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This is a guide to the entrance examination for prospective students. Every effort has been made to avoid errors, but be sure to consult the Application Guidelines to confirm dates and other details.



Information about Entrance examination for Astronomical Science Program

Five-year Doctoral Program

*The questions and the answers of the written English examination are all in English, but the language used in the physics and physical mathematics examination is Japanese. For more details, please refer to Japanese Government Scholarship Students or Privately Financed Students.

Qualifications Completion of a bachelor's degree by the month prior to the date of admission.
For details of qualifications, see the Application Guidelines.
Number of Students to Accept Around 5
Qualification Screening period June 5 (Monday) to June 8 (Thursday), 2023
Application period June 29 (Thursday) to July 5 (Wednesday), 2023
Examination schedule Written examination: August 23 (Thursday), 2023
Interview: August 25 (Friday), 2023
Place of Examination National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (Mitaka Campus)
Access Information
Notification of results Early September 2023
Examination fee \30,000
Written examination Time Subject Score Allocation
90 min Foreign language: English 150
180 min Physics (3 questions), physical mathematics (2 questions)
(written in Japanese only)
400
Applying to more than one program Applicants may apply for up to two programs of their choices. For details, please see the application guidelines.
Selecting a research supervisor Before selecting a research field and supervisor, consult the Application Guidelines and details about research fields on the SOKENDAI website. In addition, we strongly recommend contacting a researcher you want as a supervisor and arranging an interview in advance. You can obtain details about the research and education activities of each instructor by contacting the academic guidance instructor.
For details about academic guidance instructors, click here.

Three-year Doctoral Program

Application for admission to the second half of the doctoral program

Qualifications

Completion of a master's degree by the month prior to the date of admission

For details of qualifications, see the Application Guidelines.
Number of Students to Accept October 2023 admission : a few students
April 2024 admission : Around 1
October 2023 admission Qualification Screening period June 5 (Monday) to June 8 (Thursday), 2023
Application period June 29 (Thursday) to July 5 (Wednesday), 2023
Examination date August 21 (Monday), 2023
Notification of results Early-September 2023
April 2024 admission Qualification Screening period November 6 (Monday) to November 9 (Thursday), 2023
Application period November 30 (Thursday) to December 6 (Wednesday), 2023
Examination date January 25 (Thursday), 2024
Notification of results Mid-February, 2024
Place of Examination National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (Mitaka Campus)
Access Information
Examination fee\30,000
 
Selection process Applicants are selected based on a review of written materials, an oral examination and a written examination in English.
Oral examination Details
The applicant makes a presentation about his or her past research followed by an oral examination and an interview about the applicant's future plans and other interests as well as other general topics.
Written examination Details
Foreign language: English (30 minutes)
Applying to more than one program Applicants may apply for up to two programs of their choices.For details, please see the application guidelines.
Selecting a research supervisor Before selecting a research subject, thoroughly consult with the researcher you want as a supervisor. In addition, we strongly recommend taking a seminar in the course led by the researcher you are interested in having as a supervisor.

Application Guidelines

Guidelines and Forms (SOKENDAI)

To obtain the application guidelines booklet and forms that are not available from the URL above, please inquire by e-mail to the following e-mail address.
gakusei(at)ml.soken.ac.jp

Past Entrance Examinations

The following link contains written examinations from past entrance examination of the Department of Astronomical Science, SOKENDAI(Japanese site).
・Examinations for the five-year doctoral program (except for Foreign Language :English)


Due to copyright issues, following examinations shall be accessed only in person at our office.
・Written examinations(Foreign Language) for the five-year doctoral program (last 3 years)
・Oral examinations and Written examinations for the three-year doctoral program (last 3 years)


[Location and open hours]
  Graduate Student Affairs Unit
  National Institutes of Natural Sciences, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
  2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588  Access Map
  Weekdays(except year-end and New Year's holidays) 10:00-12:00, 13:00-16:00
[Required ID]
  Student's identification card or Certificate of Status of Residence
  We will hold your ID until you return the exams. You can keep the exams for up to one hour.


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