Application Guide

Below is a summary of the application information. For full details, please read the Application Handbook carefully. All the information you need to complete an application is written in the Application Handbook.

• The University will contact applicants through the online application system and/or E-mail. It is the applicant’s responsibility to regularly check E-mail communication and the online application system, and respond in a timely manner.
• All times indicated on this page refer to Japan Standard Time (UTC+09).

Admissions Policies

College of Global Liberal Arts

Based on the school spirit of “freedom and innovation” and on the educational philosophy of “peace and democracy,” Ritsumeikan College of Global Liberal Arts seeks students from Japan and the world who agree with its Human Resources Development Aims and educational goals and have passion to study at Ritsumeikan University. In accordance to this context, the students, admitted to the College, should have the following academic abilities, interests, and aptitudes.

(1) Knowledge and Understanding
Through education at a senior high school, etc., the applicants must have obtained the academic ability and English language ability necessary for the wide array of studies in the humanities and social sciences.
(2) Thinking and Judgment
Applicants must have the critical thinking abilities that form the foundation of academic knowledge and of making ethical judgments with global viewpoints.
(3) Interest, Motivation and Attitude
Applicants should be interested in social change, progress in science and technology, history in global perspective, and socio-cultural diversity.
Applicants must have challenging spirit, social tolerance, cooperative mind, and leadership in identifying and solving problems.
(4) Skill and Expression
Applicants must have the ability to reason appropriate data collections and their analyses, and the ability to clearly express and discuss their own opinions.

Joint Degree Program, College of International Relations

The Global International Relations Joint Degree Program is looking for globally minded students who can be effective leaders both on and off campuses. We expect our graduates to take an active role in their professional fields and contribute directly and indirectly to the deepening of mutually beneficial relations between the U.S., Japan and the rest of East Asia, as well as to the peace and prosperity of the international community.

College of International Relations

In the Department of International Relations within the College of International Relations, students systematically learn three types of essential approaches to understanding global society: language skills, theories, and area studies. Throughout this learning process, students develop a high level of foreign language proficiency and the ability to think logically, while cultivating deeper intellectual capacities to better understand cultural diversity. The college seeks students who have the will to act independently and the desire to contribute to society in terms of governance, economics, culture, and peace.

To this end, the college admits students who already possess the following abilities and motivations:
(1) Basic academic skills necessary to analyze problems facing global society
(2) A deep interest in the problems facing global society and the self-motivation to pursue them
(3) Language abilities necessary to understand and explain the problems facing global society

College of Policy Science

The College of Policy Science seeks students who will challenge themselves both in practical and scholastic terms, with the aim of creating a better society through policy solutions. Thus, the College expects students to have the following academic abilities and interests upon admission:
(1) Basic academic knowledge acquired at high school or equivalent educational institutions.
(2) Interest in acquiring thinking skills and abilities for problem solving based on that knowledge.
(3) Willingness to design and work on practical solutions to a wide-range of social problems.

College of Information Science and Engineering

Education and research at the College of Information Science and Engineering encompasses a wide range of topics. These relate to the core knowledge of technologies, and their application at the cutting edge. Our educational goal is to develop specialists and researchers with expertise in utilizing computers to obtain effective and innovative solutions to unforeseen issues. Graduates of CISE will be ready to play the leading role in a variety of organizations at the global level. With these objectives in mind, we welcome prospective students with the following qualities and attitudes.

(1) The prospective students should have acquired logical thinking skills and fundamental understanding of mathematics and natural sciences necessary to pursue studies in information science.
(2) For those who are to choose one of the six courses provided in Japanese, they should have sufficient Japanese proficiency to understand and produce Japanese texts, as well as the fundamental proficiency in English. For those who are to be enrolled in the course provided in English, they should be able to display sufficient command of English to pursue academic studies in the language.
(3) They should have acquired academic underpinnings to start a wide range of studies at the tertiary education level.
(4) They should have wide and keen interests in academic fields related to information technology.
(5) They should be strongly motivated to acquire the fundamentals of programming.
(6) They should have sincere motivation to acquire specialized and advanced knowledge and technologies, ethical attitudes, and leadership.
(7) They should be fully aware of the significance of skills for problem-identifying/solving and those for communication, and are ready to improve those skills to the more advanced levels.

Requirements

Applicants MUST fulfill the following two requirements:
1. University Entrance Eligibility and 2. English Language Proficiency

1. University Entrance Eligibility

Applicants must meet one of the following criteria before their enrollment date* at Ritsumeikan University.
Applicants admitted into the University in the prospect of satisfying one of the requirements below should fulfill the requirement before the enrollment date; otherwise, the offer of admission will be revoked.
* Enrollment date: April 1 for April enrollment / September 26 for September enrollment.

• Applicants who have completed a standard 12-year curriculum in less than 12 years with appropriate reasons, such as grade skipping or early graduation, will be regarded as having met the requirement.
• The following do not meet JD Program application eligibility requirements:
  -Criteria F and H.
  -Completion of an upper secondary course in a specialized training college (専修学校の高等課程).

Inquiry regarding eligibility

Applicants who wish to apply and are unsure if they meet the eligibility requirement, or those who wish to apply under "Criteria I." must contact the International Admissions Office three weeks prior to the start date of the application period.
Visit HERE to place an inquiry.

2. English Language Proficiency

English Test Score

In order to demonstrate sufficient English ability, applicants must take one of the tests listed below and achieve the minimum score indicated below.

The English tests must have been taken within the two-year period before the last date of the application period that the applicant applies in and the test score must be available during the application period.

• The University does not accept the TOEFL iBT® Home Edition or the TOEFL® Essentials™ Test.
• The University only accepts TOEFL iBT® scores from a single test date, not MyBest® scores.
• The University does not accept IELTS Online or IELTS Indicator.
• IELTS One Skill Retake is not acceptable.
• The University does not accept institutional tests such as the TOEIC® IP Test.

Please note that the following is a summary of the ANU Policy: English language admission requirements and post-admission support. Please refer to the complete policy to check the minimum scores of each English language test. For information on the valid period of the English Language Test scores for GLA, Ritsumeikan University applicants must comply with the rules as stated in the Ritsumeikan University Application Handbook rather than the ANU Policy.