ASPIRE Graduate Student Program

The ASPIRE Graduate Student Program offers selected Tohoku University graduate students the opportunity to conduct cutting-edge interdisciplinary research, gain international experience, and join a global network of ocean scientists. ASPIRE selected students are employed as Research Assistants (RAs) and receive support for extended overseas research stays.

Eligible Applicants

Graduate students at Tohoku University who are:

• Enrolled in the International Joint Graduate Program in Environmental and Earth Sciences (GP-EES) or

• Students enrolled in one of the programs in Tohoku University Advanced Graduate School

Selection Criteria

Applicants will be selected based on their ability to:

• understand and support the goals of the ASPIRE project

• demonstrate motivation, curiosity, creativity, and strong potential to pioneer the elucidation and prediction of marine ecosystem change through new science and interdisciplinary approaches

• show potential to be active internationally and possess international communication skills

• complete a cumulative 9 to 12 months of research at an overseas partner institution:

  • University of Hawaii at Mãnoa, USA

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

  • University of California, San Diego, USA

  • Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany
    or University of Bremen, Germany

  • University of Tasmania, Australia

Support Provided

• RA salary* (approximately 20 hours per month)

• Financial support for living expenses during overseas research stays

*Financial conditions vary depending on existing fellowships and scholarships; applicants must ensure compliance with all relevant programme and scholarship rules.

Selection Process

Applications are accepted twice per year through internal announcements at Tohoku University. Selection is based on document screening followed by an interview.

International Joint Graduate Program in Earth and Environmental Sciences (GP-EES), Tohoku University

The purpose of GP-EES is to foster international researchers with a wide range of perspectives and leadership who are motivated and capable of “understanding the entire Earth”. Program students take lectures specially provided to develop cosmopolitan thinking and interdisciplinary research skills in addition to the regular curriculum. They can receive various kinds of support such as financial support.

Starting in April 2025, graduate students who study in the research field of WPI-AIMEC, aiming to understand and forecast the responses and adaptive mechanisms of marine ecosystems to Earth system dynamics, will also be eligible to apply for GP-EES.

To participate in this program, you must enter one of the following graduate schools or departments at Tohoku University:

• Department of Geophysics and Department of Earth Science, Graduate School of Science

• Graduate School of Environmental Studies

• Department of Agricultural Bioscience, Graduate School of Agricultural Science

• Graduate School of Life Sciences

• Graduate School of Information Sciences

• Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering

For information on GP-EES and Tohoku University Advnced Graduate Schools, please follow the links below.