Graduate Program

Admissions (Osaka University Website)

Prospective Graduate Students

Application Guidelines for Doctoral Program (for entrance in April 2021) (PDF)

Application Guidelines for Doctoral Program (in October 2021) (PDF)

※(The English version is for reference document.

　　 Please contact the Educational Affairs, before applying from abroad)

Notice (Change of Announcement Date of Successful Applicants and Implementation of the Supplementary Examination)　

MEXT Scholarship Students
Embassy Recommendation for Japanese Government Scholarship Students

The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Monbukagakusho or MEXT) offers scholarships to international students. Moreover, Japanese government scholarship students may enter Japanese universities and receive exemptions for matriculation and tuition fees, as well as monthly scholarship stipends. Japanese embassies or consulates invite applications and conduct preliminary screenings (i.e., reviews of each applicant's submitted documents, written examination, and interview responses). ONLY those applicants who pass the first screening are eligible to apply directly to the Graduate School of Economics at Osaka University for informal consent of acceptance or certificate of admission. After that, the second screening (i.e., consultation with MEXT and the university) will be conducted and final scholarship recipients will be selected. An applicant usually enrolls and studies in a specialized field at Osaka University as a research student for six months to one year. After passing the entrance examination, the applicant may enroll in a master's or doctoral program. Applicants with Japanese language deficiencies must take a six-month Japanese training course at the International Student Center. The academic year begins in either April or October. Therefore, the selection process through Japanese embassies and consulates for both entrance dates begins around February or March. Please contact them around that time at least one year before you wish to begin your studies.

For application procedures, please contact the Japanese embassy or consulate in your home country.

Japanese Embassies and Consulate Offices

For more information about a MEXT Scholarship, please refer to the following websites:

Study in Japan MEXT Scholarship Students of Osaka University

Privately Financed Students

We do not conduct special screenings for international students. All applicants (Japanese and international students) must take the same entrance examination. Following is information regarding admission requirements and schedules.

Admission Requirements	Master's Program	Doctoral Program
Degree	Bachelor's Degree Those who have graduated, or expect to graduate from a Japanese university or a college by March of the year wishing to enroll the program ※For more information, please refer to the application guidelines	Master's Degree Those who have had master's degree, or expect to have master's degree by March (April Intake) or September (October Intake) of the year wishing to enroll the program ※For more information, please refer to the application guidelines
Japanese Proficiency Requirement	Official Result of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test(N1 Level)NOT required for those who have graduated or expect to graduate from a Japanese university	NOT required for Doctoral Program

Schedule	Master's Program		Doctoral Program
	Summer Exam （April Intake）	Winter Exam （April Intake）	April Intake	October Intake
Application Guidelines Distributed	Beginning of July	Beginning of July	End of September	End of March
Apply	Middle of July	End of November to Beginning of December	End of November to Beginning of December	End of June
Written Exam	End of August	End of January	Beginning of February	None
Interview	Beginning of September （Applicants who passed the written exam）	End of January （Same day as the written exam）	Beginning of February （Same day as the written exam）	Middle of August
Notification of Acceptance	Middle of September	Middle of February	Middle of February	End of August
Enrollment	April	April	April	October
Screening Method	Screening for admission will be made on the basis of a written exam (English and Economics(summer exam only)), an interview, and the submitted documents		Screening for admission will be made on the basis of the master's thesis, a written exam, an oral exam, and the submitted documents especially research proposal

※The above information is subjected to change. Please make sure to check the application guidelines for master's program or the application guidelines for doctoral program for the latest information.

Exchange Students

Osaka University's Graduate School of Economics has completed academic exchange agreements with a large number of universities in other countries. Under the exchange agreements conducted on university-to-university and school-to-school levels, exchange students from selected institutions will be admitted to take classes for one or two semesters at Osaka University without paying additional tuition fees. Also, credits earned at Osaka University can be transferred to one's home university. Application should be made through the office handling international exchange at one's home university.

Exchange Program