Visiting Researcher Program

We do not accept applications submitted directly by visiting researchers. If you are a researcher and are interested in this program, please find a host professor in the Graduate School of Agriculture first and have them apply for it.

Administrative officer: Sakiko Imaeda

This is a program to employ foreign researchers as full-time invited researchers at the Graduate School of Agriculture in order to promote cutting-edge and unique international joint research.

Overview of the Program

Official title	Visiting Research Scholar
Qualifications	1. The candidate must have qualifications equivalent to or higher than those of a professor, associate professor, or lecturer of the Graduate School of Agriculture; 2. The candidate must be prepared to teach “Special Lecuture on Comparative Agricultural Studies” (1 or 2 credits) in English to Japanese and international students in all the divisions of the Graduate School of Agriculture; 3. In principle, the candidate must be under 65 years old as of the first day of the employment contract (in case the candidate is over 65 years old, a separate document stating the reason is required).
Term of contract	3 months – 6 months *subject to change depending on the budget
Working arrangements	7 hours 45 minutes per day, 38 hours 45 minutes per week Holidays: Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays, New Year holidays, University Foundation Day (Annual leave will be given based on the length of employment in accordance with the university’s regulations)
Salary and expenses to be paid to the researcher	1. Round-trip transportation expenses: the cost of round-trip airfare and transportation between the researcher’s departure airport and Kyoto when traveling by reasonable and econominal means will be reimbursed in accordance with the university’s regulations. 2. Salary: monthly salary according to rank (professor: 650,000 yen, associate professor: 550,000 yen, others: 450,000 yen) will be paid. *Income tax, social security premiums, workers’ compensation insurance premium, and employment insurance premium will be deducted from the above salary. 3. Commuting allowance: fixed-rate allowance will be paid with the monthly salary. 4. Research expenses: approximately 50,000 yen per month will be provided as research expenses to be used for research-related business trips and purchases of goods during the term.

2025 Application

Application for the period of April 1, 2025 to September 30, 2025 has been closed. The application schedule for the second half of AY 2025 (October 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026) will be announced later on this page.

(Application must be submitted by your host professor. If you are a researcher who is considering applying for this program, please inform your host of this page and prepare the application documents. Your visiting plan must be approved within the host division in advance of the application.)

Flow of the Procedure

1. Host professor submits the application documents during the application period

2. After the deadline, the application goes through a screening and faculty meetings before it is officially approved

3. The International Exchange Section sends a letter of invitation to the researcher

4. The International Exchange Section applies for the “Certificate of Eligibility” on behalf of the researcher
(It takes approximately 1.5 month until the researcher receives the “Certificate of Eligibility”)

5. The researcher applies for a visa at the Japanese Embassy/Consulate in his/her country

6. The researcher travels to Japan

◎The International Exchange Section handles most of the necessary procedures related to the visit including housing arrangements and travel expenses/personnel/salary-related procedures.

List of Visiting Researchers