English-Taught Master's and MBA Programs in Japan: Timelines, Japanese, Scholarships

Many English-taught master's and MBA programs in Japan don't require Japanese for admission. The English MBAs at Hitotsubashi University ICS and Waseda WBS both start in September and accept applications in rounds from the fall of the previous year to the following spring; English-taught programs at UTokyo and Kyoto University start in April, September or October depending on the department. The Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT) scholarship requires citizenship of a country with diplomatic relations with Japan. The equivalent route for Taiwanese applicants is the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association scholarship, and its first round requires the Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students (EJU), including the Japanese-language section.

This post covers application timelines, Japanese requirements, scholarships and the "kenkyusei" (research student) system. Any of these rules can change from year to year, so check each school's latest application guidelines before you apply.

Key points

• Hitotsubashi ICS's MBA for the 2027 intake has 2 rounds: round 1 closes October 8, 2026, and round 2 closes February 4, 2027. The application fee is 30,000 yen, and you need at least 2 years of full-time work experience.

• Waseda WBS's English MBA is a 2-year full-time program that admits about 50 students a year. The September 2027 intake has 3 rounds, with deadlines of October 21, 2026, January 20, 2027 and March 31, 2027.

• UTokyo's website lists 21 English-taught graduate programs, and Kyoto University lists 16 English-taught master's programs.

• The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association scholarship for master's and doctoral students pays 143,000 to 145,000 yen a month. Applicants must be under 35, and the first round uses June EJU scores.

• A kenkyusei is a non-degree student; UTokyo's website states that no degree is awarded at the end of the research period.

Application timelines: English MBAs mostly take applications in fall and winter

English MBAs accept applications in rounds. The table below shows the 2027 intake timelines currently published on the two schools' websites.

The two schools have different requirements:

• Hitotsubashi ICS: you need a bachelor's degree (16 years of education) and at least 2 years of full-time work experience, and the months before enrollment can count toward it. A GMAT or GRE score is required and must be from within 5 years before the interview date; TOEFL and IELTS are optional. There are 1-year and 2-year tracks, and you can't switch after admission. The website notes that scholarships are limited and round 1 applicants have a better chance of getting one. Round 1 interviews are on November 25, 2026, and round 2 interviews on March 18, 2027.

• Waseda WBS: the English MBA is a 2-year full-time program, and the website says it admits about 50 students a year. The GMAT/GRE track requires a GMAT or GRE score, plus one English test: TOEFL, IELTS or TOEIC. The website states there is no minimum GPA, GMAT/GRE or English score. Waseda also has a 1-year MBA, but it is taught in Japanese, so don't mix them up.

Round 1 of Hitotsubashi ICS's 2027 intake has already closed, so anyone starting now should look at round 2. Waseda's round 1 deadline is October 21, 2026, which is very tight.

For a senior's actual application experience, see this post on the site: 2024 Japan English MBA application experience (Hitotsubashi, Waseda).

UTokyo and Kyoto University: English master's programs start in different months by department

At UTokyo and Kyoto University, each English master's program runs its own admissions and sets its own start month. The table below picks a few representative programs; the full lists are on the two schools' websites.

A few things to watch:

• UTokyo's website says some English-taught programs don't require Japanese, while programs taught in Japanese require "a high level of Japanese proficiency." UTokyo's list of English programs doesn't mark the Japanese requirement for each one, so check each program's page.

• On Kyoto University's English programs page, only the Graduate School of Economics program states outright that "Japanese proficiency is not required for admission." For the other programs, check their own application guidelines.

• Kyoto's i-MBA starts in April, unlike the September start at Hitotsubashi and Waseda. If you apply to both, plan the timelines separately.

• UTokyo's website says interested applicants should contact the graduate school they want to attend directly. The Exchange Association's scholarship guidelines also remind applicants to contact schools and prospective supervisors early to confirm whether they have a "naidaku" (a professor's informal consent). Rules differ by graduate school, and some don't allow applicants to contact professors directly.

For science and engineering, other national universities are worth a look too. For example, Tokyo Institute of Technology merged with Tokyo Medical and Dental University in October 2024 to form the Institute of Science Tokyo, and the site has a page for its Technology and Innovation Management master's.

Do you need Japanese? Three cases

"English-taught" doesn't mean you'll never need Japanese. The table below breaks down the common cases.

A school not requiring Japanese doesn't mean the scholarship doesn't. The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association scholarship always uses EJU scores in the first round: humanities applicants take Japanese as a Foreign Language, Japan and the World, and Mathematics Course 1; science applicants take Japanese as a Foreign Language, two science subjects, and Mathematics Course 2. So even if you're applying to a fully English-taught program, you still have to take the Japanese section to get this scholarship.

You'll still use Japanese often in daily life. Waseda's English MBA also offers Japanese classes, so if you want to learn more you can pick it up while enrolled. There's a post on the site about choosing courses in Waseda's Bekka (Japanese language program) that shows what Japanese courses at a Japanese university are actually like.

Scholarships: Taiwanese applicants go through the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association

A lot of information about studying in Japan mentions the MEXT (Japanese Ministry of Education) scholarship. UTokyo's MEXT document states that applicants must hold citizenship of "a country that has diplomatic relations with the Japanese government." Taiwanese applicants instead apply for the "Japanese Government Scholarship Student" program run by the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, a public interest incorporated foundation. The table below summarizes the key points of the academic year 2027 guidelines for applicants in Taiwan.

You need to start preparing more than a year ahead. The academic year 2027 process was: guidelines published in February 2026, EJU registration from February 16 to March 12, the exam on June 21, first-round applications mailed from June 22 to July 3, and first-round results in early August. The final list for academic year 2027 was already announced in October 2026, so anyone starting now is aiming for academic year 2028. For the past three years, the Association has published its master's and doctoral guidelines between January and February; check its website for the exact date.

A few other rules in the guidelines are easy to miss:

• The scholarship doesn't handle admission for you; you have to apply to schools yourself. You must submit an admission letter or acceptance notice by the end of January 2027, or you lose eligibility.

• You list three preferred schools on the application, and you can't change or add to them later; if you end up at a school not on your list, you won't get the scholarship.

• To interview in English, you must attach English test scores and a document from your Japanese supervisor agreeing to English instruction (or a syllabus showing the department teaches in English), and write your research plan in English.

• The guidelines state that applications or research plans written with generative AI such as ChatGPT are not accepted.

MBA schools also have their own scholarships; check each school's latest application guidelines for amounts and numbers of awards.

Kenkyusei vs. a regular master's

A Japanese "kenkyusei" is different from what Taiwan calls a "graduate student": it's a non-degree student. UTokyo's website states that kenkyusei don't receive a degree or qualification at the end of the research period.

The Exchange Association's guidelines describe kenkyusei as a way of entering "for the purpose of moving into a regular program." English-taught programs can be applied to directly as regular programs, so being a kenkyusei isn't a required step. If you go the kenkyusei route, watch two things. First, kenkyusei don't receive a degree, so after that period you still have to complete a regular master's. Second, the Exchange Association's guidelines state that if you enter as a kenkyusei and then don't pass the regular program's exam, your scholarship period won't be extended.

How to use this information

• First decide between an MBA and a regular master's. English MBAs (Hitotsubashi ICS, Waseda WBS) mostly require work experience, and Hitotsubashi ICS specifies at least 2 years; the English master's programs at UTokyo and Kyoto University focus on academic research, and some graduate schools require a supervisor's naidaku first.

• Work backward from the timeline. For a September 2027 MBA start, you need to prepare GMAT/GRE and English scores now, to make at least Waseda's round 2 (January 20, 2027) or Hitotsubashi's round 2 (February 4, 2027).

• If you want the Exchange Association scholarship, you have to move earlier than your school applications. EJU registration is in February and the exam is in June, so prepare for the Japanese section ahead of time.

• Plan Japan together with other countries. The site has only 3 admission results for Japan so far, which isn't enough to suggest admission rates; for admission results in other countries, use admission results search to compare results from applicants with similar backgrounds.

• Before you apply, recheck every rule on the school's official website. For example, Waseda's guidelines for the September 2027 intake weren't published until August 2026.

FAQ

Do I need Japanese for an English-taught master's in Japan?

Many English-taught master's and English MBA programs don't require Japanese for admission; for example, Hitotsubashi ICS's website states that Japanese is not an admission requirement. But rules differ by program. UTokyo only says that "some" English programs don't require Japanese, so read each program's guidelines before applying.

Can Taiwanese applicants apply for the MEXT scholarship?

MEXT scholarship documents require applicants to hold citizenship of a country with diplomatic relations with Japan. Taiwanese applicants usually apply for the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association's master's and doctoral scholarship, which for academic year 2027 pays 143,000 to 145,000 yen a month and uses EJU scores in the first round.

When do you apply for the English MBAs at Hitotsubashi and Waseda?

Both start in September. Hitotsubashi ICS's 2027 intake has 2 rounds, with deadlines of October 8, 2026 and February 4, 2027; Waseda WBS has 3 rounds, with deadlines of October 21, 2026, January 20, 2027 and March 31, 2027.

Is a Japanese "kenkyusei" a master's student?

No. A kenkyusei is a non-degree student, and UTokyo's website states that no degree is awarded at the end of the research period. The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association scholarship also accepts applicants who first enter as kenkyusei and aim to move into a regular master's the following year.

What exams do you take for the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association scholarship?

The first round uses scores from the first EJU session in June, held in Taipei. Humanities applicants take Japanese as a Foreign Language, Japan and the World, and Mathematics Course 1; science applicants take Japanese as a Foreign Language, two science subjects, and Mathematics Course 2. After that there's an interview, in Japanese in principle; if you meet the conditions, you can request English.

About the data

• This is a guide compiled from the official websites and application guidelines of each school and the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, verified on 2026-10-18. Admission rules may change each year; follow the latest announcements from each school and the Association.

• The site has only 3 admission results for Japan, too small a sample, so this post doesn't analyze admission rates or backgrounds. All site data is shared by OfferLand users themselves, not official school data; see About our data for definitions.

• The program lists include only representative programs, not complete lists.

• External sources (verified 2026-10-18):

• Hitotsubashi University Business School ICS, "How to apply" (MBA 2027 intake)

• Waseda University WBS, "Admissions" (International MBA, September 2027 intake timeline) and the "International MBA Program" overview page

• The University of Tokyo, "Graduate Admissions" and "Degree Programs Offered in English for Graduate Students"

• The University of Tokyo School of Engineering, "Requirements for Eligibility (MEXT)"

• Kyoto University, "English-taught degree programs"

• Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, "Long-term scholarships" page, "Academic Year 2027 Japanese Government Scholarship Students (Master's and Doctoral) Application Guidelines," and "Master's and doctoral scholarship application process"