Oxford Uehiro St Cross Visiting Programme

The Oxford Uehiro St Cross Visiting Programme 2025/26

This Visiting Programme has been established by the Uehiro Foundation on Ethics and Education with a view to providing opportunities for graduate students, postdoctoral and senior academics who are ordinarily resident in Japan to study or conduct research at the University of Oxford for nine or twelve months as a Visiting Scholar. The award is available in the field of practical ethics. A successful graduate student candidate will normally be supervised by a Director of the Uehiro Oxford Institute and academic staff at the Uehiro Oxford Institute and a successful postdoctoral or senior academic candidate will conduct their own relevant research at the Uehiro Oxford Institute. Successful candidates in either case will reside at St Cross College enabling him/her to benefit from the true Oxford college experience. The Visiting Programme aims to provide career development opportunities for those who are at a relatively early stage of their academic careers.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the award a candidate must:

(a) be a graduate student, postdoctoral researcher or Lecturer/Professor at a university in Japan in the field of bioethics, practical ethics, medical ethics, or applied ethics. If no suitable candidate from within these disciplines presents him/herself, applications from other Humanities and Social Sciences may also be considered, as long as the applicant’s research pertains to or has relevance to practical ethics

(b) be adequately proficient in English to satisfy UK Border Agency visa requirement (target IELTS 7 or TOEFL iBT100)

(c) provide a report on returning to Japan

(d) the award is available to individuals who are ‘ordinarily resident in Japan’ and planning to return home after their period of study or research in Oxford

(e) be an individual whose native language is Japanese

Duration

For nine or twelve months, beginning in October; requests to begin an award in April will be considered depending on circumstances.

Number of awards available

Up to two awards in total will be available for each academic year.

The applications window for 2025/26 academic year is now closed. Information for 2026/27 will be made available in due course.

Amount of Award

Up to £30,000 per award as required to cover the following expenses:

Course fee (for graduate students); College fee; Living costs; One round trip airfare to/from the UK; Visa application cost and NHS surcharge.

Application materials (all in English)

One-page research proposal
CV
Three academic references (for graduate students one should be from your academic supervisor)
Academic essay or other writing sample
IELTS English language proficiency certificate - target IELTS 7 (overall band score) or TOEFL iBT100)

All the application documents should be submitted between 15 February and 15 March 2025* by email to: University of Oxford Japan Office at info@oxfordujapan.org under the heading "Oxford Uehiro-St Cross Visiting Programme". [Note - applications for 2025/26 now closed]

Academic references should be sent directly to the Japan Office by post or by email to info@oxfordujapan.org under the heading "Visiting Programme Reference for NAME OF APPLICANT". If sent by email, the referee should send directly from his or her university/institution domain. If sent by post, the referee should send directly to University of Oxford Japan Office, Sanbancho UF Building 1F, 6-3 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075.

Selection process

(a) screening of application materials by Uehiro Oxford Institute academic staff
(b) interview(s) by Uehiro Oxford Institute academic staff (via skype and/or telephone)

The final decision will be made by a Director of the Uehiro Oxford Institute.

The expectation is that successful graduate student candidates will have Recognized Student status at the University of Oxford.

The successful candidate will be asked to supply the one-page research proposal and the CV in Japanese when the offer is made.

For information see: https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/new/recognised

Please note that in the highly unusual circumstances whereby an award is offered and accepted but the recipient cancels or significantly postpones their research visit, depending on the reasons for this decision the individual may be responsible for expenses undertaken in preparation for their visit.

St Cross College

University of Oxford

Uehiro Foundation on Ethics and Education

University of Oxford Japan Office

St Cross Uehiro Scholarships for Future Generations - please note this is a separate scholarship scheme operated by St Cross College. Future Generation scholars are very welcome to join the UOI community by making use of our facilities and participating in our internal events etc. (more information about the scholarships can be found below).

St Cross College, in partnership with the Uehiro Foundation on Ethics and Education, is very pleased to offer three St Cross Uehiro Scholarships for Future Generations to graduate students demonstrating exceptional academic merit and potential, who will commence a course of study in the field of practical ethics at the University of Oxford in October 2026. One Scholarship will be available only to applicants who are ordinarily resident in Japan.

Each Scholarship will cover the annual course fee for the duration of the Scholar’s fee liability together with a maintenance grant each year commensurate to the standard Wellcome Trust annual living costs stipend. Scholars will also be eligible to apply for dedicated funding to attend conferences and undertake fieldwork for their courses.

Application Criteria

All applicants who have submitted their course application by the relevant 2025-2026 admissions deadline for entry in October 2026 and who have included details of how practical ethics features in their proposed course research in their application form will be considered automatically.