1. Applicant Eligibility

1. Have a citizenship of the Republic of Tajikistan
2. Be a Fellow returned from Japan (who completed a Master's course at University in Japan）
3. Be under the age of 45 as of July 31st, 2025 (Born on/after August 1st, 1980)
4. Have returned to and served for the Republic of Tajikistan more than 1 year and 8 months at
   the JDS target organizations as of 31st July, 2025 after completion of Master's course in Japan
5. Belong to the Target Organizations 2024 of JDS Project in the Republic of Tajikistan
6. Have published at least one peer-reviewed article
   (published in recognized academic journals)
7. Receive a recommendation from the supervisor of his/her current duty office.
   (Reference Letter should contain evaluation of applicant's performance at work
   and relevance of his/her research theme to his/her career.)
8. Have a recommendation from the expected academic adviser(s) of the applying university
   (Submission of a draft academic guidance outline or a supervisory plan is desirable.)
9. Not have obtained any Doctor's degree overseas under other foreign government scholarship programs
10. Not be currently awarded or to be awarded a scholarship from other foreign donors

【Other Conditions】
Important Note: In the past years, there have been cases where Tajikistan JDS fellows could not complete their PhD within three years. Since the difficulty level is higher than that of the master's degree, please be prepared to apply and recognize that sufficient preparation before enrollment is essential.

The applicant must;

1. In principle, enroll in the same graduate school of the university where he or she obtained a Master's
   degree in Japan.
2. Present a research plan relevant to one of the development issues (Components) set in the framework
   of JDS Master's Program in the Republic of Tajikistan.
3. Have fulfilled the work obligation stipulated in the JDS contract / JDS pledge letter,
   e.g. A JDS Fellow must work in his/her country at least five (5) years after return.
   【Important】JDS Fellows are obliged to return to the Republic of Tajikistan on their graduation in order to make a contribution to the development of the Republic of Tajikistan through their work in the organization for which they worked before departure for Japan for at least 5 years after his/her return. Wherein the given period of work does not include maternity leave, leave for child care, unpaid leave, and other cases such as JDS Fellow does not actually carry out his/her work.
4. Be in good health both physically and mentally.
5. Complete the course within, and not exceeding, three (3) years. However, if it is judged that the Doctoral degree is likely to be obtained, the extension up to 6 months will be accepted.
6. To confirm that there is a high probability of completion within 3 years, following additional documents
   shall be submitted;
   
   • A recommendation letter from the expected academic advisor of the applying university clearly stating that you have the ability to obtain a PhD within three years.
   • The above letter also stating that the professor will provide remote guidance in preparation before
     enrollment as well as stating that the graduate school have international students who had completed
     their doctoral course within 3 years.
   • Peer-reviewed article must have been published in recognized academic journals, and the above letter also stating a title and a name of Journal of your peer-reviewed article.
7. The research theme of the doctoral course must be the continuation from that of master's.
8. Must fill out the following information of your peer-reviewed article on Application Form.
   • (1). Name of the recognized academic journal
   • (2). Title of your article
   • (3). Date of publication
   For peer-reviewed articles, the expected academic advisor will confirm it according to the written information.

2. Selection Procedures

3. Download of Application Guideline and Application Documents for Doctoral Course

Please refer to the Application Guideline and submit a full set of application documents by the deadline.

Download

1. Application Guideline Doctoral Course
2. Application Documents Doctoral Course