Nara Institute of Science and Technology

About Nara Institute of Science and Technology

Nara Institute of Science and Technology (奈良先端科学技術大学院大学 Nara Sentan Kagaku Gijutsu Daigakuin Daigaku, widely known in Japan and worldwide as NAIST or 奈良先端大), established in 1991 as a dedicated national university corporation in Kansai Science City (Keihanna Science City - けいはんな学研都市, Ikoma, Nara Prefecture), is one of Japan’s premier postgraduate-only national institutions. Unlike traditional comprehensive universities, NAIST operates exclusively at the Master’s and Doctoral levels with no undergraduate faculties, concentrating 100% of its resources on cutting-edge research, advanced scientific discoveries, and nurturing global leaders in science and technology. In 2018, NAIST unified its previously separate graduate schools into a single interdisciplinary powerhouse: the Graduate School of Science and Technology (先端科学技術研究科). Research and education are conducted across 3 foundational domains—Information Science, Biological Sciences, and Materials Science—integrated through dynamic educational programs in Data Science, Intelligent Robotics, Cyber Resilience, and Computational Biology. With over 25% of its student body comprising international scholars from more than 50 nations, NAIST is famous for its 100% English-medium research environment, where all laboratory supervision, seminars, and thesis defenses can be conducted entirely in English with no mandatory Japanese language requirement. All students study under Japan’s statutory national university tuition rate (¥535,800/yr), backed by generous 50% to 100% National Tuition Fee Exemptions, competitive MEXT special quota scholarships, and extensive paid Research Assistant (RA) and Teaching Assistant (TA) fellowships.