The University of Osaka Admission 2027: Deadlines, Requirements, Fees for International Students

Admission at a glance

The University of Osaka is a national research university based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, with roots going back to 1931 and a significant expansion in scope after absorbing Osaka University of Foreign Studies in 2007. During this project's research the university's own website consistently used the English name The University of Osaka rather than the older Osaka University, so this record uses that current form while keeping Osaka University as the commonly searched short name. The university is a separate institution from Osaka Metropolitan University, a public but not national university formed in 2022 from the merger of Osaka City University and Osaka Prefecture University.

International undergraduate applicants generally apply through the university's International College, which runs English-medium degree programmes including the School of Human Sciences' International Undergraduate Degree Program (IUDP, established 2011) and an International Undergraduate Program in Science; the School of Engineering also runs its own international admission route. The Human Sciences IUDP is a four-year English-medium bachelor's degree that does not require Japanese ability at entry, with a single annual application cycle roughly ten months before the programme starts. The University of Osaka charges the same tuition to Japanese and international students, the standard national rate, and directs graduate applicants to contact a prospective supervisor and confirm their programme's own deadline before applying, since graduate admission is set department by department rather than on one university-wide calendar.

Requirements

Bachelor's (Human Sciences IUDP and other International College programmes)

Applicants need to have completed, or be on track to complete, 12 years of school education recognised as equivalent to Japanese upper secondary school. No Japanese language ability is required at entry; instruction is in English throughout the Human Sciences IUDP.

Master's and PhD

Each graduate school sets its own requirements; a relevant Bachelor's degree (or Master's degree for doctoral study) recognised as equivalent to a Japanese degree is the general baseline, and applicants are generally expected to secure a prospective supervisor's agreement before formally applying.

Full requirements and documents