Primatology and Wildlife Science Virtual Internship Program
The Primate Research Institute (PRI) and Wildlife Research Center (WRC) of Kyoto University will offer a virtual internship program this year, in response to international travel restrictions under the COVID-19 pandemic. This 7-day program is designed to introduce: (1) the range of research being conducted at PRI and WRC; (2) the graduate-level International Course in Primatology and Wildlife Research (MSc/DSc program); and (3) what it is like to be a graduate student at PRI or WRC, including life in Inuyama/Kyoto, to a global audience of people who are interested in applying for our international graduate program in the near future. Several of our faculty members and graduate students will join this program to share their perspectives and answer questions from the virtual interns. The entire program will be conducted in English, and will take place on Zoom.

Apply Now
The deadline for online application has now passed.

01 Program Period
March 1–March 9, 2022
A detailed schedule of events will be announced on this website in early February. We will try our best to maximize accessibility from different time zones, but will also appreciate your flexibility during the program period. Participants are encouraged to attend all the events in real time if possible, but for those who cannot do so, we intend to make recordings of some of the events available.
02 Program Contents * Japan Standard Time / UTC+9
Mar. 1 Tue
9:00-10:00, 17:00-18:00 		Orientation: overview of the program
  • brief overview of Japanese primatology & Wildlife study
  • brief introduction of WRC & PRI
  • interns introduce themselves
  • Q&A
Mar. 2 Wed
17:00-18:00 		Introducing graduate student research at PRI & WRC
Mar. 3 Thu
9:00-10:00 		Introducing Yakushima/Arashiyama field sites
Mar. 4 Fri
17:00-18:00 		Life in Kyoto & Inuyama
Mar. 7 Mon International PWS Symposium (more information is available here )
Mar. 8 Tue International PWS Symposium
Mar. 9 Wed
9:00-10:00 		Information session for entrance examination and on-site internship
Except for the PWS Symposium on March 7–8 (5-8 hours each day), each event will last for approximately an hour.
03 Eligibility

Anyone from any country who is considering applying for the graduate-level (MSc/DSc) International Course in Primatology and Wildlife Research or on-site participation in the PRI/WRC Short-Term Internship Program (pending relaxation of international travel restrictions) in the future is welcome to participate. However, if we receive more applications than we can accept (see Maximum Number of Participants, below), participants will be selected based on: (1) how well their academic interests match our graduate/internship programs; and (2) how likely they will succeed in our graduate/internship programs, as judged from the submitted application materials.

04 Maximum Number of Participants

Approximately 10 current undergraduate/master's students, plus ~10 recent graduates of bachelor's/master's programs who are not currently enrolled at universities

05 Fees

None. This program is funded by the Wild & Wise Collaborative Learning Program of Kyoto University.

06 Per Diem

None (not applicable to virtual internship).

07 Important Dates:
January 20, 2022 9:00 a.m.* Deadline for application
January 24, 2022 Notification of application result
February 7, 2022 9:00 a.m.* Deadline for accepted applicants to submit additional documents (see below).

* Note all times are in Japan Standard Time (GMT/UTC+9).

08 Additional Documents Required from/for Accepted Participants after Jan. 24, 2022

If you are accepted into this virtual internship program, we will require the documents listed below in order to formalize your participation in the program. Instruction on how to submit these documents will be provided in the acceptance notification.

Students who are currently enrolled at a university: (1) a dean's letter requesting admission to the Primatology and Wildlife Science Virtual Internship Program (we will provide you with a template); (2) a current copy of your academic transcript (unofficial transcript obtained from the registrar's office is acceptable). The dean's letter will allow us to admit you into the program as an official Short-term International Student of Kyoto University and waive your tuition fees.

All other participants: (1) a short recommendation letter from a recent faculty advisor; (2) a copy of your most-recent academic transcript.