StudyDesk Scholarships
About the scholarship
The Asian Development Bank–Japan Scholarship Program (ADB-JSP), funded by the Government of Japan and administered by the ADB, sends outstanding students from developing Asia and the Pacific to designated institutions across the region. At the University of Tokyo, one of those designated institutions, the scholarship is administered school by school — and the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences (GSFS) runs the route covered here, with its Autumn 2027 intake guidelines updated in September 2026.
The award is fully funded: full tuition fees, a monthly subsistence allowance including housing, a books and instructional-materials allowance, medical insurance and travel expenses, with thesis-preparation research grants and (in special cases) preparatory courses also possible. ADB-JSP scholars join GSFS departments spanning environmental studies, ocean technology and policy, environment systems, human and engineered environmental studies, socio-cultural environment studies, international studies, and the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science.
Eligibility
- Be a national of an ADB borrowing member country eligible for Japanese ODA.
- Be 35 or younger at the time of application (GSFS states it cannot nominate anyone over 35).
- Hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent with a superior academic record.
- Have at least two years of full-time professional work experience gained after the degree and related to the field of study (undergraduate research-assistant work does not count).
- Be proficient in oral and written English and in good health.
- Agree to return to and work in the home country for at least two years after completing the programme.
- Not already hold a master’s degree; not hold dual citizenship of a developed country; not be ADB staff/consultants or their close relatives; not be staff of a designated institution; not be living or working outside the home country; not already be enrolled in a graduate degree programme.
- Meet the admission requirements of the chosen GSFS department and pass the university’s preliminary screening (GSFS master’s course only — no doctoral track).
Benefits
- Full tuition fees covered.
- Monthly subsistence allowance including housing (exact amount not published on the official GSFS page).
- Books and instructional-materials allowance, plus medical insurance and travel expenses.
- Possible thesis-preparation research grants and, in special cases, preparatory language or computer courses.
- Study at one of the world’s top-ranked research universities, across GSFS’s environment-focused departments.
Documents required
- The official GSFS ADB-JSP page does not publish a full checklist — the exact documents live in each department’s application guidelines, which you must read.
- The ADB standard set (per corroborating sources): completed ADB-JSP application sheet, academic transcripts and degree certificates, CV, research plan, recommendation letters, passport copy, income/family-income certifications, proof of work experience, and English-proficiency evidence.
How to apply
- Confirm ADB-JSP eligibilityRead the program criteria at adb.org first — nationality, age, work experience and return-home conditions knock many applicants out early.
- Find a prospective supervisorIdentify a faculty member in your target GSFS department whose research matches yours and make contact — the departmental application is the real gateway.
- Complete the departmental application by 10 December 2026Follow your department’s procedures exactly; this is the deadline that matters for the GSFS Autumn 2027 route.
- Wait for preliminary screeningResults are announced in mid-February 2027. If you pass, the university tells you the ADB-JSP application procedure.
- University nomination and ADB screeningUTokyo nominates candidates to ADB in mid-March 2027; ADB conducts its own screening and announces results around May 2027.
- Enrol for Autumn 2027Confirmed scholars complete enrolment procedures and enter Japan by the end of September 2027 — the Autumn semester begins 1 October 2027.
FAQs
No. ADB-JSP applications go only through the designated institution — in this case the University of Tokyo. You apply through the GSFS departmental process; the university nominates candidates to ADB.
No. GSFS offers the master’s course only under this route, and the school states explicitly it cannot nominate anyone over 35 or anyone who already holds a master’s degree.
No. The ADB-JSP covers the scholar only — dependents are not included, so plan accordingly.
Several, each with its own route and deadline. This article covers the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences (deadline 10 December 2026 for Autumn 2027). Other schools — such as the Graduate School of Public Policy — run separate routes; always confirm against that school’s own page.
The GSFS process expects you to identify a prospective faculty supervisor in the target department as part of the departmental application — start that outreach early, not in December.
Verified 24 Oct 2026: k.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/exam/master/foreign_research_students/adb_jsp/ (official UTokyo GSFS page; 2027 Autumn guidelines updated Sep 2026) — deadline 10 Dec 2026, GSFS master’s only, 35-or-under rule, full tuition + monthly subsistence incl. housing + books + medical + travel, scholar-only coverage, nomination route (no direct ADB applications), preliminary screening mid-Feb 2027, UTokyo nomination mid-Mar 2027, ADB results ~May 2027, enter Japan by end Sep 2027 (semester starts 1 Oct 2027), eligible departments list; leapscholar.com + educatenepal.com — benefits/eligibility corroboration (monthly allowance ~JPY 147,000 per secondary sources, not on the official page). Document checklist and monthly amount not published in full on the official JSP page.
