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Master's Degree Program

Table of Contents

Applicant Eligibility
Recruitment Seminar
How to Apply
Selection Procedure
Tips for Selection

1. Applicant Eligibility

Nationality	Citizens of Mongolia
Age	Between 25 and 45 years old (inclusive) as of April 1 in 2027 (Born on/after April 2, 1982 and born on/before April 1, 2002)
Academic Background	Possess a Bachelor's Degree from universities authorized by the Government of Mongolia or other countries.
Job Category	Currentry employed with permanent status as: Core Civil Servants (Administrative service <TZ> / Special service <TT>) working for the organizations listed in Annex 1 Officers of Bank of Mongolia / Development Bank of Mongolia
Work Experience	Have at least two (2) years of full-time work experience as a Civil Servant (Administrative Service <TZ> / Special Service <TT>) or as an officer of the Bank of Mongolia / Development Bank of Mongolia as of the time of application.
Language Proficiency	Have a good command of both written and spoken English for postgraduate study in Japan. TOEFL iBT 60 (ITP 500), IELTS 5.5 or above is preferable. (not required) Any level of Japanese language skill is preferable. (not required)
Health Condition	In good mental and physical health. Candidates who cannot take all the checkup items at the health check-up of JDS selection will be disqualified.
Ineligibility	A person who falls under the followings is NOT eligible to apply Has been currently awarded or scheduled to receive other scholarship. Has obtained a Master's Degree or higher under the support of foreign assistance. Military personnel registered on the active list, person on alternative military service, and personnel on temporary leave from the active list.
Others	Applicants must not apply concurrently for any JICA Long-Term Training Program. Candidates who attend the final selection are required to submit "Final Check Form" from belonging organization that assures of reinstatement of the candidates to the former position upon returning to Mongolia. Successful candidates are required to submit a "Pledge" & "Confirmation Letter" on the conditions deemed necessary as scholarship participants under the JDS Project. JDS Fellows must understand the objective of JDS Project well and should have a strong willingness to work for the development of Mongolia after their return. JDS Fellows are obliged to return and work within Mongolia at least two and a half (2.5) years in their belonging organizations in order to make a contribution to the development of Mongolia through their work, complying with the Act of Pledge required by the Cabinet Secretariat of Government.

2. Recruitment Seminar

Recruitment Seminars are scheduled to provide more detailed information on JDS Project and how to prepare application documents for prospective applicants.

To participate seminar, Pre-Registration is required. After the registration, the Zoom link / detailed information to join the seminar will be provided.

Date
October 15 (Thu)	12:00 - 13:30	Online (Zoom)	Pre-Registration
October 22 (Thu)	19:00 - 20:30	Venue: Mongolia Japan Center	Pre-Registration
*October 29 (Thu)	19:00 - 20:30	Venue: Mongolia Japan Center	Pre-Registration
*Lecture on How to Write a Research Plan by JDS Graduate			Pre-Registration
November 7 (Sat)	11:00 - 12:30	Online (Zoom)	Pre-Registration
November 12 (Thu)	19:00 - 20:30	Venue: Mongolia Japan Center	Pre-Registration

Promotion Seminar (MN) *Will be provided after November 1st

3. How to Apply

STEP 1

Download the Application Guideline and Application Documents

Download password will be required - fill out a password request form by clicking "Download" below, then you will receive a password from JICE JDS Project Office by email.

Download

A. Application Guideline+Annex 1

B. Application Documents

Short Essay
Research Plan
Reference Letter
(Sample) Employment Certificate

Download

C. Additional Documents for GRIPS applicants

Those who apply for GRIPS is required to download these additional documents. It takes time to obtain/fill out the documents, so please make sure to start preparing them well in advance.

1) Instruction
2) Letter of Recommendation
3) Statement of Purpose

STEP 2

Prepare the required documents

Refer to Application Guidelines, please make sure to prepare all the required documents in appropriate file format and designated forms.

STEP 3

Access the Online Application System

Complete your application by filling out the necessary information and uploading the required documents.

Online Application System

Deadline for Application: 14:00, November 25 (Wed), 2026

* If you cannot access the online application system, or you have any problem filling out the form, please contact JICE JDS Project Office. (

)

* Once you submit your application, you will not be allowed to modify it. Late submission and incomplete application documents shall NOT be accepted.

STEP 4

Receive an E-mail

[Submission Succeeded]

You will receive a confirmation email.

[Submission Failed]

You will receive an error message - please contact JICE JDS Project Office (

) immediately, and make sure to complete your application before the deadline.

4. Selection Procedure

Schedule	Steps	Description
Oct 5 - Nov 25, 2026	Application	Closing Date: 14:00 on November 25 (Wed), 2026 Further details → P6 "Application" Recruitment Seminars will be held. Details are shown on our website.
Early Dec, 2026	Academic aptitude test	TOEFL-ITP and Math tests. The test results will be reviewed by the universities in later selection stages. (IUR-IR applicants will take IELTS exam instead of ITP) ※Only IUJ-IR and GRIPS applicants must book and take TOEFL iBT or IELTS on their own instead of ITP and submit original score to JICE by the deadline.
Mid of Dec, 2026 - Early Jan, 2027	1st Selection	Document Screening: Application Documents and research plan will be examined by the Japanese universities.
Mid of Jan - Early March 2027	English Training	50 hours of English training course will be provided to candidates who passed the 1st selection . The attendance and the results of the training will be reviewed by the interviewers in later selection stages.
Feb, 2027	Health Checkup	The health checkup will be arranged at a hospital in Ulaanbaatar.
Early Mar, 2027	2nd Selection	Technical Interview: Faculty members of the Japanese Universities will visit to Ulaanbaatar to conduct their interview exams.
End of Mar, 2027	3rd Selection	Comprehensive Interview: The JDS Operating Committee (OC) members will conduct their interview exams. "Final Check Form" will be required².
End of Mar, 2027	Approval by the OC	Successful candidates will be approved and notified.
Apr, 2027	Admission Procedure	JICE will support application for each university.
Apr - Jun, 2027	Japanese Training	All successful candidates must attend a Japanese training course.
Jun - Aug, 2027	Orientations	Provided by JICA and JICE.
Aug, 2027	Departure for Japan	JICE will arrange air-ticket, visa, and support after the arrival in Japan.

¹Participation is not mandatory for candidates with TOEFL iBT 60 (ITP 500), IELTS 5.5 or above.

² Candidates who have passed the 2nd selection will be required to submit a "Final Check Form" before undergoing the final selection. At this selection stage, those candidates are close to reaching an acceptable level once they pass the final selection. Therefore, "Final Check Form" is a kind of preliminary confirmation-letter to confirm if their workplace can release the candidates from their work duties keeping their positions in the workplaces while they study in Japan for 2 years.

All the selection costs will be covered by JDS project.
Limited transportation allowance will be provided to candidates coming from provincial areas for the selections.
The result of 1st Selection will be announced to successful candidates only. From 2nd Selection, the result of selection will be announced to all candidates by JICE JDS Project Office.
In principle, reasons of the selection results will not be disclosed.

5. Tips for Selection:

(1) Research Plan

In the JDS selections, each candidate will be evaluated on her/his academic abilities enough to pursue the master program in Japan as well as the potential of the future contribution to the country. Thus, it is highly recommended to explain that the objective of your research plan be in connection with the development issues under applying Component, and to rationalize how the study will be addressed in accordance with the career path, corresponding to the current position and responsibility in the belonging organization.
It is also recommended to learn about your applying university to make sure if the curriculums of the university and fields of specialization of faculty members are relevant to your research.
Remember that plagiarizing from somebody's work or websites is strongly prohibited.

How to write a research plan (EN) [27 min]

Tips for the selection (EN) [20 min]

Please refer to P7 'Tips on Application and Selection (Reference)' and 'Guideline for Writing a Research Plan' in the Application Guideline for more information.

2) English & Math Exam

Every qualified applicant except for those who have qualified English scores will be required to take English proficiency test (TOEFL-ITP) as well as math test in Ulaanbaatar in November 2026. (IUJ-IR and GRIPS applicants will take IELTS exam instead of TOEFL-ITP)

TOEFL-ITP consists of 3 parts with 'Listening Comprehension (50 questions)' for about 35 minutes, 'Structure and Written Expression (40 questions)' for 25 minutes, and 'Reading Comprehension (50 questions)' for 55 minutes.
- Sample questions from the link Preparation I The TOEFL ITP Assessment Series (ets.org)
IELTS consists of consists of 4 parts with 'Listening Comprehension (40 items)' for about 30 minutes, 'Academic Writing (2 tasks)' for 60 minutes, 'Academic Reading (40 items)' for 60 minutes, and Speaking (3 parts, face to face with an Examiner) for 11-14 minutes.
Math test of around 60 minutes consists of Arithmetic operations, Solving fractions, Equations, Inequality, Matrix, Basic quadratic functions, Basic operations of exponential and logarithmic functions, Basic Integral and Differentiation, etc.
- Past Math test sample can be also downloaded here.

The English and Math test results will be reviewed by the universities in the selection stages. Universities may require the applicants to have good command of English skill (TOEFL iBT 60 (ITP500), IELTS 5.5 or higher is preferable (not required)) and numeracy skills. Please be well prepared for the exams.

Go to "Application" page