Ritsu-Mate Registration Manual for Graduate Schools

Ritsu-Mate Frequently Asked Questions (Graduate Schools)

Yes, we have two admission periods.

• Admissions

You can apply for the program with a degree from a different field. The Graduate School of International Relations welcomes and accepts competent applicants from a wide range of fields, however, you must have the basic knowledge and background necessary to carry out your research.

Yes. Both applicants reside in and outside of Japan are eligible to apply.

Requirements deffer based on the type of admission.

• Application Guidelines

Basically, we do not conduct interviews online.

There are two type of screening for Master's program.
Document-only and Document + Interview

Please check the eligibility requirements in the application guidelines first. If you are still unsure, individual screening is available. Please refer to "Individual Preliminary screening" in the application guidelines.

1. All applicants should first contact their local Japanese embassy/ consulate for the most up-to-date information and details. We university cannot assis you until after you have passed the embassy/ consulate's primary screening.
2. After passing the primary screening, visit our MEXT Embassy Recommendation Shcolarship-based Admissions page and follow the instruction. (https://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/admissions/)

For inquiries, please contact Ritsumeikan University International Center: cger-bkc@st.ritsumei.ac.jp

Please consider your academic advisor in your field of study through their writings, articles, websites, etc.

• Academic Advisors

It is not required to the applicants applying for Master's program.
Applicants for Doctoral program are encouraged to discuss their research interests before application period begins.

We do not send individual confirmation of receipt. Please confirm it by using the tracking number, contact number, etc.

We will accept the documents postmarked by the last day of the application period. Please submit a PDF data of your application documents along with an invoice showing that it was sent within the period to ir-adm@st.ritsumei.ac.jp.

Yes. Originals of certain documents, such as academic transcript/certificate of graduation, are required.

Photocopies of certificates/ documents will not be accepted. If only a photocopy is available, please request an authentication to the university/issuing institution where it was issued. Documents with official seals, signatures, etc. may be accepted in lieu of originals.

Yes. Documents sent directly from the university can also be accepted by postal mail and email to ir-adm@st.ritsumei.ac.jp.

Printed data will not be accepted. We will accept the following alternatives.

• Verified copy by the university
• Digital copy sent directly from the university during the application period
• Digital credentials platform

Yes. We will accept the document as an academic transcript and a certificate of graduation.

Please submit the following documents during the application period, and submit your certificate as soon as it is issued.

* Certificate of credits you have earned
* Certificate of credits required for graduation (not required if it is stated in the document above)
* A document issued by university stating that “If you are able to obtain credits that are insufficient for graduation requirements (the required number of credits must be stated), you are expected to graduate”

Please download the forms from Application Forms page.

Yes. The documents you've submitted in the past are valid only for that exam.

Notes and citations are included, but not bibliographies, references, etc. The word count in the Research Proposal only includes A. the Research Proposal itself; it does not include B. Future Plans or C. Other Points.

Submitted documents will not be returned under any circumstances.

Please upload clear and legible copies of all required documents through Ritsu-Mate. In addition, your research proposal and essay must be submitted as searchable PDF files (i.e., text-recognizable PDFs).

Please submit each document in the file format (extension) specified for that document in the Application Guidelines.

Upload files of up to 100 MB per file. Files exceeding 100 MB cannot be accepted, so please reduce the file size before submission.

Please combine all pages into a single file and submit it as one document.

No. All application documents must be submitted within the designated application period.

Application documents cannot be revised or replaced once they have been submitted. Please ensure that all information is accurate before submission.

Yes. Please have them sent to ir-adm@st.ritsumei.ac.jp.

Yes. Documents may be sent directly to ir-adm@st.ritsumei.ac.jp by your university.

Yes. An academic transcript that clearly indicates the degree conferral date will be accepted in place of a graduation certificate.

Please submit the following documents during the application period and provide the expected graduation certificate as soon as it becomes available:

• A certificate showing the credits you have already earned
• An official document certifying the number of credits required for graduation/completion and the requirements for obtaining the degree (if this information is not already included in the document above)
• An official document issued by the university certifying the expected date of graduation/completion and stating that you will graduate/complete the program upon earning the remaining required credits (with the total number of required credits clearly stated) or upon fulfilling all graduation/completion requirements.

The referrer must submit the letter directly to the Graduate School at ir-adm@st.ritsumei.ac.jp using their institutional email address. Letters submitted by applicants themselves will not be accepted.

Footnotes and quotations are included in the word count. However, the bibliography, reference list, and similar sections are not included.

For the Research Proposal, only Section A: Research Plan/Proposal is counted. Section B: Future Career Plans and Section C: Additional Information are not included in the word count.

Please download the required forms from the following website:

Application Guidelines | Ritsumeikan University Graduate School Entrance Examination Information Website

Yes. However, you must also submit either a university-certified translation or a notarized translation in Japanese or English.

Submission of an official certificate of English language proficiency is waived if you have completed or are expected to complete an undergraduate/graduate program in the listed countries.

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, U.K. and U.S.A.

Submission of an official certificate of English language proficiency is waived if you have completed/ expected to complete an undergraduate/graduate program where English is the official language of instruction. In such case, an official university document certifying this is required.

There is no minimum score required as they are submitted for reference in the screening process.

Yes, it is acceptable.

We will not accept score reports sent directly from testing organizations.

Applicants for the English-based program are not required to have Japanese language ability.

Please refer to the Tuition, Fees&Financial Aid page.

Both scholarship recipients are selected based on their performance on the entrance examination, so applicants do not need to apply for this scholarship.

Please contact us at the following e-mail address.
ir-adm@st.ritsumei.ac.jp

You will have all the required information after your acceptance is confirmed.

No, we do not have a summer semester.