University of Tokyo Research Internship Program (UTRIP) 2026

UTRIP stands for the "University of Tokyo Research Internship Program." This program was launched by the Graduate School of Science (GSS) of the University of Tokyo (one of the world's leading research-education universities) as part of its campaign begun in June 2010 for promoting the internationalization of the GSS by inviting talented young students from abroad. 

The program is open to students who are currently enrolled in the second or a later year at an accredited college or university outside of Japan, and who are majoring in a natural science or related field. The program also includes an excursion outside of Tokyo as well as a short course on the Japanese language and culture.

Applicants for UTRIP must:

• Have completed at least one full year in a Bachelor's degree program at the time of application.
• Be enrolled in and, after the UTRIP program ends, be expected to return to, at least another semester, quarter, or another equivalent academic term, in a Bachelor's degree program (or a Bachelor's-equivalent year of an integrated Bachelor's-Master's degree program) at a university outside of Japan.
  ＊At selection, the priority for nomination is given to applicants expected to be in their third year of a four-year Bachelor's degree program and to applicants expected to be in their second year of a three-year Bachelor's degree program. Second-year students in four-year Bachelor's degree programs are also encouraged to apply.
• Be enrolled in a natural science or related field.
• Be thinking of pursuing long-term career goals in a scientific area.
• Be able to commit to the entire six consecutive weeks of the UTRIP program on a full-time basis.
• Be able to present coverage of a health insurance plan that is effective during the internship program before arriving in Japan.
• English proficiency: test scores of TOEFL or an equivalent English proficiency test (such as IELTS) are required if English is not your first language. Test scores that have already expired are accepted, as long as the applicant is still able to produce proof of the test scores upon request by the UTRIP office. Students who have received an English-medium education continuously for the past 8 years are exempted from submitting English proficiency test scores.

Upon enrolling in the UTRIP program, students must agree to fulfill the following requirements:

• To devote their full efforts to conducting the UTRIP project
• To participate in the project for the full six-week period
• To attend all academic and social events scheduled over the course of the UTRIP program
• To submit a written research final report approved by the UTRIP supervisor within two weeks of finishing the UTRIP program
• To give an oral presentation on the scheduled day
• To complete all required procedures by the designated deadlines.

Financial support to cover participation expenses: UTRIP participants will be granted financial support to cover their costs and expenses in two forms: (1) The Graduate School of Science (GSS) Scholarship for UTRIP-Related Expenses ("GSS-UTRIP Scholarship"), and (2) the FUTI Award (Friends of UTokyo, Inc.) Please note that the FUTI Award is applicable to students who are currently enrolled in U. S. universities regardless of their citizenship. When an applicant is selected to receive the FUTI Award, he or she cannot concurrently receive a GSS-UTRIP Scholarship. A GSS-UTRIP Scholarship will be applicable when an application to the FUTI Award is rejected by the sponsor.

Conditions to receive the financial support:

• All participants are required to stay at the facilities designated by the school during the program period regardless of the form of financial support to be granted.
• Participants shall not leave before completing the program without obtaining prior written consent from both the supervisor of the host laboratory and the Head of the International Liaison Office.