, economy round-trip airfare, and financial help for pre-departure Japanese-language preparation — for up to 2 years and 8 months. You may study at any accredited Japanese public or private graduate university, including the top national institutions.
Eligibility
- Be a citizen of Indonesia, Australia or the United Arab Emirates — no other nationalities are eligible, regardless of academic qualifications.
- Be under 30 years of age at the time of application.
- Hold a bachelor’s degree with a GPA of at least 3.0/4.0 (Australian applicants: 3.0/4.0 or 5.25/7.0) from a major recognized university.
- Indonesian applicants: degree and proposed master’s must be in Natural Sciences (STEM). Australian and UAE applicants: any field across Natural Sciences, Social Sciences or Humanities — clinical medical degrees excluded.
- Hold a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from a prospective Japanese graduate school or professor at the time of application — this is mandatory, not something gathered later.
Benefits
- Complete tuition, entrance and examination fees paid.
- JPY 160,000 per month for living expenses.
- JPY 60,000 settling-in grant disbursed on arrival in Japan.
- Round-trip economy airfare between the scholar’s home country and Japan.
- Financial assistance for pre-departure Japanese-language preparation.
- Study at any accredited Japanese public or private graduate university.
- Pre-arrival recruitment model — scholars plan the move with full funding certainty before departing.
Documents required
- Completed country-specific 2027 application form — typed in English; handwritten forms are not accepted.
- Degree certificate and official academic transcript.
- Valid passport copy.
- CV or résumé.
- Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from the prospective Japanese professor — compulsory at submission.
- Other supporting documents specified in the country-specific 2027 guidelines (e.g. recommendation letters, study plan, English test scores for Indonesian and UAE applicants, ID photo).
How to apply
- Start with the professor, not the paperworkThe LOA is the real bottleneck. Research Japanese graduate schools and faculty pages, and email professors whose published research overlaps with your proposed study — a short, specific message with your CV and research proposal. Generic requests rarely get replies. Begin months before the window, not weeks.
- Download your country’s 2027 guidelines and formGet the 2027 Scholarship Application Guidelines and the application form for Indonesia, Australia or the UAE from the INPEX Scholarship Foundation website.
- Secure the Letter of AcceptanceConfirm a specific prospective supervisor agrees to accept you if the university admits you. Some professors want a video call before agreeing — budget time for this.
- Prepare the remaining documentsType everything in English (with simple English translations/outlines for documents in other languages), and keep attachments under 20 MB per email — split across multiple emails if needed. Cloud-storage links such as Google Drive or OneDrive are not permitted.
- Submit by 31 October 2026, 23:59 Tokyo timeSend the complete package by email to the Foundation (subject line “2027 Scholarship Application (Name)”) or per your country’s instructions. If no acknowledgment email arrives, contact the Foundation to confirm receipt.
FAQs
Only citizens of Indonesia, Australia and the UAE. If you do not hold one of those nationalities, the program is not available to you regardless of academic qualifications.
It is a written statement from a specific prospective supervisor at your target Japanese university confirming they will accept you if the university admits you. You must secure this yourself through direct outreach before you can submit — it is the compulsory first step, not a supporting document collected along the way.
Indonesian applicants must propose a master’s in a Natural Science (STEM) field. Australian and UAE applicants may choose any field across Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities. Clinical medical degrees are excluded.
The 2027 guidelines were released on 1 July 2026 and the application window ran 1 August to 31 October 2026. Because the LOA depends on professor outreach, successful applicants typically started contacting supervisors in July or August. Final recipients are notified by the end of March 2027.
Unlike most Japan scholarships that target students already enrolled in Japan, INPEX recruits overseas residents before departure, so you have full funding certainty before you ever leave home. There is also a separate outbound track for Japanese citizens wishing to study or research in Indonesia, Australia or the UAE.
Verified 23 Oct 2026: inpex-s.com (official Foundation site; 2027 application form PDF at inpex-s.com/pdf/APPLICATION_FORM_FOR_SCHOLARSHIPS_EN_2027.pdf) — 2027 guidelines, country-specific forms, LOA mandatory, typed-in-English rule, 20 MB/email cap, no cloud links; daadscholarship.com + scholarpositions.com + gradualin.com + opportunityportal.info — deadline 31 Oct 2026 (23:59 JST), window 1 Aug–31 Oct 2026, guidelines released 1 Jul 2026, JPY 160,000/month, JPY 60,000 settling-in, full fees, round-trip airfare, up to 2 yrs 8 months, Indonesia/Australia/UAE only, <30, GPA ≥3.0/4.0 (5.25/7.0 AU), Indonesian STEM-only, email isf-foundation@inpex.com with subject “2027 Scholarship Application (Name)”, decisions by end Mar 2027.
