We welcome active students or researchers who have strong interest in mission design, orbital dynamics or guidance, navigation and control of space systems, with corresponding academic background to join laboratory group either as a graduate student, postdoctoral fellow or for short visiting research.

Graduate Program

If you are considering to come as a graduate student, you need to be admitted into The University of Tokyo (Todai), where Professor Kawaguchi also serves as a faculty member at the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics of the Graduate School of Engineering. The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) is a JAXA Research Institution that has a special relationship with Todai.

Like most research groups in Japan, our group has no allocated funding to finance graduate students. However, there are different funds which you can apply to, as an international student. These scholarships are explained briefly as follows.

Monbukagakusho Scholarship from MEXT (Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)

Many international students come to study in Japan with this scholarship. The MEXT scholarship covers tuition fee and monthly stipend and can be applied through two following ways:

1. Through the recommendation of the Embassy of Japan in your home country:
   Usually the deadline for applying to this scholarship is between April and May and might vary depending on your country of origin. As a result, be sure to check and directly contact the Embassy of Japan at your home country.
2. Through the recommendation of the University:
   Unlike the first one, you will be recommended by a university in Japan. In addition to the document based selection, there is also an interview. Before applying to this program, please contact Professor Kawaguchi.

JSPS Young Researcher Fellowship for Doctoral Course

This fellowship is open for either Japanese citizens or for international students, and it’s well known as one of the most prestigious fellowship among graduate students in Japan.

Private Scholarships

In some countries, Japanese companies might offer scholarship for students to study in Japan. Please check with Academic Section of your local Japan Embassy to find out the availability of such opportunities.

Postdoctoral Study

The postdoctoral fellowship you can apply to come to ISAS/JAXA are:

1. JSPS Post Doctoral Fellowship
2. JAXA Project Research Assistantship
3. JAXA International Top Young Research Fellowship

Short Term Visiting Research

You may look to the following opportunities for coming for short term:

1. JSPS Summer Program. If you come from the US, the UK, France, Germany or Canada and are interested to carry short term research, approximately two months at JAXA during summer, you may considering to join the JSPS Summer Program. Please visit their website and see detail information such as eligibility, schedule and financial support for the program.
2. JAXA Internship Program. Unlike JSPS Summer Program, JAXA Internship Program doesn’t provide any financial assistance, so you have to be self supported intern or obtain funding from a third party.