Opportunity
JDS Scholarship
The JDS Scholarship pays for young government officials from Cambodia to study for a master's degree in Japan over two years, with classes in English.[1] Its full name is the Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS), and it is paid for by the Government of Japan as part of its development aid.[2] The program began in 1999 and has since given more than 6,000 people the chance to study in Japan; the Cambodian program opened in 2000.[3]
Sponsorship
The Japan International Cooperation Center (JICE) runs the program and keeps a project office in Phnom Penh.[3] An Operating Committee of the two governments oversees it.[3] Its members are the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, the Council for the Development of Cambodia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Civil Service, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Embassy of Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency office in Cambodia.[3] The program aims to build the skills of officials who will shape national development plans, and to strengthen ties between their country and Japan.[2][3]
On July 8, 2026, Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn and Japan's ambassador, Ueno Atsushi, signed an exchange of letters for a new grant of 416 million yen (about $2.8 million) to continue the program in Cambodia.[4][5]
Award and support
The scholarship covers every cost of study in Japan.[6] It lasts as long as the host university's program requires and includes full tuition, a round-trip flight between Cambodia and Japan, a monthly stipend, arrival and housing allowances, money for books and seminars, and travel insurance.[3] Before leaving, fellows take English, academic and basic Japanese courses; in Japan, JICE helps them find housing, checks on them regularly and holds leadership and networking events.[3] JICE also books each fellow's flight and visa.[6] Japanese is not required.[6]
For the 2025 to 2028 phase, Cambodia has 22 places a year across eight fields of study, grouped under three priority areas: industry and the digital economy, sustainable growth and a safe and secure society.[3] The host schools are Hiroshima University, the Kobe Institute of Computing, Kobe University, the University of Tsukuba, Meiji University, Nagoya University and the International University of Japan.[3] Each is tied to particular fields, such as public administration at Meiji and law at Nagoya.[1][3] Applicants choose one field and its university from this framework rather than any course in Japan.[6]
A JDS doctoral program also exists, but in Cambodia only graduates of the JDS master's program may apply to it.[7]
Eligibility
For the 2025 call, an applicant had to be a Cambodian citizen aged 22 to 39 on April 1, 2026, with a bachelor's degree in any subject unless the host university set one.[3] The applicant had to be a civil servant in one of the designated target organizations, with at least two years of full-time work there by the closing date.[3] A probation period counts toward the two years, but contract, part-time and volunteer work do not, and contract staff cannot apply.[1][3] Good English is needed, at about TOEFL 500 to 550 or IELTS 5.5, along with good physical and mental health.[3]
People who hold or expect another scholarship, people who already earned a master's degree or higher abroad on a foreign scholarship, and members of the military cannot apply.[1] Finalists need a letter from their employer approving long leave, and after graduating each fellow must go back to Cambodia and work at the same workplace for at least two years.[3][6] In Japan, fellows may not take jobs or drive.[3]
Application
The 2025 call opened on October 1, 2025 and closed at 3:00 p.m. on November 28, 2025.[3] Applicants uploaded their papers through an online system: a short essay, a research plan, degree certificates and transcripts, a reference letter from a direct supervisor, an employment certificate, a passport copy and a photo.[3] JICE held seminars in October 2025, online and at the Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center in Phnom Penh, along with a lecture on writing a research plan.[1]
Selection takes several months. Every applicant sits an English test in early December, and most also take a math test.[3] The Japanese universities then screen the files and later interview candidates, after a health check in Phnom Penh.[1] The Operating Committee holds the final interview.[1][3] Candidates from rural areas receive help with travel costs during selection.[3] The committee approves the final list in March, training runs from about May to July, and the new fellows leave for Japan in August.[3] Fit between the research plan and the expertise of the university's teachers weighs heavily in the first round.[1]
Recipients
More than 580 Cambodians have studied in Japan through the program since 2000, among them:[1]
- Soeung Sopha, teacher trainer at the National Institute of Education: a master's degree in education and English teaching at Hiroshima University (2010 to 2012), then a JDS doctorate in education there (2019 to 2022)[1]
- Men Sophea, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, master's study at Meiji University's Graduate School of Governance Studies (2022 to 2024)[3]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 JICE, JDS Cambodia: Application (Master's) (2025)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 JICE, What is JDS Project? (undated)
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 JICE, JDS Cambodia 2025 Application Guidelines for the Master's Program (2025)
- ↑ Open Development Cambodia, Press release on Cambodia and Japan signing an exchange of letters on the provision of Japanese grant funding for the human resources development scholarship project (July 10, 2026)
- ↑ Cambodianess, Japan Grants Nearly $3m for Officials' Scholarships (July 9, 2026)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 JICE, JDS Q&A (undated)
- ↑ JICE, JDS Cambodia: Doctoral Degree Program (2025)