This table lists information about research units and their projects available for interns. Additionally, you can learn about more of the research going on at OIST here. Please have a look and see if there is anything suitable to your interests. As we continue to grow new areas of focus will be added, but main fields represented at OIST are in the areas of science and technology.

For students who have not yet graduated, we are able to accept an unofficial transcript or other official university document showing your courses and grades.

We accept recommendation letters from any supervisor/ professor who is familiar with your work and your character. It is not required that the recommendation be from your current supervisor, but it is in your best interest to request a recommendation from someone who is able to comment on your abilities and potential relevant to research for your proposed internship.

Students are accepted to the OIST program and will go through lab matching process, therefore it is important to list the Faculty of Interest, but it is not necessary to contact faculty to get their approval or support prior to applying. In general, please consider the relevance of your message prior to contacting the faculty.

If you don't know which are your family name/last name and given name/first name, that's OK. Some countries don't have that concept. So please enter "," comma to the family name field and put all your name in the given name field.

To minimize the chance of technical problems, please be sure to have all of the correct documents (as PDF files), your photo (as a JPEG file) and all text answers prepared in advance, and complete the application in one brief session. If your internet connection is not strong, it would be best to minimize the number of tabs open in your browser window(s) while completing the application.

A common reason for submission issues is the format of the entered e-mail address. Following are the most common causes of e-mail errors:

1. Space in front or end of the email
2. Invisible 4 byte unicode character inserted in the email address. This often happens when you copy and paste email address from other document files. Please clear the column and re-type the email address using the keyboard
3. Please also check your email address field too. You need to have both email addresses(yourself/referee) in correct format to avoid the error message.

You can no longer make any changes to the application once it is submitted, and you cannot withdraw it yourself. If you really must make some changes to your application, you may request us to reverse the status of your application to “In Progress” by submitting a Contact Us form. However, it is your responsibility to submit your application again before the deadline. Please take enough time to revise your application and make final submission. There are no advantages by submitting the application earlier.

As we have thousands of applicants to our program, we are not able to take the time to individually handle special requests. We would certainly welcome your application in future application rounds if you are unable to make the current deadline.

Deadline for submitting recommendation letter(s) is the same with the application deadline. However, please keep in mind that you can only submit your application after at least one recommendation letter is received in our system, so please make sure to communicate with your referee(s) and give yourself enough time. When the letter is submitted, you will receive a notification from the system, and you can proceed with submitting your application at that time.

Once you have invited your referees, you can check the status of your invitation by logging in to your account. You will be able to see the status of your invitation (Sent, In Progress, Submitted). You can also resend your invitation.
Depending on the settings of your referees’ email accounts, there are cases the invitation letter sent from the system will be classified as Spam or Bulk mails. If your referees cannot find the invitation from their Inbox, please ask them to check Spam or Bulk folder as well.

If it is difficult to provide in English, you may submit your original transcript along with an English translation. The translation may be done by you.

You can upload other government issued identification documents instead. If you receive a positive result, we will need the copy of your valid passport at that time for visa application and travel arrangement.

Yes, leaving this field blank will not affect your application in any way, as we understand many universities do not share class rank information with students.

If you receive an offer from the OIST Graduate School, please refer to this link for details. If you receive and offer directly from the hosting unit, visa application process would mostly be similar, but the unit will be in charge. In the case of Unit-funded internship, please communicate directly with the unit for arrangements.

Minor changes to timing of internships is to be expected, and does not present a problem. For accepted intern candidates, final steps include confirming dates with both the accepting faculty member and the intern. Major changes to internship dates are strongly discouraged and can lead to the cancellation of an internship offer. Please consider timing in advance and apply during the appropriate round for your dates.

Your PI can submit the nomination form at least 1 month after you have joined Research Internship at OIST, and at least 1 month before your internship ends (or equivalent for multiple short internships).

Students are accepted to the general OIST PhD program instead of to a specific lab. Students will go through lab rotations before deciding on a PhD thesis lab. If you maintain a good relationship with your internship host faculty and would like to continue working in the unit, you can continue with the faculty’s approval. 

In order to keep a low faculty/student ratio, and depending on availability of the faculty, the capacity to host PhD students for each unit may change after each academic year. Please refer to this list for the most up-to-date availability of hosting PhD students in research units.

In this case, please apply according to regular PhD application process. The Admissions Workshop will be an open opportunity for you to be evaluated by faculty of different units.  Even when you apply via the regular admissions process, it is always good to have a recommendation from your OIST PI/ other OIST faculty who know you well.  Many interns are accepted via the regular admissions process!