Funding

Fully Funded · Partial / Stipend

Program dates

TBA

Internship•Japan · Yokohama

RIKEN IMS Internship Program

RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS)

Application Deadline

Rolling admission

Official Page

The RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS) is a research center in Yokohama, Japan, part of the national research institute RIKEN. It was established in 2013 and works on genome-wide medical science, immunology and physiology, bioinformatics, and molecular, biochemical and quantitative sciences, across roughly 68 laboratories and around 500 members. In April 2018 the center added an internship grant program that brings young researchers into an IMS laboratory for one to three months, with RIKEN covering lodging and travel. An applicant chooses a host laboratory from the list published for the current fiscal year, writes a research topic that fits that group, and emails the application to the program address at least four months before the intended start date. The program page states there are around 8 places. No salary is paid, and the internship does not qualify for a long-stay visa, so it stays within 90 days.

Benefits & funding

  • Category 1 — master’s students, PhD students, and medical students at a master’s level: lodging, travel expenses, and an internship allowance of ¥3,000 per working day.
  • Category 2 — postdocs within three years of the PhD: lodging and travel expenses only, with no daily allowance.
  • Lodging is covered up to ¥11,600 a day for days 1 to 30, up to ¥10,440 a day for days 31 to 60, and up to ¥9,280 a day from day 61 onwards.
  • No salary is paid.
  • A placement inside one IMS laboratory for one to three months, on a research topic agreed with that laboratory.
  • Anyone who withdraws is responsible for cancellation fees on travel and accommodation already booked. The center states there are no exceptions to this, including personal emergencies.

Eligibility

  • Category 1: enrolled in a master’s or PhD program, or a medical student at a level equivalent to a master’s student in Japan.
  • Category 2: postdoctoral researchers within three years of obtaining their PhD.
  • Every intern must be enrolled at an academic institution for the whole internship period.
  • The program was set up to host international scientists, but no nationality or residency requirement is published, and no age limit or minimum years of work experience is set.
  • Applications written in Japanese are not accepted.
  • The proposed research topic has to match one of the laboratories on that year’s participating list.
  • EU and UK residents also submit a GDPR consent form.

Can you apply?

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  • Education required

    Master Enrolled · PhD Enrolled · PhD

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Application process

  1. 1
    Read the participating laboratory list for the current fiscal year, linked from the program page, and choose a host laboratory. The FY2026 list covers areas including immunology, structural biology, metabolomics, genomics, infectious disease and medical data science.
  2. 2
    Decide the research topic you would pursue in that laboratory.
  3. 3
    Prepare a curriculum vitae, a one-page A4 statement of purpose naming that research topic, a one-page A4 research background, and the signed agreement form. EU and UK residents add the GDPR consent form.
  4. 4
    Ask your supervisor to send a recommendation letter separately.
  5. 5
    Email the application to ims_intern_apply@ml.riken.jp no later than four months before your intended start date. Incomplete or incorrect applications may be rejected.
  6. 6
    The requested host laboratory’s principal investigator submits the documents to RIKEN, and a decision follows about a month later.
  7. 7
    Only successful applicants are notified. The center does not reply to unsuccessful applicants and does not give reasons.

Program timeline

  1. Year-round

    applications are accepted at any time, sent at least four months before the intended start date

  2. 2026-01

    an application sent in January 2026 can start in April 2026 (the program page’s worked example)

  3. 2026-09

    an application sent in September 2026 can start in January 2027 (the program page’s worked example)

  4. About one month after submission

    accepted applicants are notified; unsuccessful applicants receive no reply