* Important notice regarding the entrance examination conducted in the summer of FY2023
* Notice regarding the English proficiency evaluation for the entrance examination conducted in the summer of FY2023
General Admission is the most basic type of entrance to 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 admission 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
Academic Services Division, General Affairs and Project Section
National Institute of Genetics
1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540 JAPAN
Email: info-soken@nig.ac.jp
Our entrance examination is held in 2 days, composed of a written test (held on the first day) and an interview (held on the second day). The written test is for 3 hours and evaluates basic abilities necessary for being a researcher, such as thinking and logic. The official languages of the entrance exam are English and Japanese. You may use either language for the written test as well as the interview. Our program does not give a test of English language ability, but requires applicants to submit their TOEFL-iBT, TOEIC, or IELTS (Academic Module) scores. For more details on English evaluation, please see the following link.
Important announcement regarding evaluation of English language ability
The interview lasts 30 minutes for each applicant, and is attended by all the faculty of the Genetics Program. First, you will make a five-minute presentation on either your past research or a future research proposal. The following Q&A session on the content of your presentation, written test, and proposed research will be an opportunity for the faculty to discover your qualities that were not adequately expressed in the written test or in your presentation. If we see that you possess outstanding abilities, the interview may end in less than 30 minutes.
Please refer to a notice mailed before the examination day for the detailed schedule of the entrance examination.
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 have two application opportunities whether entering in April or in October, the criteria for both exam periods are the same.
Past exams are available as a study aid.