INPEX Scholarship Foundation Foreign Student Scholarship Program

Who can apply

Indonesian citizen with a bachelor's degree (or equivalent, at least 16 years of formal education) from a prestigious Indonesian university in a STEM field, aiming for a Master's at a Japanese university
Under 30 years old as of the application deadline, with a cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0 or higher
Permission from your current institution, university, or employer to accept the scholarship
A letter from a prospective supervisor at the Japanese university confirming you will be accepted if admitted, plus a recommendation letter from your undergraduate supervisor or current employer
TOEFL iBT or IELTS score taken after October 2024; concurrent applications to other Japan scholarships are allowed, but you cannot already hold another one

Applications go straight to the Foundation by email

Applications go straight to the Foundation by email, not through a university portal or an embassy. Send everything to isf-foundation@inpex.com with the subject line “2027 Scholarship Application (Name),” and keep attachments under 20MB per email, splitting across multiple emails if you need to. There’s no cloud-storage-link submission allowed, so plan around that if your documents are large.

The most demanding item on the checklist

The most demanding item on the checklist is the letter of acceptance: a written statement from a specific prospective supervisor at your target Japanese university, confirming they’ll accept you if the university admits you. That means you need to have already made contact and secured informal buy-in from a supervisor before you can complete your application, not after. INPEX itself frames this as the point of the programme: unlike most Japan scholarships, which target students already enrolled in Japan, INPEX specifically recruits overseas residents from the pre-departure stage, so applicants can plan their move abroad without financial uncertainty before they ever arrive.

Only four Indonesian places a year, and a real field restriction

Only four Indonesian students are selected each year, and the STEM-field requirement is broad but real: science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, pharmacy, and architecture all qualify, but a non-STEM master’s would not. Since 2023 the Foundation has also opened separate tracks for Australian and UAE applicants, so if you’re not Indonesian, check the Foundation’s own site directly for the terms specific to your country rather than assuming the Indonesian-track figures above apply to you as well. If you’re weighing other Japan-government-linked routes, the MEXT Scholarship for Research Students (Embassy Recommendation) is Japan’s own flagship government scholarship and worth comparing against this private-foundation route.

What isn’t covered

Budget for what isn’t covered: passport and visa fees, travel taxes, and housing in Japan are explicitly the recipient’s own responsibility. The Foundation is upfront that “no accommodation in Japan will be provided,” so factor Tokyo-area rents into your planning before you commit.

A foundation with over 40 years of history, tied to an oil company anniversary

The INPEX Scholarship Foundation was established in March 1981, as a public interest incorporated foundation set up to mark the 15th anniversary of Indonesia Petroleum Ltd., the company that became INPEX Corporation. Over more than 40 years, starting with Indonesia-Japan exchange specifically, the Foundation has supported 159 international students and 79 Japanese students as of the end of March 2026, expanding to Australia and the UAE only in 2023. That corporate origin is part of why Indonesia remains the founding, and still largest, track even as the programme has grown.