PhD Entrance Exam and NIMS-GRA Results — Passed Together
A few weeks after the PhD entrance exam — around two to three weeks later — the results were finally announced. I passed, and was officially accepted into the PhD program under the joint University of Tsukuba–NIMS scheme.
The same day, I also got confirmation that I’d been selected as a NIMS Junior Researcher — a position that would cover my living expenses throughout my doctoral studies. That news was a huge relief.
A Big Contrast to My Master’s Experience
Compared to my Master’s experience, that process was far more nerve-wracking. The entrance exam results came out in September, but the NIMS Junior scholarship decision didn’t arrive until February the following year.
| Master’s | PhD | |
|---|---|---|
| Entrance exam result | September | September |
| NIMS Junior decision | February (following year) | Same day as exam result |
Those months of waiting during my Master’s meant living with real uncertainty — worried about funding, worried about not being able to continue for financial reasons.
For the PhD, Everything Was Faster and Clearer
For the PhD, the university’s admission result and the NIMS Junior decision came out together. This let me focus entirely on finishing my Master’s thesis without needing a backup funding plan.
At least this time, I could breathe a little easier before entering the next stage: becoming a doctoral student with a target of publishing three first-author journal papers in three years.