Special Collaborative Research Students

Application Guidelines for NIG Special Collaborative Research Students 2026

National Institute of Genetics (NIG) serves as a core institute of life science for promotion of collaboration among researchers and education of graduate students. NIG accepts a graduate student from another university as a “research student” in accordance with the following guidelines. A graduate student studying various aspect of genetics or related academic field will be a subject to this program. A research student will receive guidance from NIG faculty on a specific research subject for a certain period of time upon request from a head of his/her home graduate school.

1. Number of Students to be accepted

A few students will be accepted in each department/center.

2. Eligible Applicants

A student enrolled in the master’s or doctoral course at domestic or overseas universities and studying genetics or related academic field is eligible to apply.

3. Host Faculty and Research Outline

Please refer to the Research Outline. A supervisor of the applicant is requested to consult with prospective NIG faculty member before applying. (An application without prior consultation with NIG faculty member is not acceptable.)

4. Acceptance Period

As a general rule, acceptance period is one year or less, starting from April 1st,2026. Different start date is acceptable when it is deemed to be necessary. In that case, the acceptance period is one year or less from the permitted start date. Please contact with research promotion team before applying.
Acceptance period can be extended upon request. Those who wish to extend the period are requested to submit an application at least a month before the original completion date.
Note that students in the master’s course are not allowed to stay more than one year in total.

5. Documents to be submitted

– Application Form for Special Collaborative Research Students (Form No. 1)

– Curriculum Vitae (to be filled out by the student) (Form No. 2)

• Guidelines (PDF)
• Research Outline (PDF)
• Application Form (Form No.1) (Word)
• Curriculum Vitae (Form No.2) (Word)

6. Submission Deadline

Application documents must arrive by Friday, February 27th, 2026
In case of application for different start date, it must arrive one month prior to the preferred start date.

7. Admission Decision

Admission decision will be made by the Director-General of NIG based on the documents submitted and the result will be announced to a head of applicant’s home graduate school.

8. Fees

No fees (application fee, admission fee or tuition fee) shall be collected from research students.

9. Termination of Research Guidance

A certificate of completion will be issued to those students who have completed prescribed research guidance and a completion notification letter will be sent to a head of their home graduate school.

10. Treatment

(1) When host PI finds it to be necessary, research students are allowed to access and use NIG facilities after obtaining approval from the relevant authority.

(2) Special Collaborative Research Students are eligible to apply for a “Research Assistant (RA)” position to engage in research activities of their host faculty member. In order to be employed as an RA, applicants have to be reviewed and accepted by the NIG Working Group based on the administration policy specified separately.

11. Others

(1) If a student wish to cancel the research guidance due to illness or other unavoidable reason, a head of his/her home graduate school must submit “Cancellation Request for Research Guidance for Research Student” (Form No. 3) to NIG Research Promotion Team. In this case, a certificate of completion will not be issued.

(2) NIG does not offer any accident compensation insurance to students. It is strongly recommended for Japanese students to purchase the following student insurance through their home university. Foreign students need to purchase accident compensation insurance in their own country.

[Reference]
Japan Educational Exchanges and Services

(3) NIG does not involve approval of credits, thesis examination and degree conferment of the graduate students who are accepted as “Research Student”. Those procedures must be done at their home graduate school.

(4) Applicant’s personal information acquired from the application will be used solely for the purpose of selection and retained for a certain period in accordance with ROIS Document Management Regulations and then disposed responsibly.

12. Submission and Inquiries to:

【List of Forms】