FrontierLab@OsakaU ---Scientific Empowerment Program for International Students---

Frequently Asked Questions

• Eligibility
  
  
• Program Schedule and Selection of Laboratory
  
  
• Grades, Credits, and Transfer of Credits
  
  
• Accommodation and Scholarship
  
  

  1. Eligibility
  

  Q1. Who are eligible for the Program?
  A1. Any students in science, engineering or other relevant fields, who have completed at least two years of study at universities that share a student exchange agreement with Osaka University, are eligible to apply for the program. Applicants need to be enrolled at their home institution as a full-time student.

  Q2. Can Japanese citizen studying abroad be eligible to apply for the Program?
  A2. Yes, students with Japanese nationality can apply for the Program but they are not eligible to apply for the JASSO scholarship.

  Q3. Should applicants have a certain level of Japanese language proficiency?
  A3. No. FrontierLab@OsakaU requires adequate language proficiency either in English or Japanese. Proficiency equivalent to TOEFL 550 or Level 2 of JLPT is recommended, respectively.

  Q4. Can senior students apply for the program?
  A4. Yes, students who extend graduation from their home university until the end of their study at FrontierLab@OsakaU, or who will enter graduate school of their home university immediately after their completion of bachelor course, are eligible to apply.

  2. Program Schedule and Selection of Laboratory
  

  Q5. When does the Program start and finish?
  A5. Plan 1 Students:
  1 semester (15 weeks) participation:From April to August, or from October to February
  2 semesters (30 weeks) participation: From April to February, or from October to August
  
  Plan 2 Students:Flexible period, although the duration should be more than 3 months and less than 12 months (Please see 2009 calendar on the FrontierLab@OsakaU website)

  Q6. Can applicants select the laboratory affiliation and participate in research that fits their interest?
  A6. Final selection of the laboratory assignment will be done by the program coordinating committee. Applicants will be assigned to a most appropriate laboratory by the committee based on their study plans submitted at the time of application. The selection will be communicated to the home institution with the information of the laboratory.
  However, if participants have preferences or have already been in communication with certain labs/supervisors, they are encouraged to state these facts in their application form.

  3. Grades, Credits, and Transfer of Credits
  

  Q7. What level of achievement is expected at the end of the study period?
  A7. The quality of the final reports expected depends on students’ grades (year), discipline and requirements set by lab supervisors. Some graduate students may submit reports that will be ready to be published in professional journals while others with little previous lab experiences may mostly do assigned work. Students are thus expected to discuss the study plans during their participation in the FrontierLab@OsakaU with their supervisors at the beginning of their stay.

  Q8. Can participants take classes other than the courses provided by FrontierLab@OsakaU?

  A8. Yes,

  Plan 1 students will be eligible to register the following course options.
  
  (1) International Exchange Subjects (lectures in English): 2 credits per class/semester
  (2) Japanese language classes (within International Exchange Subjects): 3 credits per course/semester (1 course = 3 classes per week)
  (3) Regular courses offered in Japanese or English
  In addition, various extracurricular Japanese language classes are offered to Plan 1 and Plan 2 students for free of charge.

  Q9. Are those credits transferrable?
  A9. The credit transfer will depend on the evaluation and decision of the applicants’ home university.

  4. Accommodation and Scholarship
  

  Q10. Do participants have to share a room with others? Does accommodation fee include breakfast?
  A10. FrontierLab@OsakaU students will have an option to stay at JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Osaka facility located in the close proximity of the university’s Suita Campus at preferential price. Rooms at JICA Osaka International Center are for one person and the monthly fee is around 40,000 yen with a daily breakfast, weekly clean-up and linen change services.

  Q11. Who are eligible to receive the JASSO scholarship?
  A11. Students of FrontierLab@OsakaU from institutions sharing a student exchange agreement with Osaka University, who have a 2.3 or above GPA (calculated based on JASSO method; see FrontierLab@OsakaU website ) are eligible to apply for the JASSO scholarship.

  Q12. How are applicants selected for the JASSO scholarship?
  A12. Osaka University’s selection committee reviews all the applications and makes a short list of scholarship applicants to JASSO, where the final selection and decisions are made, based on students’ academic records and their study plans. Osaka University makes utmost efforts in securing as many scholarship opportunities as possible, although it may not secure scholarship to every participant.