SCHOLARSHIP FAQ
Scholarship Eligibility
At this time, the following situations are eligible to apply for a Friends of UTokyo Scholarship.
- A student attending a university in the US (does not include online or international satellite campuses) wishing to participate in a short-term summer program or internship at University of Tokyo.
- A student attending the University of Tokyo wishing to participate in a short-term summer program or internship at a university in the US.
- A current student or alumni of the University of Tokyo* wishing to study at a university in the US for 1 semester/2 quarters or longer.
* A very small number of current students of a university in Japan other than UTokyo wishing to study at a university in the US for 1 semester/2 quarters or longer may also be eligible.
FUTI does not assist in the planning or admission process to any academic institution or program. For details on UTokyo's programs, please visit the University of Tokyo website.
FUTI Global Leadership Award
FUTI’s Global Leadership Award (a.k.a. the “FUTI Scholarship for Short-Term Studies”) Program has been established to encourage students of the University of Tokyo (abbreviated as UTokyo) and U.S. universities to acquire experiences that will help them grow into global leaders in their chosen fields.
In making an award decision, we evaluate an applicant’s intellectual capacity, his/her communication skills, and extracurricular achievements. FUTI regards strong leadership in the curricular or extracurricular activities as important as the academic performance.
An essay written in English is your opportunity to demonstrate your ability to express ideas in your own words. State clearly your career objectives and contributions you aspire to make. Explain how the proposed summer program would help you achieve your goals.
From a recommendation letter, we wish to assess your academic standing among your peers and infer your personality and character.
It is hoped that our awardees will contribute to the exchange of new ideas and the development of genuine understanding between Japan and the rest of the world. We seek to identify students who demonstrate leadership potential.
Mid- to Long-Term Scholarship
What are described above regarding the FUTI Global Leadership Award also apply for the Mid- to Long-Term Scholarships. But also refer to [Selection Criteria for the Scholarship] on the Mid- to Long-Term Scholarship page.
FUTI Global Leadership Award
We are aware that UTokyo’s Exchange Program now allows a UTokyo student to apply for as many as three summer programs. FUTI will respond to such applications accordingly, but our application system is a web-based online system, so the procedure is different from UTokyo’s. An applicant must submit an application to each category and each program even within the same category. For instance, you may wish to apply for an IARU-GSP at Yale (Category A), an English Language Course at UC Berkeley (Category B), and another summer program in the U.S. that you have found by yourself (Category C). Indicate which program is your first choice, second choice, and third choice, by completing the relevant field in FUTI’s online application system. Needless to say, you must be selected by the summer program in order to receive a FUTI award.
Mid- to Long-Term Scholarship
In case you apply for this scholarship before a decision is made on the host university and its department/course, you can indicate your top three candidates and select their priorities on the FUTI online application form. A typical response from FUTI may be: “The scholarship will be granted if you are admitted to any one of the three candidates” or “The scholarship will be granted only if you are admitted to the first choice candidate.”
Scholarship Application Material
Approximately 10 days after you have taken a TOEFLI iBT test, you will receive an email, letting you know when your scores will be available. You can log in to your TOEFL iBT account on theTOEFL® Registration website and click “View Scores” on your home page to see your scores. See for details: http://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/scores/get (or http://www.ets.org/jp/toefl/ibt/scores/get/ in Japanese)
If you have a TOEIC or IELTS score already, you may submit it in lieu of a TOEFL, but Yale or UC Berkeley may not accept TOEIC for their IARU-GSP programs.