Initial Application Process
Please complete the following steps at least 6 months before your desired start date.
1) Please secure a CJS Core or Affiliate Faculty member as your sponsor before contacting CJS. They must be either professor, associate professor, assistant professor, or emeritus professor (click here to see a list of our faculty). When emailing prospective faculty sponsors, please include the following documents and information:
a) a current English-language curriculum vitae and list of publications.
b) a one-page English-language research proposal which details the human and material resources you to make use of at Berkeley, and includes specific dates you wish to be in residence.
c) For Visiting Student Researchers only: a letter of recommendation from your faculty advisor at your home institution
2) Once you confirm the faculty member's support of your application, please fill out the:
a) Visiting Scholar / Visiting Student Researcher Application Form
3) After the application is completed, send the above documents and name of your confirmed faculty sponsor to cjs@berkeley.edu, where it will then be forwarded to the CJS Visiting Scholar Committee for further approval.
If your research proposal, length of stay, and academic background are compatible with the Center's academic mission, we will notify you of your preliminary acceptance by e-mail.
4) After you receive preliminary approval, you will need to pay the following nonrefundable fees and move on to the visa application step (if you are an American citizen or permanent resident, you can skip the visa application process).
a) Application Fee ($100) and J-1 Processing Fee ($650 - for foreign applicants only) – to be paid via wire transfer or check drawn on a U.S. bank made payable to "U.C. Regents" - in the total amount of $750. Your application will not be processed until receipt of these fees.
Instructions on Wiring Fees
Please make sure that the following information is provided in your bank wire:
Beneficiary: University of California Regents
Beneficiary Information: Center for Japanese Studies Visiting Scholar Fees
Please see the University's instructions on how to wire fees for a detailed breakdown of the procedure. Send a confirmation of the wire transfer to cjs@berkeley.edu when it has been initiated.