Admissions & Aid

Yokohama National University is recruiting Chinese students who want to enter its graduate schools in October 2025 or April 2026 as doctoral students (Doctoral Students) or who want to arrive in Japan between October 2025 and the end of March 2026 and enter its graduate schools as special research doctoral students (Co-supervised Doctoral Study Students) under the CSC-YNU Joint Scholarship Program which is based on the Chinese Government Graduate Student Overseas Study Program.
Based on the Memorandum of Understanding between the China Scholarship Council (CSC) and YNU signed in July 2019, this recruitment is conducted collaboratively by YNU and CSC, and the short-listed applicants who pass the screening conducted by YNU will be recommended to the CSC.
YNU also accepts Chinese researchers under the scholarship program. For those who would like to conduct research at YNU as visiting research fellows (Visiting Fellows / Postdoctoral Fellows), please follow the instructions below.

Doctoral Students

Graduate Schools and Programs Recruiting Students and Quota for Admission

• ※For the International Ph.D. Program in Economics of the Department of Economics , only those who have applied to the program (Application period: October 15- November 5, 2024) can apply for the Chinese Government Graduate Student Overseas Study Program. The Doctoral Program in Japanese Management of the Department of Business Administration and the Doctoral Program in Transnational Law and Policy of the Department of International Business Law do not admit students under the Chinese Government Graduate Student Overseas Study Program as they currently recruit students through different admission procedures.

Application Eligibility

To be eligible, applicants must have Chinese citizenship and be eligible to apply for the Chinese Government Graduate Student Overseas Study Program set by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) as well as meet all the following requirements:

1. Having completed a master's program and earned a master's degree or being expected to have completed a master's program and earned a master's degree at any of the universities that have entered into an academic exchange agreement with YNU (including department-level agreements) or those designated as the “Project 211” institutions before their admission to YNU, or having completed a master's program and earned a master's degree or being expected to have completed a master's program and earned a master's degree at YNU, or having been admitted to YNU as a doctoral student after April 2024 and being enrolled as a first-year doctoral student at YNU.
2. Having demonstrated excellent academic achievement with a grade point average of 2.30 (out of 3.00) or above in a master’s program and being expected to maintain the equivalent level during their enrollment at YNU.
3. Being proficient in Japanese or English language and meet one of the following conditions:
   (1) Having passed N2 or N1 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) or have obtained an English language proficiency test score that is equivalent to CEFR level B2 or higher.
   (2) Having been awarded or expect to be awarded by the time of enrollment a master’s degree from an institution where the medium of instruction was in Japanese or English.
   (3) Judged by YNU, possessing a level of proficiency in either Japanese or English equivalent to that stated in (1).
4. Intending to earn a doctoral degree within 48 months of their admission to Yokohama National University YNU as a doctoral student.
5. Having asked the academic advisor of their choice about research details, acceptance conditions and the like, and having obtained permission to apply and the Conditional Acceptance Form before submitting their application.

Application Procedures

1. Check application qualification and conditions
   With reference to the Application Guidelines and Academic Performance Entry Sheet, applicants must first check whether their grade point average is 2.30 (out of 3.00) or above in a master’s program as well as whether they satisfy other qualifications and conditions.
2. Find a prospective academic advisor
   If applicants can confirm that they satisfy all the conditions, they must prepare the necessary documents and contact the prospective academic advisor of their choice, consult with him/her about their research details, acceptance conditions and the like, and obtain the Conditional Acceptance Form. The List of Faculty Members is useful to find a prospective academic advisor.
3. Submit application documents
   Applicants must submit the necessary documents by uploading them from this page between Monday, 13 January 2025 and Tuesday, 28 January 2025 (Japanese Standard Time).

Application Guidelines

For details, please refer to the “Application Guidelines” carefully.

Application Documents

Note: Although the documents need not be originals at the time of application, if the successful applicants who pass the screening conducted by the CSC, they must submit the originals, or the certified true copies issued by public institutions such as their university (of those marked by * below).

●Conditional Acceptance Form (Template format by PDF or JPEG *)

1. Application Form (Template format by Excel *) and copy of passport (by PDF or JPEG)
2. Field of Study and Research Plan [Research Proposal] (Template format by Word)
3. Academic transcripts for all academic year of university attended (by PDF or JPEG *)
4. Academic Performance Entry Sheet (Template format by Excel)
5. Certificate of graduation or completion or degree certificate of the university attended (by PDF or JPEG *)
6. Document that certifies that the applicant is ranked top 10% or 30% in the department of the graduate school attended (If any, by PDF or JPEG *)
7. Official Recommendation letter from a high-ranking person (such as Dean or Director) at the current or last graduate school attended (by PDF or JPEG *)
8. Abstract of thesis (if any, by PDF)
9. Documents that demonstrate the linguistic ability of the applicant which meets one of the conditions (PDF or JPEG *)

Notice of Screening Results

Applicants will be notified of their results by email on Thursday, February 27, 2025. If they pass the screening, the “Letter of Conditional Acceptance” will be issued to them as a short-listed applicant. The short-listed applicant will be considered as a successful applicant if he/she has passed the screening conducted by the CSC, and has emailed a copy of and posted the original of the certificate of approval issued by the CSC (both in Chinese and English) to the International Admissions Office together with the originals or the certified true copies of the application documents.

Application Fee, Admission Fee, and Tuition Fee

Applicants do not need to pay an application fee. Successful applicants are exempt from admission and tuition fees. Note that if their academic performance is significantly poor after their admission, they may not be exempt from their tuition fee.

Co-supervised Doctoral Study Students

Graduate Schools and Programs Recruiting Students and Quota for Admission

Application Eligibility

To be eligible, applicants must have Chinese citizenship and be eligible to apply for the Chinese Government Graduate Student Overseas Study Program set by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) as well as meet all the following requirements:

1. Being enrolled as a doctoral student at any of the universities that have a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on student exchange with YNU under which students can attend YNU without paying additional tuition, or at any of the universities that were designated as the “Project 211” institutions.
2. Having demonstrated excellent academic achievement with a grade point average of 2.30 (out of 3.00) or above in a master’s program.
3. Being proficient in Japanese or English language and meet one of the following conditions:
   (1) Having passed N2 or N1 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) or have obtained an English language proficiency test score that is equivalent to CEFR level B2 or higher.
   (2) Having been awarded a master’s degree from an institution where the medium of instruction was in Japanese or English.
   (3) Judged by YNU, possessing a level of proficiency in either Japanese or English equivalent to that stated in (1).
4. Intending to receive research advice by the academic advisor of YNU between 6 and 24 months of their admission to YNU as a special research doctoral student.
5. Having asked the academic advisor of their choice about research details, length of research period, acceptance conditions and the like, and having obtained permission to apply and the Conditional Acceptance Form before submitting their application.

Application Procedures

1. Check application qualification and conditions
   With reference to the Application Guidelines and Academic Performance Entry Sheet, applicants must first check whether their grade point average is 2.30 (out of 3.00) or above in a master’s program as well as whether they satisfy other qualifications and conditions.
2. Find a prospective academic advisor
   If applicants can confirm that they satisfy all the conditions, they must prepare the necessary documents and contact the prospective academic advisor of their choice, consult with him/her about their research details, length of research period, acceptance conditions and the like, and obtain the Conditional Acceptance Form. The List of Faculty Members is useful to find a prospective academic advisor.
3. Submit application documents
   Applicants must submit the necessary documents by uploading them from this page between Monday, 15 January 2024 and Tuesday, 30 January 2024 (Japanese Standard Time).

Application Guidelines

For details, please refer to the “Application Guidelines” carefully.

Application Documents

Note: Although the documents need not be originals at the time of application, if the successful applicants who pass the screening conducted by the CSC, they must submit the originals, or the certified true copies issued by public institutions such as their university (of those marked by * below).

●Conditional Acceptance Form (Template format by PDF or JPEG *)

1. Application Form (Template format by Excel *) and copy of passport (by PDF or JPEG)
2. Field of Study and Research Plan [Research Proposal] (Template format by Word)
3. Academic transcripts for all academic year of university attended (by PDF or JPEG *)
4. Academic Performance Entry Sheet (Template format by Excel)
5. Certificate of graduation or completion or degree certificate of the university attended (by PDF or JPEG *)
6. Document that certifies that the applicant is ranked top 10% or 30% in the department of the graduate school attended (If any, by PDF or JPEG *)
7. Official Recommendation letter from a high-ranking person (such as Dean or Director) at the current graduate school attended (by PDF or JPEG *)
8. Abstract of thesis (if any, by PDF)
9. Documents that demonstrate the linguistic ability of the applicant which meets one of the conditions (PDF or JPEG *)

Notice of Screening Results

Applicants will be notified of their results by email on Thursday, February 27, 2025. If they pass the screening, the “Letter of Conditional Acceptance” will be issued to them as a short-listed applicant. The short-listed applicant will be considered as a successful applicant if he/she has passed the screening conducted by the CSC, and has emailed a copy of and posted the original of the certificate of approval issued by the CSC (both in Chinese and English) to the International Admissions Office together with the originals or the certified true copies of the application documents.

Application Fee, Admission Fee, and Tuition Fee

Applicants do not need to pay an application fee. Successful applicants do not need to pay admission and tuition fee.

Visiting Fellows / Postdoctoral Fellows

Yokohama National University is accepting Chinese researchers who want to conduct research at YNU as visiting research fellows (Visiting Fellows or Postdoctoral Fellows). The research period is 3-12 months for Visiting Fellows and 6-24 months for Postdoctoral Fellows.