A few weeks after taking the PhD entrance examination—approximately two to three weeks later—the results were finally announced. According to the announcement, I passed the selection process and was officially accepted into the PhD program under the collaborative scheme between the University of Tsukuba and NIMS.

On the same day, I also received confirmation that I had been selected as a NIMS Junior Researcher, a position that would financially support my living expenses throughout my doctoral studies. This news came as a huge relief.

This experience was quite different from my master’s program. Back then, although the entrance exam results were announced in September, the decision regarding the NIMS Junior scholarship was released in February of the following year. During those months, I lived in constant uncertainty—worried about whether I would secure funding in time, and anxious about the possibility of not being able to continue my studies due to financial constraints.

For my PhD, everything felt much clearer and faster. The university’s admission result and the NIMS Junior decision were announced simultaneously. Honestly, this allowed me to focus entirely on completing my master’s thesis, without having to think about backup plans or searching for alternative funding sources.

At least this time, I was able to breathe a little easier before entering the next stage: becoming a doctoral student with the goal of publishing three first-author journal papers within three years for graduation requirements.