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Best Programs at the University of Tokyo: Engineering, Economics, PEAK, and GLP-GEfIL 2026

Studying in Asia

Which programs at Todai are worth it? A guide to 10 faculties (Law, Engineering, Medicine, Letters, Science, Agriculture, Economics, Arts, Education, Pharmacy), English-taught PEAK, and the GLP-GEfIL leadership track - for international applicants.

Jakub Andre
Written by Jakub Andre College Council
Updated 25 April 2026 · 9 min read
Hongo campus of the University of Tokyo with the Yasuda Auditorium building

Lead image: Wikimedia Commons

The University of Tokyo - known in Japan simply as Todai (東大) - is the only Asian institution that simultaneously trains aerospace engineers working for JAXA, economists who staff the Bank of Japan and Ministry of Finance, lawyers who helped draft Japan’s postwar constitution, and physicists who win Nobel Prizes - and does all of this for JPY 535,800 in annual tuition, approximately $3,500 (€3,200), regardless of a student’s nationality. Founded in 1877, Todai currently sits at QS #28 in the global rankings and consistently holds the #1 position in East Asia according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

Before you choose a program, there are two things you need to understand. First: Todai has 10 faculties, the vast majority of which teach in Japanese - without passing the EJU exam and JLPT N1, you are effectively locked out of roughly 90% of the course catalog. Second: two English-language tracks - PEAK (Programs in English at Komaba) and the Global Science Course (GSC) - are genuine options for international applicants without Japanese language proficiency, but together they admit fewer than 50 students per year from around the world. This article maps out seven of Todai’s strongest academic pathways and helps you identify which one fits your profile as an international applicant.

If you are just starting your research, begin with the full Todai guide. For comparisons with other Japanese universities, see Kyoto University and Osaka University. Before applying, convert your school grades using our GPA calculator - Japanese universities require a 4.0-scale GPA, and most international grading systems require conversion before submission.

Todai by the Numbers 2026
10
faculties
#28
QS World 2025
19
Nobel laureates
16
Prime Ministers of Japan

Which programs at Todai are the strongest globally?

The University of Tokyo operates on the classic European-Asian faculty-based model, not the American liberal arts model. Students apply to a specific faculty (or to the English-language PEAK or GSC track), and this choice is binding at the point of application. Changing faculties after the first year is possible, but requires passing an internal transfer exam and typically means losing at least one semester of progress.

The undergraduate offer is structured around 10 faculties: Law, Medicine, Engineering, Letters (humanities), Science, Agriculture, Economics, Arts and Sciences (College of Arts and Sciences on the Komaba campus), Education, and Pharmaceutical Sciences. In the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025, Todai’s strongest subject areas are Engineering (global top 10, with select sub-fields in the top 5), Physics (top 15), Mathematics (top 15), Chemistry (top 20), and Modern Languages (top 30). The Faculty of Medicine is Japan’s #1 and ranks in the global top 30.

For international applicants, the key framing point is this: Todai is the undisputed #1 in Japan, but at the undergraduate level it does not sit in the same prestige tier as Harvard or Oxford in Western hiring contexts. A QS #28 ranking places Todai roughly at the level of the University of Edinburgh and below the global top 20. If you plan to return to a Western country after graduation, a Todai degree will be recognized and respected - but it will not automatically carry the same recruitment premium as Cambridge or LSE. If you are targeting a career in Asia, however, it is an absolute top-tier choice with no clear rival outside Tsinghua and NUS.

What makes the Faculty of Engineering Todai’s flagship?

The Faculty of Engineering is the largest and best-funded faculty at Todai - educating over 4,000 students at undergraduate and graduate level, running 16 departments, and receiving the largest share of government research grants from the Ministry of Education. In the QS Engineering & Technology Rankings 2025, it sits in the global top 10, just behind MIT, Stanford, Cambridge, ETH Zurich, and NUS. This is the highest-ranked discipline for any Japanese university in any subject category.

The strongest sub-disciplines are:

  • Mechanical Engineering - industry ties with Toyota and Honda; world-class robotics and autonomous vehicle laboratories
  • Civil Engineering - globally recognized leader in seismic engineering; standards for earthquake-resistant construction developed here after Kobe 1995 and the Tōhoku earthquake of 2011 are now applied worldwide
  • Aeronautics and Astronautics - active partnership with JAXA; students contribute to Hayabusa asteroid mission projects during their studies
  • Electrical Engineering and Information Systems - research partnerships with Sony, Hitachi, and NEC; a flagship center for semiconductor design
  • Materials Engineering - global leader in fuel cell research and advanced materials development

Most undergraduate Engineering courses are taught in Japanese, but at the Master of Engineering level the English-language offering is broad and well-established. A common and practical pathway for international applicants is to complete a Bachelor’s degree at a strong home university in Engineering or Physics, then apply for an English-taught Master’s program at Todai - a path often supported financially by the MEXT Research Student scholarship. For direct undergraduate entry in English, the Global Science Course provides a related route within the Faculty of Science.

What is PEAK and who is it realistically for?

PEAK (Programs in English at Komaba) is Todai’s flagship English-language undergraduate program, run on the Komaba campus in western Tokyo. Launched in 2012 as Todai’s response to global recruitment competition, it was the first program at a top-tier Japanese university to offer a fully English-taught undergraduate degree track.

PEAK offers two specializations:

  1. International Program on Japan in East Asia - regional studies covering the history, politics, and culture of East Asia (Japan, China, Korea, the ASEAN region) through a social science lens. Well-suited to applicants targeting careers in diplomacy, international organizations, or area-focused research.
  2. International Program on Environmental Sciences - an interdisciplinary program combining ecology, climate science, and policy. The track has ties to UNFCCC processes and Japan’s Ministry of Environment.

PEAK admissions requirements: SAT or ACT, TOEFL minimum 80 or IELTS 6.5, a personal essay, two letters of recommendation, and official academic transcripts. Applications are submitted online in December, with decisions issued in March - meaning international applicants can apply to PEAK simultaneously with UK applications through UCAS and US applications through Common App. The acceptance rate is approximately 10-15%, but with only around 30 places available per year globally, the absolute number of offers issued is very small. PEAK students pay the same tuition (JPY 535,800/year, ~$3,500/€3,200), receive the same Todai degree, and have access to the same research facilities and faculty as Japanese-language students. From the second year, students can apply for the MEXT undergraduate scholarship, which covers tuition and provides a monthly living stipend.

How does the Global Science Course (GSC) work and who should consider it?

The Global Science Course (GSC) is Todai’s English-language undergraduate program launched in 2014 within the Faculty of Science - the only English-taught undergraduate science track at any Japanese university. Available specializations include Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and (since 2019) Physics.

GSC operates on a dual-entry model. The Direct Entry track is aimed at students applying directly from secondary school: SAT or IB plus TOEFL and a personal statement, application in January, decision in April, approximately 10 students admitted per year. The Transfer track admits students who have already completed two years of undergraduate study at another recognized university, with approximately 20 places available annually. For many international applicants, the transfer route after two years at a home institution is the more achievable option - it offers a higher probability of admission, allows you to build a verified academic record in science, and still results in a full Todai degree after two additional years in Tokyo.

GSC uses a “soft immersion” model: approximately 60% of required courses are taught in English, supplemented by Japanese-language seminars, with intensive Japanese instruction built into the first year. For an international student who wants to study science at an elite Asian institution but is not prepared to invest two to three years in Japanese acquisition before applying, GSC represents the most accessible undergraduate entry point into Todai.

What is GLP-GEfIL and why is it one of Asia’s most elite leadership tracks?

GLP-GEfIL (Global Leadership Program - Global Education for Innovation and Leadership) is an interdisciplinary leadership program at Todai, open to undergraduate students from any faculty after completing their first year of study. Launched in 2014 with funding from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), it was created to address a fundamental tension: how can Todai produce globally oriented leaders when its traditional faculty structure is deeply specialized and largely Japan-facing?

The GLP-GEfIL structure: 100% instruction in English; 30 students selected internally each year from across all of Todai through a competitive process based on GPA, essay, and interview; a two-year parallel track running alongside the student’s primary faculty program (Years 2 and 3); a mandatory semester abroad at partner institutions including Yale, Princeton, Sciences Po, NUS, and Peking University; a capstone project; and mentoring sessions with business leaders (including CEOs of Sony and Toyota) and former government ministers.

The critical point for prospective applicants: you apply to GLP-GEfIL only after you have already been admitted to Todai - it is not a separate admissions pathway. If you gain entry through PEAK and are subsequently selected for GEfIL, you hold one of the most competitive diplomatic and policy CVs available at the undergraduate level in Asia - comparable to Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs or Sciences Po’s Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA).

How do the Faculty of Economics and Faculty of Law hold up globally?

The Faculty of Economics is historically Todai’s second-strongest faculty after Engineering. It ranks in the global top 50 in QS Economics 2025 and top 5 in Asia (behind Tsinghua, NUS, HKU, and Peking University). Specializations span Economics, Management, and Financial Engineering. The majority of undergraduate courses are delivered in Japanese, but at the graduate level the GraSPP (Graduate School of Public Policy) operates 100% in English - a recognized partner of Yale’s Jackson School, Sciences Po, and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.

An international applicant weighing Todai Economics against LSE faces one clarifying question: where do you want to work? For the City of London, Wall Street, or European financial sector roles, LSE carries significantly stronger recruiter name recognition and alumni network density. For Mitsubishi UFJ, Nomura, Japan’s Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Japan, or careers in Asian investment banking - Todai is the undisputed #1. The gap in international brand recognition for Todai Economics is real in Western hiring contexts, and it is worth accounting for early.

The Faculty of Law holds the highest social status of any faculty in Japan - for well over a century it has trained Supreme Court justices, attorneys general, and prime ministers. Eisaku Sato (BS Law, 1924) - Prime Minister of Japan from 1964 to 1972 and Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1974 for nuclear non-proliferation policy - is among the faculty’s most prominent graduates. In total, Todai has produced 16 Prime Ministers of Japan, the majority of them coming through the Faculty of Law. For international applicants: Japanese law is structured as a distinct civil law system with its own procedural traditions, and it is most relevant as a career foundation if you intend to practice or work in Japan. If you are targeting legal careers in common law jurisdictions (the UK, US, Australia, Canada) or other Western civil law systems, a Todai Law degree requires careful evaluation of local bar exam eligibility and equivalency rules before you commit.

Todai in QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025
SubjectGlobal Ranking
Modern Languagestop 30
Mechanical Engineeringtop 10
Civil Engineeringtop 15
Physics & Astronomytop 15
Mathematicstop 15
Chemistrytop 20
Materials Sciencetop 15
Medicinetop 30
Economicstop 50
Lawtop 50

What other faculties are worth considering (Letters, Science, Agriculture, Education, Pharmacy, Arts)?

Todai’s remaining six faculties are strong within Japan and across Asia, though their global name recognition outside specialized academic circles is more limited:

  • Faculty of Letters - Japanese philology, history, philosophy, linguistics. All instruction in Japanese. Relevant primarily if you are planning a research or academic career in Japanese studies, East Asian history, or regional humanities scholarship.
  • Faculty of Science - Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Astronomy. QS top 20. For international students, the GSC track is the only realistic English-language entry point at the undergraduate level.
  • Faculty of Agriculture - Agronomy, veterinary science, food biotechnology. Ranked #1 in Japan and in the global top 30. Notable industry partnerships with Kikkoman and Ajinomoto.
  • Faculty of Education - Pedagogy and education policy, delivered entirely in Japanese.
  • Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences - Pharmacy and pharmaceutical chemistry. Industry partnerships with Takeda and Daiichi Sankyo - two of the world’s major pharmaceutical companies. The strongest pharmacy program in Japan.
  • College of Arts and Sciences (Komaba) - Operates in a model close to US liberal arts colleges. PEAK formally sits within this college as its international track.

One structural fact worth understanding before you apply: every Todai student spends their first two years on the Komaba campus in liberal arts mode, regardless of their ultimate faculty placement. Only in Year 3 do students move to the Hongo campus and begin deep specialization - a distinctive structure that blends the breadth and flexibility of liberal arts education with the depth of the European faculty model. For PEAK students, Komaba is effectively home for all four undergraduate years.

Who are Todai’s notable alumni and what does that tell you about the programs?

The University of Tokyo has produced 19 Nobel laureates and 16 Prime Ministers of Japan - no other university in Asia has such a concentrated presence across both global scientific achievement and political leadership. A few figures worth knowing before you make your decision:

  • Yasunari Kawabata - Nobel Prize in Literature, 1968; BA in Literature, 1924 (Faculty of Letters). The first Japanese writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, author of Snow Country and The Sound of the Mountain. His trajectory demonstrates the historical depth of Todai’s Letters faculty, even as instruction remains entirely in Japanese.
  • Leo Esaki - Nobel Prize in Physics, 1973; BS in Physics, 1947 (Faculty of Science). Inventor of the tunnel diode, a component fundamental to modern semiconductor technology. The path from Todai Physics to a Sony research laboratory to a Nobel Prize represents a classic model of Japanese industrial science.
  • Eisaku Sato - Prime Minister of Japan, 1964-1972; Nobel Peace Prize, 1974, for nuclear non-proliferation policy; Faculty of Law, 1924. The defining example of Todai Law’s role in producing Japan’s political establishment across generations.
  • Masatoshi Koshiba - Nobel Prize in Physics, 2002, for the detection of cosmic neutrinos via the Kamiokande detector; BSc in Physics, 1951.
  • Takaaki Kajita - Nobel Prize in Physics, 2015, for the discovery of neutrino oscillations; MS and PhD in Physics, 1983 and 1986. Kajita’s trajectory was a graduate-level one, not undergraduate. For international students considering a Bachelor’s degree in Physics at a strong home institution followed by a Master’s or PhD at Todai, this is exactly the academic path that produced a Nobel laureate.

From a careers perspective within Japan, Todai alumni dominate across three sectors. In the corporate world, Toyota, Sony, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, and Nomura all have boards in which Todai-educated executives represent between 30% and 50% of leadership. In public administration, the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Japan, and JAXA recruit heavily from Todai Law and Economics graduates who pass the highly competitive national civil service examination - a process for which Todai’s programs prepare students better than any other institution in the country. In the judiciary, the majority of Japan’s Supreme Court justices have Todai Law degrees.

For an international graduate, a Todai degree functions as a premium credential primarily within Japan and East Asia. In Western Europe and North America, it will be recognized as prestigious by informed hiring managers, but is less immediately familiar than Oxford or MIT in routine screening processes. If you plan to return to your home country after graduation, a Todai degree gives you a distinctive Asia-facing profile - a real asset at multinational firms with significant Japanese or broader Asian operations, global financial institutions with Tokyo or Hong Kong presence, intergovernmental organizations focused on the Indo-Pacific region, and foreign service agencies with Asia mandates.

Summary - which program at Todai is right for you?

Choosing a program at Todai starts with one practical question: do you know Japanese?

  • If you have no Japanese and are not planning to invest 2-3 years in acquiring it before applying → your realistic options are PEAK (East Asian regional studies or environmental sciences) or GSC (Biology, Chemistry, or Physics). Everything else at the undergraduate level is effectively inaccessible without Japanese language proficiency at JLPT N1 level.
  • If you have Japanese (JLPT N1) or are committed to developing it before you apply → all 10 faculties open up, including flagship Engineering and the Faculty of Economics.
  • If you are targeting a Master’s or doctoral program → the English-language offer is significantly wider at graduate level. Most PhD programs in Engineering and Science, as well as the GraSPP public policy school, operate entirely in English. The MEXT Research Student scholarship is the standard funding pathway for international doctoral students at Todai, covering tuition and providing a monthly stipend.

For international students targeting careers in Asia, biotechnology, automotive engineering and research (Toyota, Honda), or high-energy physics research, Todai is the strongest option in East Asia alongside Tsinghua and NUS. For students targeting careers primarily in Europe or North America, LSE, Oxford, Cambridge, or Imperial will provide a stronger platform in those hiring markets - often at comparable or lower effective cost once European and national scholarship programs are factored in.

Before applying, convert your grades using our GPA calculator - Todai requires a converted GPA on a 4.0 scale for PEAK applications. For a full walkthrough of the admissions process, cost of living in Tokyo, student visa requirements, and the MEXT scholarship mechanics, see the complete Todai guide. For comparisons with other Japanese institutions, Kyoto University is strongest in humanities and fundamental sciences, while Osaka University leads in biotechnology and medicine.

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