Meiji Jingu Japanese Studies Research Scholarships

There are two Meiji Jingu Japanese Studies Research Scholarships available. Each scholarship is valued at £7,000 in total and will be paid to the awardee as a stipend.

Scholarships are for one year only, but it is possible to reapply if an award recipient has demonstrated outstanding potential for research. Please note that this scholarship cannot be held during the Extension of Writing-Up (Continuation) status.

Eligible programmes

Any full-time MPhil/PhD programme where the student will be working on some aspect of Japanese Studies. Part-time programmes are not eligible.

Candidate criteria

• This scholarship is open to Home and Overseas fee status applicants.
• Current PhD students at SOAS and newly enrolling full-time MPhil students with an offer of admission are eligible.  Newly enrolling MPhil students may be given preference.
• Applicant must possess an MA degree from SOAS or an equivalent institution in a relevant subject.
• Candidates must have an offer of admission by the scholarship deadline.
• Applicants (new admissions starting in September 2025) must meet the English language condition of their offer of admission to study at SOAS as soon as possible. If your offer is conditional on English, please arrange your English test and ensure you meet the English requirements as soon as possible.
• Please note that this scholarships does not cover funding or even allow for pre-sessional courses. 

Candidate assessment

MPhil candidates will be assessed on academic merit and the strength of their proposal. PhD candidates will be assessed on academic merit, the results of their research during the previous year and proposal.

All candidates will be assessed based on their skill in Japanese in the areas of reading, composition and speaking, as outlined by references and other information provided in your application.

Some consideration will be given to financial need. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

New applicants only (new admissions starting in September 2025): You must also submit a complete application to your programme as soon as possible and then submit an application for the scholarship. Please note that complete applications for admission can take 4 weeks to be considered by the Department, although this duration can vary depending on the time of year.  You should be prepared to wait up to 6 weeks in busy periods.

Notification of results

The scholarship shortlisting and awarding period is expected to be completed by the end of March 2026, at the earliest. Successful candidates will be contacted first, and once all awards have been allocated, the unsuccessful candidates will be notified.  

Should no suitable candidates be nominated by the panel, this award may reopen for applications in April 2026. Please check this webpage for updates during this period to confirm whether the award is open for applications or contact the Scholarships Team at scholarships@soas.ac.uk