A BRIDGE Fellowship visit period can range from 14 to 30 consecutive days. The available start date of the fellowship would be between July 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025.
Important scheduling note: All offices in Japan are officially closed during the period between 28 December 2024 and 5 January 2025 (9 days). As researchers may not be able to carry out their activities at Japanese universities/research institutions during this period, it should not be included in your BRIDGE tenure.
The terms of a BRIDGE Fellowship award (subject to change) are:
- A round-trip air ticket (based on JSPS regulations). JSPS cannot reimburse BRIDGE Fellows for a ticket that they have purchased by themselves.
- Daily maintenance allowance of ¥13,000.
- Research support allowance of up to JPY 100,000.
- Overseas travel insurance coverage. When the applicant would like to use the research support allowance, the host researcher will need to apply for it through his/her host institution. Please see the rules for the research support allowance in the Program Guidelines issued upon your selection and in additional notices to be issued.
Approximately 6 members of US JSPS Alumni Association will be awarded in FY2024.
BRIDGE Fellow Eligibility
A researcher must meet the following requirements:
- Be a researcher who has experienced research in Japan under a JSPS program and who is currently a regular member of US-Canada JSPS alumni association.
- Be a researcher who is employed as an active researcher working at a university or a research institute.
- Agreement by host researcher to all seven items of support in Form B (Agreement by Host Researcher).
- Researchers who have already been supported under the BRIDGE Fellowship Program within the last 5 years (from 2019) are ineligible for this 2024 award.
- Generally, no preference is to be given to the applicant’s age, specialty, or destination institution.
Applicable Fields
All fields of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences are included in this fellowship program.
Application Procedure
The application deadline is January 10, 2024. Please see the Application Guidelines for complete details. Screening criteria for the selection are found here.
Application forms should be submitted by the applicant to the JSPS Washington Office by email:
Email: was-bridge@overseas.jsps.go.jp
Subject line: BRIDGE Fellowship
Please submit following documents for your application:
1) APPLICATION FOR JSPS BRIDGE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (Form A)
2) Agreement by Host Researcher (Form B)
3) Applicant’s CV and publication list (in any format) *
4) Contribution to alumni association (Appendix A) *
5) Recommendation Letter from the candidate’s host researcher (in any format, in either English or Japanese)
* JSPS Washington Office requests 3), 4) and 5) independently.
Form A and Appendix A needs applicant’s signature. E-signature is also acceptable.
You will receive a confirmation of receipt for your application. If you did not receive a confirmation, please contact the JSPS Washington Office.
Application and Award timeline (FY2024)
- Application Deadline (From Applicants to Alumni Association): 10 January 2024
- Notification of Selection Result: Mid-April 2024*
- Periods for Arrival in Japan: July 1, 2024 －March 31, 2025
* An award letter from JSPS’s president and accompanying documents will be sent to the successful candidates. Unsuccessful candidates are not notified of their selection results.
Recruitment is now open; the deadline for BRIDGE Fellowship applications is January 10, 2024. If you have any questions, please contact the JSPS Washington Office at was-bridge@overseas.jsps.go.jp. More information about the BRIDGE Fellowship is also available from the JSPS Tokyo website at https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-plaza/bridge/index.html.
After finishing your Bridge Fellowship
- Awarded researchers are mandated to report their activities and accomplishments during their stay in Japan. This report will be published on the US-Canada JSPS alumni Association web site.
- The JSPS Washington Office will request Alumni Association members in assisting the review process of the future applications for the Bridge Fellowship. Please let us know if you would participate these activities in the appendix A.