Hitotsubashi University Admission Guide for International Students

Why Hitotsubashi — Japan's social-sciences specialist

Hitotsubashi University, in the Tokyo area, is one of Japan's best-known universities dedicated to the social sciences — economics, commerce and business, law and the social sciences — with small, competitive cohorts and a strong research reputation in these fields. There is no engineering or natural-science faculty; the focus is deliberately narrow and deep.

For international students, that focus makes Hitotsubashi distinctive: it is a specialist choice for business, economics, law and related fields rather than a broad multi-faculty university. This guide outlines how international admission works at both undergraduate and graduate level; confirm the current specifics on the official website.

The faculties

Hitotsubashi is organised around a compact set of social-science faculties, which shapes what you can study and how you apply.

Each faculty has its own curriculum and admissions rules, and at graduate level Hitotsubashi also hosts well-known business and public-policy schools (covered below). Always check the official faculty pages for the current programme and language of instruction.

• Faculty of Commerce and Management
• Faculty of Economics
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Social Sciences
• Faculty of Social Data Science (established 2023)

Undergraduate admission and the HGP English courses

At undergraduate level, Hitotsubashi's degrees are largely taught in Japanese, and the general entrance examination and application documents are conducted in Japanese. International applicants who want a Hitotsubashi bachelor's degree therefore usually apply through the Japanese-medium route (including, where offered, a privately-financed international-student admission), which assumes Japanese-language ability.

Hitotsubashi does run the Hitotsubashi University Global Education Program (HGP) — a catalogue of English-taught courses in the social sciences open to international and Japanese students — but these English courses are not, on their own, a full English-medium bachelor's degree. If an English-taught undergraduate degree is essential for you, confirm directly with the university what is currently offered before applying.

• Undergraduate degrees are largely Japanese-medium; the entrance exam is in Japanese
• International undergraduate applicants generally use the Japanese-medium route (verify)
• HGP offers English-taught social-science courses (not a full English degree on their own)
• Confirm the current English-taught options with the university before applying

English-taught graduate study

Hitotsubashi's strongest English-medium, internationally-oriented options are at the graduate level. The School of International Corporate Strategy (Hitotsubashi ICS) runs an all-English MBA, and the university offers other English-taught graduate programmes — for example in international and public policy and in social data science — aimed at international students.

Graduate admission is run by each school with its own requirements: an MBA typically expects a bachelor's degree and relevant work experience, while research master's/doctoral routes expect a clear research direction. Verify each programme's tests (which may include GMAT or GRE, plus English proficiency), documents and deadlines on its official page.

• Hitotsubashi ICS — all-English MBA (School of International Corporate Strategy)
• Other English-taught graduate programmes (e.g. international/public policy, social data science)
• MBA typically expects a degree + work experience; research routes expect a research plan
• Tests may include GMAT/GRE + English proficiency — verify per programme

Fees and scholarships

Tuition at Hitotsubashi varies by programme and level, and the university and external bodies offer scholarships for international students, including options connected to Japan's MEXT scheme. Professional programmes such as the MBA have their own fee structures.

Fee and scholarship figures change every year and are set officially, so treat any amount from a third-party site as indicative only. Confirm the current tuition and funding on Hitotsubashi's official admissions and programme pages before making decisions.

Applying to Hitotsubashi — checklist

First match your goal to the right level: a specialist social-science bachelor's (largely Japanese-medium) or an English-taught graduate programme such as the ICS MBA. Then work only from that programme's official page and prepare its exact requirements — Japanese-language evidence and the Japanese-medium exam for most undergraduate routes; a degree, work experience and GMAT/GRE (as required) plus English proficiency for graduate routes.

No consultancy can guarantee admission — Hitotsubashi's own screening decides — so be cautious of 'guaranteed place' offers. Apply through official channels by the stated deadlines and re-check the pages each cycle.