The Tohoku University President Fellowship is a university-internal award given to outstanding international PhD candidates at the time of admission to Tohoku University. The fellowship combines a full tuition waiver with a ¥150,000 monthly living-cost stipend for the full 36-month doctoral duration. As one of Japan's top imperial universities and a global research powerhouse in materials science and applied physics, Tohoku attracts a strong international PhD applicant pool, and this fellowship is awarded only to the top fraction of admitted doctoral students. For the 2027 cycle the fellowship continues its existing structure with selection through the standard admission cycle in autumn 2026.
What the fellowship covers
The fellowship covers two main components: full tuition (worth ¥535,800 per year) and a flat ¥150,000 monthly stipend. Total support per recipient is roughly ¥5.4 million in stipend plus tuition over the 36-month award. The fellowship does not include airfare or dependent allowance, but recipients may receive supplementary research-expense support through the supervising lab depending on the lab's grant funding. The fellowship runs for the standard PhD duration and is not renewable beyond that period.
How selection works
Selection is by recommendation from the graduate school during the standard admission process. There is no separate fellowship application. Outstanding international PhD applicants identified during admission review are nominated by the host graduate school and confirmed by the university president's office. The supervising professor's endorsement is the most important single factor — applicants who have established a strong relationship with a Tohoku professor before applying, with concrete research plans aligned to the lab's direction, are most competitive. To position for fellowship consideration, applicants should secure a clear research-plan agreement with their prospective supervisor before submitting the formal application.
Tohoku's research strengths
Tohoku University is particularly strong in materials science, applied physics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, chemistry, and life sciences. The WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR) is a globally recognized research center with strong international engagement. The Engineering and Information Science graduate schools are major sources of fellowship awards. Applicants in the humanities and pure social sciences are also funded but at lower rates. For engineering doctoral applicants planning to apply to Tohoku, our engineering doctorate Japan real path guide walks through the standard application timeline. Browse all scholarships to compare against alternative funding routes, and see our MEXT scholarship 2027 complete guide for broader strategy.