Application

General Admission is the most basic type of entrance into the Genetics Program, SOKENDAI. It is open to every applicant, regardless of nationality or place of residence. There are two enrollment periods per year: April and October. The admissions process starts with submission of an application package, including your CV, transcripts, a summary of your past research, and an outline of your proposed research at NIG. Then the Genetics Program conducts an entrance examination. There are two examinations held per year, each of which may be taken by students planning to enroll in either of the two enrollment periods following that examination. The summer examination may be taken by students for the upcoming October or April enrollments, and the winter examination may be taken by students for the upcoming April or October enrollments.
Please see “Schedule of Admissions” for details:
 https://www.nig.ac.jp/nig/phd-program/admissions-top/admissions/schedule-of-admissions

 Application Guidelines  * Application Guidelines will become available around May 2025.

Designated forms and envelopes are attached to the Application Guidelines booklet (hard copy). Please send a request to the Academic Services Division, General Affairs and Project Section by E-mail to obtain a copy of the Application Guidelines booklet.

Some of the designated forms attached to the booklet of Application Guidelines (hard copy) can be downloaded and filled out electronically.
When submitting the application documents, please print out the electronically completed forms (please do not fill them in by hand) and send them via postal mail along with the other designated forms which are available only from the Application Guidelines booklet.

Academic Services Division, General Affairs and Project Section
National Institute of Genetics
1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540 JAPAN
Email: 

Entrance Examination

The entrance examination for the Genetics Program is held over 2 days and is composed of a written exam (held on the first day) and an oral exam (held on the second day). Both the written and oral portions of the entrance examination shall be conducted remotely via the Internet. Please refer to the notification that will be posted prior to the examination for details on the schedule and how the examination will be conducted.

Written Exam (on the first day)
Applicants take exam at home or equivalent location.
Applicants receive a question sheet and an answer sheet as a password-locked electronic file via email prior to the day of the examination. On the exam day, applicants will be notified of the password at the starting time of the exam and must complete the exam within 3 hours. Answers may be entered directly into the electronic file (Microsoft Word or pdf), handwritten on a printed copy of the answer sheet, or a combination of the two.
After the 3 hours have concluded (the end of the written exam), applicants must submit their completed answer sheets by email within 20 minutes. (Handwritten answer sheets should first be scanned or otherwise converted to an electronic file).

Oral Exam (on the second day)
Applicants participate from home or equivalent location. The oral exam will be conducted online via either Zoom or WebEx and is attended by all faculty.
For the first 5 minutes, the applicant makes a presentation summarizing either their past research or a future research proposal, followed by a Q&A session on the applicant’s presentation, written exam, and proposed research. A total of 30 minutes is allotted for each applicant interview.
Applicants will prepare and submit in advance a 1 page (A4) document of resource text and/or graphics for faculty to refer to during the initial 5-minute presentation. (Refer to the notification that will be posted prior to the examination for submission deadline and other details.)

Please prepare an environment where you can use the Internet; receive and view the written exam question sheet (electronic file); complete and submit the written exam answer sheet (electronic file); and attend a Zoom or Webex web meeting (the meeting room URL will be informed in advance).
When taking the examination at a location other than your home, you must secure an environment where the contents of the examination cannot be known to anyone but yourself.
Please inform us ahead of time of the location where you will take the examination.
Connection tests will be conducted in advance. Please inform us of an email address and telephone number where we will be able to contact you at any time on the previous day and the day of the examination in case of any connection issues.

Admission Decision

The results of your examinations are determined by joint consultation of the faculty members who attended the examination. First, each faculty member evaluates your aptitude as a researcher based on the application forms, written test, and the interview. All faculty members get together and discuss “whether or not the applicant is likely to develop into a researcher who can successfully carry out a research project and write a doctoral thesis in the time frame of the doctoral course”. This is an absolute evaluation, rather than a relative one; therefore we usually admit more students than the official quota. All faculty members participate in the admission process because the Genetics Program has a policy that all faculty should be involved in the education of each student. While students may apply to enroll in either April or in October, the criteria for both exam periods are the same.

Past Exams

Past exams are available as a study aid.