Careers & StudyJoining BDR as a Graduate Student

RIKEN has signed MOUs with many universities within Japan as well as abroad to exchange personnel and contribute to the training of junior scientists by serving as adjunct faculty at graduate schools and as members of dissertation committees for graduate students. Using this system, RIKEN BDR can host graduate students in the labs to conduct research at BDR while obtaining a postgraduate degree (master's and doctoral degrees) from the university they are enrolled in. Many BDR Team Leaders have adjunct or visiting faculty appointments at graduate schools of universities in the Kansai and Kanto regions, and provide opportunities for master’s and PhD students enrolled in those graduate schools to do leading-edge research in the wide range of research fields carried out by labs, from cell and developmental biology, to systems biology, computational biology and structural biology.

Currently, there are over 160 graduate students affiliated with BDR who are conducting research in varying capacities at our Center. Interested students are encouraged to contact the labs directly to inquire whether they are open to accepting students and learn about the required procedures.

Please contact the BDR Team Leaders who serve as adjunct faculty of the department or graduate school program you are interested in to find out more about the application process and research being carried out in the lab. For further information about the curriculum and application information of each graduate school program, please check the websites of the respective university, faculty or department.

There are several financial support programs available for graduate students to conduct research at RIKEN while being enrolled in a graduate school program. Please refer to IPA, JRA, and SPR programs below or consult with the head of the laboratory of interest at BDR for further details.

An International Program Associate (IPA) is a non-Japanese PhD candidate attending a Japanese or overseas graduate school participating in RIKEN’s joint graduate school program. IPAs conduct research at RIKEN under the supervision of the principal investigator of a RIKEN laboratory as part of work toward obtaining a PhD.

In principle, RIKEN provides IPAs with a daily living allowance and covers the IPA’s housing costs for up to a maximum of three years while they are at RIKEN. Procedures for applicants will differ based on whether they are enrolling or are enrolled in a university in Japan or overseas.

The Junior Research Associate (JRA) program provides part-time positions at RIKEN for energetic and open-minded young researchers enrolled in Japanese university PhD programs for the purpose of giving them the opportunity to carry out research alongside RIKEN scientists, enhancing RIKEN’s creative and basic research capabilities, and strengthening ties between RIKEN and universities in Japan.

RIKEN has been making special efforts to foster the development of basic research in medical fields, and research graduates of medical and dental universities who have acquired their medical or dental licenses are welcome to apply.

Applications are generally accepted from late September to late October every year to start the following year on April 1 (or October 1).

The RIKEN Student Researcher (RSR) program provides part-time positions at RIKEN for energetic and open-minded graduate students enrolled in master’s or doctoral courses at Japanese universities. Scientists from RIKEN and from domestic graduate schools will jointly provide research guidance to students to support them in obtaining their degrees. Students will also be granted an additional position as “student trainees" that will allow them to participate in academic and self-improvement activities within RIKEN.