Stage 2 · Lesson 1 of 7
Intakes and application cycles
An is the point in the year when a programme starts. Most start in the autumn, and many also have a spring or winter intake. Deadlines come much earlier than the start date.
For funded places and scholarships, they are often 8 to 12 months ahead. Scholarship deadlines usually fall before the university's own. Some universities read applications in rounds, so applying early can matter even when the final deadline is later.
Government scholarships run on fixed yearly cycles, often opening a year or more before you would travel. Find the intake and application cycle for your destination and your target programmes. Take the dates from official pages, not a forum, and build your from them.
Common trapplanning around the course start date, then finding the scholarship you needed closed months ago.
A question to check yourself, an AI practice session and 2 cheat sheet entries come when you add the roadmap to your account. Add it
Resources for this stage
Start with
- ScholarshipFreeStudy in Japan
Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO)
Admission routes and yearly timing for Japanese graduate schools