Postgraduate
Studies in Japan
Pursue your Master's or PhD at a globally recognized Japanese research institution. World-class labs, generous scholarships, and a thriving academic community await.
Programme Structure
Academic Year & Duration
Master's Programmes
Generally 2 years to complete. Designed for students who have completed a Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
Doctoral (PhD) Programmes
Generally 3 years to complete. For students who have completed a Master's degree or equivalent.
Academic Year Start
Starts either in spring (April) or in autumn (September or October), depending on the university.
Special Cases — Medical & Related Fields
For medical, dental, veterinary, and some pharmaceutical undergraduate programmes, the duration is 6 years and they do not have Master's programmes. Doctoral programmes in these areas take 4 years. Some postgraduate programmes span 5 years total, comprised of 2 years for the first half of the doctoral programme and 3 years for the last half.
Who Can Apply
Eligibility Requirements
For Master's Programmes
In order to apply for Master's programmes in Japan, you must satisfy one of the following requirements:
- Japanese university graduates
- Completed 16 years of school education in countries other than Japan
- Completed a programme with a standard study period of minimum 3 years at a university or equivalent institution in countries other than Japan, and received a Bachelor's degree or its equivalent
For more detailed eligibility specified by MEXT, please visit the official MEXT guidelines.
For PhD Programmes
In order to apply for PhD programmes in Japan, you must satisfy one of the following requirements:
- Students with a Japanese Master's degree or a Japanese professional degree
- Students awarded a Master's degree (or its equivalent) or a professional degree by a university or institution in countries other than Japan
- Students who have attended universities or research centres for a minimum of 2 years and are recognized as having academic competency equivalent to those with a Master's degree
For more detailed eligibility specified by MEXT, please visit the official MEXT guidelines.
Discover Your Options
Finding Schools & Programmes
There are nearly 1,550 programmes (around 150 at undergraduate and 1,400 at postgraduate levels) taught fully in English. You can search schools and programmes at the following data portals:
Search for Schools (JASSO)
Provided by the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO). You can choose the medium/language of instruction under "Search by major field or school location".
Visit JASSOList of Degree Programmes in English (JASSO)
A curated list of university degree programmes offered fully in English at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
View ListHow to Apply
Preparing Your Application
Find Your Prospective Supervisor
Applying to a graduate school requires receiving prior consent from a professor to be your prospective supervisor. Some universities ask applicants to contact professors directly; others ask you to contact them through the administration office.
When contacting a professor, have your research proposal ready so they understand your area of research interest.
Prepare a Research Proposal
A research proposal is an outline of your research plan and the methodology you intend to use. It helps professors understand that you have a firm research plan for your study at graduate school.
Your proposal should include:
- Purpose of research
- Research background
- Significance of the research
- Research methodology
- Bibliography
Written within approximately 2,000 words.
Prepare Application Documents
Each university has different required documents, procedures, and deadlines. Please check the application guidelines of your target university carefully.
Basic required documents:
- Certificate of a Bachelor's degree (or anticipated degree) — for Masters programme application
- Certificate of a Master's degree (or anticipated degree) — for PhD programme application
- Transcripts of the schools attended
- Letters of recommendation
- Bachelor's thesis (for Masters) or Master's thesis (for PhD) and its summary
- Research proposal
- Other documents as required by each university
Many schools require these to be translated into Japanese or English.
Timeline & Assessment
Application Period & Entrance Exam
Application Period
The application period varies by university. In general:
- Spring admission: Application is mostly between April and May
- Autumn admission: Some universities accept between September and October
Entrance Exam
Whether or not there is an entrance exam depends on the school:
- Some schools have a written examination followed by an interview
- Other schools only have an interview
After Acceptance
Applying for Financial Aid
Once you receive the acceptance note for admission from your prospective university — congratulations! Now you can proceed to either:
Apply for a Scholarship
If the university you applied to has scholarships available, apply for them. There are many scholarships one can apply for once accepted. Procedures differ — some are applied for directly by the applicant, others through the university.
Tuition Waiver or Reduction
If the university has a tuition waiver or reduction system in place, apply for it. Depending on your past academic records or application performance, the university may waive up to 100% of tuition fees.
You can find more detailed information on scholarships on our dedicated page.
Scholarships