NIMS provides research assistantship to students who aspire to a career as researchers in materials science.
Graduate Research Assistant
NIMS offers the NIMS Graduate Research Assistantship to doctoral students who aspire to a career as researchers in materials science. This assistantship provides a monthly stipend to support students in achieving their academic objectives. Appointed Graduate Research Assistants will gain valuable hands-on experience by contributing to cutting-edge research projects, while being financially supported throughout their studies.
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Outline
| Duties | NIMS offers NIMS Graduate Research Assistantship to excellent students in the doctoral course of Materials Science and Engineering. This assistantship provides a monthly stipend to support students in achieving their academic objectives. Appointed Graduate Research Assistants will gain valuable hands-on experience by contributing to cutting-edge research projects, while being financially supported throughout their studies. |
|---|---|
| Eligibility |
Admission to Graduate School of Information Science and Technology at The University of Osaka is a prerequisite for the assistantship. Graduate Research Assistants are expected to have sufficient research capability to be involved in the research activities. * The employment occurs when the students are enrolled in the following graduate program without leave of absence or withdrawal. * If you receive a Japanese government-funded scholarship—such as MEXT, JSPS, or JST fellowships, please check with your scholarship provider to confirm your eligibility. * As a general rule, participants are not permitted to engage in any other paid work or employment outside the program.” |
| Contract | The contract is one year, and is renewable every year up to three years. The contract will be terminated if the student fails to demonstrate his/her excellence in research or leaves the program. |
| Probation Period | 3 months |
| Monthly Stipend |
It will be determined by the assessment of the candidate and the actual working days.
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| Start-up Support System | The Start-up Support Grant of 300,000 JPY will be provided to newly hired Graduate Research Assistant in addition to the salary at the first salary payday. The amount is almost equivalent of the entrance fees to the university. |
| Insurance Coverage | by Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance |
| Name of Recruiter | National Institute for Materials Science |
How to Apply
(1) Place all the Required Documents in a single folder, compress the folder into a ZIP file, and upload it to the BOX Submission Folder (click here) by the application deadline.
(2) After completing the upload, please send an email to NIMS Graduate Program Section ( nims-graduate@nims.go.jp ) with the file name and applicant's name.
Please use [Osaka-NIMS] Application as a email subject.* If there is anything you would like to inform us about regarding your application documents, please include it in the email.
(3) After receiving your email, we will confirm your file and will reply to you within a week. If you do not receive a confirmation email from NIMS, please be sure to contact us. If we do not hear from you, we may not be able to accept your application.
- Application form (word format)- Please send this in word format when you apply. Sample is available here (pdf format).
- Please include the contact details of at least two references. We may directly contact the references regarding the application.
- The 14th item (questions for Master's candidates) and 15th item (travel grant) on the application form do not apply to Graduate Research Assistant applicants for this program. Please submit them without description. - Curriculum Vitae Please be sure to use the designated form.
- Academic transcripts of both undergraduate and graduate
- Scanned copy of the valid TOEFL iBT / TOEIC L&R /IELTS Academic score certificate.The certificate must meet the following conditions.
- The result score from the exam taken within 2 years is valid.
- TOEFL ITP (Institutional Test Program), TOEIC IP (Institutional Program) and IELTS (General Training Module) are not acceptable.
- Only TOEIC Listening &Reading or TOEFL iBT are recognized in the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology. Please see the application details on the university website.
【Important Notes for Uploading】
(1) Please name the ZIP file as follows:
Osaka-NIMS_Applicant's Name
(2) Please be sure to enter the applicant's email address on the upload page.
【Required Documents】
Schedule
[Closed] April 2026 Application
Applications for October 2027 and April 2028 entry will open in April 2027. The schedule below refers to the 2026 application cycle and is provided for your reference.| mid-March, 2026 | Distribution of the university admission guidelines |
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| 2 April - 8 May, 2026 | Application period of the NIMS Graduate Research Assistantship |
| mid- May | Document screening result announcement of the NIMS Graduate Research Assistantship |
| 25-29 May, 2026 | Pre-assessment of Applicants' Qualifications (for university application, if applicable) |
| early June | Interview at NIMS (will be conducted in-person or online ) |
| 22-26 June | University application period (Must be received by mail no later than the period ) |
| One of the following days: 4-5 August | University entrance exam at The University of Osaka (Basically, it will be conducted in person.) |
| 21 August | Result announcement of the university exam |
| Late-August Late-February |
- Result announcement of the NIMS Graduate Research Assistantship (for October 2026 entry) - Result announcement of the NIMS Graduate Research Assistantship (for April 2027 entry) |
| October 2026 or April 2027 |
University enrollment and Start of the employment as Graduate Research Assistant |
September 2026 Application
[Open] Applications are now open for April 2027 entry. The application deadline is 29 October 2026.| September | Distribution of the university admission guidelines |
|---|---|
| 3 September - 29 October 2026 | Application period of the NIMS Graduate Research Assistantship |
| Early November | Document screening result announcement of the NIMS Graduate Research Assistantship |
| late November | Pre-assessment of Applicants' Qualifications (for university application, if applicable) |
| November-December | Interview at NIMS (will be conducted online) |
| early January 2027 | University application period |
| late January - ealy February |
University entrance exam at The University of Osaka (may be arranged individually and will be conducted in-person, basically.) |
| late February | - Result announcement of the university exam - Result announcement of the NIMS Graduate Research Assistantship |
| April 2027 | University enrollment and Start of the employment as a Graduate Research Assistant |