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 download the forms from Application Forms page.

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

What is the character count for Research Proposals and Essay?

Submitted documents will not be returned under any circumstances.

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.