Osaka University: Routes, Tests and Costs for International Students

Osaka University (officially The University of Osaka) runs two undergraduate routes for international applicants that this page covers, and each has its own entry date: the privately-funded screening is for April 2027 entry and the English-taught Human Sciences programme is for October 2027 entry. The English-programme page also lists the science programme IUPS, whose site shows guidelines for April 2027 enrollment. The fees stated are 282,000 yen once at admission (privately-funded route) and 535,800 JPY tuition a year (as of FY2025).

Do not mix the routes. A date or requirement on one route says nothing about the others, and the university does not publish one shared deadline for international applicants.

The university's English-programme page lists the Human Sciences programme and IUPS. Human Sciences teaching is English-medium, and students are also expected to gain proficiency in Japanese.

Standard fees

The Japanese-language guidelines for the privately-funded route list an admission fee of 282,000 yen plus a service fee, paid 9-13 March 2027. The scholarship page states the annual tuition as 535,800 JPY (as of FY2025). The full cost picture is in the cost chapter.

Osaka University Minoh Campus building

No overall ranking position is quoted here: the university's own pages state none, and a ranking position needs its publisher as the source.

Osaka University's own pages describe Tekijuku, a place of study opened in 1838 by the medical doctor OGATA Koan, and they report a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for Distinguished Honorary Professor SAKAGUCHI Shimon. The university's pages state no university-wide ranking position, so this chapter lists none.

Origins in Tekijuku

The university's own page describes Tekijuku as a gakumonjo, a place for study, opened in 1838 by OGATA Koan, a prominent medical doctor. That is the date to quote if you need one.

The university's pages do not state the later steps from Tekijuku to the present university or a founding year for the university as a whole. One department date is confirmed: the Department of Physics gives 1931 as its year of establishment.

Nobel ties the university reports

The university reports that Distinguished Honorary Professor SAKAGUCHI Shimon was awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of regulatory T cells, which suppress immune overreactions. That is the one prize link the university's own pages state; they give no count or list of laureates.

Ranking position

No overall ranking position for Osaka University is quoted here. The university's own pages state no QS or Times Higher Education position, and the publishers' tables are the place to look. The pages give no place within Japan and no subject ranks either.

There is no general international application to Osaka University: you choose one route, and each has its own rules. The privately-funded special screening for AY2027 (April 2027 entry) lists as its first criterion 12 years of school education in a foreign education system abroad, completed or expected by 31 March 2027, and you choose 1 school and department.

Special screening for privately-funded international students

Everything in this section applies to the AY2027 special screening for privately-funded international students, the route that leads to April 2027 entry. The Japanese-language guidelines list numbered eligibility criteria, and two of them are covered on this page.

• Criterion 1: you completed, or will complete by 31 March 2027, 12 years of school education in a foreign education system abroad.
• Criterion 4: a MEXT-designated upper secondary course counted as 11 or more years (see the qualifications chapter).

The tests chapter has the TOEFL iBT application thresholds, which are set by school.

"A few" is the university's own wording for Economics and Letters in that table. You apply to 1 school and department only, so choose before you register.

English-taught programmes

The university's English-programme page lists the Human Sciences International Undergraduate Degree Program (HUS) and the International Undergraduate Program in Science (IUPS). HUS is English-medium. The programme chapter has the details.

MEXT scholarship routes

The Japanese Government (MEXT) scholarship is a funding route with two types of undergraduate application. The embassy track runs through the Japanese Embassy or Consulate General in your country, and recipients take Japanese lessons for a year at the university's Center for Japanese Language and Culture. The page lists this timeline without naming a year, so check the embassy notice for your own cycle.

The university-recommendation type works differently: the programmes listed are HUS and IUPS. The embassy application itself falls in February to March in the timeline the page lists.

Admissions Assistance Desk

The Admissions Assistance Desk (AAD) supports the initial contact between international students who plan to apply to graduate schools and the supervisors of their choice. It serves graduate applicants, so it is not an undergraduate channel.

The university's English-programme page lists two routes: the Human Sciences International Undergraduate Degree Program (HUS), taught in English, whose current guideline is for October 2027 enrollment, and the International Undergraduate Program in Science (IUPS), whose site lists Application Guidelines for April 2027 Enrollment.

Human Sciences International Undergraduate Degree Program

The School of Human Sciences launched this programme in October 2011. The university says the programme currently enrols only a small number of students.

The guideline also notes that the October 2027 enrollment schedule remains unchanged, with online registration from December 1, 2026 through January 5, 2027.

International Undergraduate Program in Science (IUPS)

The International Undergraduate Program in Science (IUPS) is listed on the English-programme page, and it is one of the two programmes for MEXT university recommendation. The IUPS site lists Application Guidelines for April 2027 Enrollment, uploaded 2025.09.30. IUPS asks for basic Japanese when you apply: JLPT N3, or N2 for the Department of Biological Sciences. The IUPS site also posts an advance notice of changes to the special entrance examination effective from 2029 admissions, so check it for your intake year.

Which programmes the page lists

The English-programme page lists the Human Sciences programme and IUPS. The official name of the Human Sciences programme is the Human Sciences International Undergraduate Degree Program.

For the AY2027 privately-funded screening (April 2027 entry) the guideline sets a TOEFL iBT application threshold by school, such as 3.0 for Letters and 4.0 for Human Sciences, and only Test Date Scores are valid. The English-taught Human Sciences programme accepts several forms of English proof.

The rules below apply to the AY2027 privately-funded screening (April 2027 entry) unless a heading says otherwise.

EJU (Examination for Japanese University Admission) results are required at the time of application. TOEFL scores are required too, except for applicants to the School of Foreign Studies, the School of Medicine Division of Health Sciences and the School of Dentistry, which the guideline exempts. The university's English admissions page lists this route with an EJU Japanese score of 200-400 or higher, varying by school and department, so check your school's row in the guideline.

TOEFL scores the schools set

These are application thresholds (出願基準点), not admission thresholds: a threshold is a gate to apply, not the level of admitted students. Read your school's row in the guideline.

• Only scores from tests taken on or after 4 January 2025 count.
• TOEFL-ITP scores cannot be used.
• Only Test Date Scores are valid. MyBest Scores cannot be used.

The university's own written tests and interviews

Each school sets its own tests in the guideline. In Economics, for example, there is an oral exam on 3 March, open only to applicants who pass the written exam announced on 1 March.

Tests for the English-taught programmes

The Human Sciences programme (October 2027 enrollment) lists an official copy of a standardized academic test "where applicable", with SAT, ACT, AP, IB and A-level as examples. It asks you to submit official scores of any standardized test for university entrance that you have taken. If you submit scores, the guideline gives institution codes: 7099 for SAT, 1359 for ACT and 7099 for AP. English proof is covered in the language chapter.

Some applicants may be invited for an interview if the programme wants more information, and they are contacted by email by February 17.

For the MEXT embassy route, the first screening consists of a documentary examination, a written examination and an interview, held May - July.

Each route has its own window, and none of them has opened yet. For the privately-funded screening (April 2027 entry) mailed documents are received from 4 January 2027 to 8 January 2027; the Human Sciences programme (October 2027 entry) takes registration from December 1, 2026 to January 5, 2027.

Privately-funded screening, AY2027

The university states that registration in the Web Application System alone does not complete the application process, and it does not accept documents brought in person. Documents must arrive within the receiving period.

The application (examination) fee is 17,000 yen, and the Web system charges a service fee on top when you pay. The admission fee after an offer is 282,000 yen plus a service fee.

Human Sciences programme, October 2027 enrollment

Registration is online through the university's e-apply portal. The application fee of 17,000 JPY is payable from 10:00, December 1, 2026 to 23:59, January 5, 2027, and all documents must arrive by post by January 8, 2027. The result of the screening, and of the interview for interviewed applicants, is announced on March 26.

After an offer the programme sets further dates: reply to your offers by email by May 7, then pay the enrollment fee and apply for a visa in June. Offers can depend on results: IB students submit their results by July and A level students submit final results by August to confirm offers. The programme period for the 2027 cohort starts on October 1, 2027.

Each window above belongs to its own route and applies to no other.

What language you need depends on the route. The Human Sciences programme (October 2027 enrollment) accepts TOEFL iBT 4.5 or IELTS Academic 6.5 among its forms of English proof and expects students to gain proficiency in Japanese, while the privately-funded screening (April 2027 entry) sets TOEFL iBT application thresholds by school.

Privately-funded screening: TOEFL thresholds

The AY2027 guideline sets TOEFL iBT application thresholds by school, such as 3.5 for Law. Only Test Date Scores are valid, and TOEFL-ITP scores cannot be used. The tests chapter has the table.

Human Sciences programme: English proof

Teaching is English-medium, and the programme also expects students to gain proficiency in Japanese. The application asks for proof of English. The accepted evidence listed for October 2027 enrollment includes:

• TOEFL iBT with a minimum of 4.5 (or 85 for a test taken on or before January 20, 2026). The score should be obtained before January 8, 2027 and be within its two-year validity period.
• IELTS Academic with a minimum of 6.5, generally with no component below 6.0.
• Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English or Proficiency (CAE or CPE) with grade C or above.
• GCSE or IGCSE English language at grade C or above.
• IB Diploma English A with grade 4 or above; English B is accepted at higher level with grade 4 or above.
• Recent upper secondary study in which a wide range of courses was undertaken and assessed in English.
• If you submit TOEFL Special Home Edition, the programme interviews shortlisted candidates; the same applies to IELTS Indicator.

Japanese after entry

The Human Sciences programme describes curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities to learn the language and interact with regular Japanese-medium students, domestic and international. MEXT scholarship recipients on the embassy route take Japanese lessons for a year at the university's Center for Japanese Language and Culture.

The AY2027 privately-funded screening (April 2027 entry) accepts applicants who completed 12 years of school education in a foreign education system abroad, or will do so by 31 March 2027, and it counts a MEXT-designated upper secondary course of 11 or more years as another route. The English-taught Human Sciences programme uses criteria of its own.

Privately-funded screening: the criteria

The guideline lists numbered criteria. Criterion 1 covers 12 years of school education completed in a foreign education system abroad, and Criterion 4 covers a MEXT-designated upper secondary course counted as 11 or more years. Read the full list in the guideline before you apply.

For Criterion 1 the 12 years must be completed, or expected, by 31 March 2027. A school-leaving qualification is separate from the TOEFL threshold, which the tests chapter explains.

Human Sciences programme

The Human Sciences programme lists its own criteria. Criterion 1 is an international applicant who has completed a standard 12-year school curriculum in a country other than Japan; the guideline spells the curriculum out as primary, lower and upper secondary school. For A levels, the guideline's appendix says a minimum of three subjects at Advanced level are required.

A standardized test is requested only where applicable (SAT, ACT, AP, IB and A level are examples).

The university publishes results by school for the AY2026 privately-funded screening. In the Foreign Studies Japanese major 24 people applied, 14 sat the examinations, 8 passed and 6 enrolled; Medicine had 1 applicant and 0 passes. It publishes no overall acceptance rate for international applicants and no place count for its English-taught programmes.

These are the counts for one past cycle and one route. The AY2026 results describe who applied last year, not your odds this year. No official page states an overall acceptance rate or chances by applicant profile.

Results by school, AY2026

The Japanese major of Foreign Studies lists 8 places in this table, and among the schools shown it is where the most applicants passed. Letters and Economics list "a few" (若干名) places, so a pass count of 3 in Letters is a result, not a quota. Engineering is reported as a subtotal across its departments.

Places in the English-taught programmes

The Human Sciences programme says it currently enrols only a small number of students. The page gives no figure for places or applicants, so no acceptance rate can be given.

How many international students

The university has a page on international student numbers with figures as of May 1, 2026, and the count is best read there; no estimate is given here.

For your own chances, treat these results as context, not as a rate. The numbers are small, they come from a single past cycle, and they differ sharply by school, so the useful step is to compare your TOEFL result with your school's threshold in the tests chapter and to ask the admissions office about your school.

Selection differs by route and school. The Human Sciences programme builds its file on a personal statement of about 700 words and two recommendation letters, and may invite some applicants to an interview. For the privately-funded screening, each school sets its own tests.

The university's admission policy states what it looks for: students who have developed solid basic academic skills, a positive learning attitude at educational institutions such as high school, and who are eager to discover and explore areas of interest on their own. Each school adds its own admission policy on top of that.

Privately-funded screening, AY2027

For April 2027 entry each school sets its own tests and TOEFL iBT application threshold; the tests chapter has the thresholds. In Economics, for example, only applicants who pass the written exam announced on 1 March may sit the oral exam on 3 March.

Human Sciences programme, October 2027 enrollment

Two parts of the file are written by others or by you:

• A personal statement of approx. 700 words that helps the programme assess your motivation, preparedness and overall fit, including the focus area you choose.
• A recommendation letter from two recommenders: teachers, career counsellors or the headteacher.

Interviews are not for everyone. If the programme needs more information, it may invite some applicants to a face-to-face or online interview and contacts them by email by February 17.

MEXT embassy route

The MEXT embassy track has its first screening in May - July, with a documentary examination, a written examination and an interview. The university does not publish how many applicants it recommends.

Osaka University lists its undergraduate schools across three campuses in Suita, Toyonaka and Minoh. No ranking of departments is given here, so no department is named the strongest.

The university's pages give no subject ranks, graduate numbers or employer links, so this chapter lists what the university does publish: which schools exist and where they sit.

Schools and campuses

Campus names come from each school's address on the university's admissions pages. The English-taught Human Sciences programme is run by the School of Human Sciences and is covered in the English-taught degrees chapter.

Medicine for international applicants

The Faculty of Medicine (Medicine course) appears in the AY2026 privately-funded results with 1 applicant, 1 examinee and 0 passes. Read the Faculty of Medicine's own entrance pages and the guideline for your intake before you plan an application.

Research strength and rankings

No official page names the university's strongest research areas or gives subject ranks, student numbers by field or a hospital bed count. If you need a view on research strength, compare the publishers' subject rankings directly and the research pages of the school you are considering.

The university's pages publish no graduate employment figures, so there is no share of graduates in work or salary to quote. What it does state is a list of destination types for the Human Sciences programme, one Nobel Prize link from 2025, and a clear position on student part-time work.

Alumni and laureates

The university's pages give no list or count of laureates or other prize winners among alumni. The one prize link the university states is the 2025 award to SAKAGUCHI Shimon, described in the history chapter.

Where graduates go

For the Human Sciences programme the university lists the destinations above. It also says that students who take the Japan Studies concentration will be well positioned to seek employment in Japanese organizations and Japan-related fields overseas. These are descriptions of fit, not outcome statistics, and the page gives no numbers.

The university publishes no figures on employer recruiting channels, starting salaries or the share of graduates who stay in Japan. If you need outcomes for a specific school, ask the admissions office for that school's own career data.

Part-time work while you study

The university states that a student's main job is studying. If you take a part-time job, you must ensure that the work is not dangerous and does not damage your health, and that it has no negative impact on your studies. Your visa conditions on work are in the visa chapter.

The scholarship page states annual tuition at Osaka University as 535,800 JPY (as of FY2025). The privately-funded AY2027 guideline adds an admission fee of 282,000 yen once and an application fee of 17,000 yen.

The guideline gives its amounts as of April 2026.

The university says tuition is considerably lower than at private institutions because the Japanese government heavily subsidises each student. The university gives no comparison with universities abroad and no dollar or euro amounts. Convert the yen figures at the exchange rate on the day you pay.

University dormitories

The guideline gives example rents and common fees per month. The figures below are example residences from the AY2027 guideline:

The housing chapter covers how to apply for a room and the other residences.

Private flats and the cost of living

For private housing the guideline quotes figures from the university co-op for contracts signed from March 2024 to February 2025. The average rent is 40,731 yen a month for a unit-bath flat, where bath, toilet and basin are one unit, and 50,248 yen for a flat with a separate bath. These are past contracts, not a quote for your year.

The university publishes no total living-cost estimate. The Human Sciences programme lists what students bear themselves: the enrollment fee, tuition, travel costs, accommodation (rent and utilities), daily living expenses and national health insurance costs. The university gives no food prices or city cost comparisons.

The Human Sciences programme page states a University of Osaka Scholarship of 80,000 JPY a month for students with outstanding grades, and the JASSO honors scholarship reservation program pays 48,000 JPY a month for a fixed period. Both are competitive, and the MEXT scholarship runs as a separate route.

University and JASSO scholarships

The University of Osaka Scholarship is for students with outstanding grades: the Human Sciences programme page states 80,000 JPY a month. The JASSO reservation program is a pre-arrival arrangement: it is made available to international students who have been accepted and will enroll at the university.

Students in the Human Sciences programme can apply for tuition waivers after joining.

Tuition exemption

On the exemption pages as currently published, all students of the university may apply for a tuition fee exemption of half or all of the fees. The application periods are late March to early April for the spring semester and late September to early October for the autumn semester. New students apply from early March to early April for the first semester.

International students are among those ineligible for the national support program for Japanese and permanent-resident undergraduates, so they use the university's own enrollment and tuition fee exemption program. For the privately-funded AY2027 route, the application guide for the 2027 exemption is planned for posting in late January 2027. Check it as soon as it appears, because the deadlines are strict.

Honors exemption for graduate entrants

The Tuition Fee Exemption for International Honors Students gives a full tuition exemption, quoted against an annual tuition of 535,800 JPY (as of FY2025). It is for privately-funded international students of excellent academic standing in the graduate school entrance examinations, so it is not an undergraduate waiver.

MEXT scholarship

The MEXT page links the application guidelines of the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship for 2027 (International Students). For undergraduates there are two types of application: Embassy Recommendation and University Recommendation. The embassy type runs through your Japanese embassy; the university type lists HUS and IUPS as its programmes. The routes chapter has the embassy timeline. The university pages do not say whether MEXT covers all living costs, so check the MEXT guideline.

Osaka University runs several residences for international students, with monthly rents from 8,000 yen in the men's dormitory at Toneyama to 56,000 yen for a single room at Global Village Tsukumodai. Rents are subject to change, and the availability table was dated 13 October 2026.

Global Village Tsukumodai

Global Village has two towers. Tower A has shared units for five, seven or nine people, and Tower B is a studio 1K type. Priority in Tower A is given to MEXT scholarship and university-wide exchange programme students. Selection is generally first come, first served, and the spring application period is scheduled for early February.

Who gets priority

Students of the Human Sciences programme are given priority for a place in the university dormitory for the first year, at their own cost. The Support Office for International Students and Scholars handles general housing information for international students.

Check availability before you count on a dorm room. The availability table on the residences page was dated 13 October 2026 and showed no vacancy for most residences. If you do not get a place, the cost chapter has the private-flat averages. Rents on the page are subject to change, so confirm the figure when you apply.

Osaka University studies are spread over three campuses, Suita, Toyonaka and Minoh, and which one you live near depends on your school: the English-taught Human Sciences programme is on the Suita campus, and the Osaka Monorail stops on that campus at Handai-byoin-mae Station.

Pharmaceutical Sciences is not in the table because its campus is not stated on the admissions pages. Check the school's address before you sign a lease, because the three campuses are in different cities and commutes between them are not short.

Suita campus

The School of Human Sciences building is a 3-5 minute walk from Handai-byoin-mae Station, the Osaka Monorail stop on the Suita campus. Because the English-taught Human Sciences programme is here, most students on that route will work from this campus. Medicine, Dentistry and Engineering are also on Suita.

Osaka University Hall on the Toyonaka campus

Toyonaka and Minoh campuses

Toyonaka hosts Letters, Law, Economics, Science and Engineering Science. Minoh hosts Foreign Studies. The university's pages give no distances between the campuses or bus frequencies, and no figures on the city's population or its student share.

Support for international students

The Support Office for International Students and Scholars handles general housing information for international students. The Human Sciences programme describes curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities to learn Japanese and to interact with regular Japanese-medium students, both domestic and international.

Part-time work

A student's main job is studying, so a part-time job must not be dangerous, must not damage your health and must not harm your studies. Students whose "Student" status is granted for more than 3 months can apply, after receiving landing permission, for permission to engage in activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted. That permission is what part-time work requires.

Osaka University applies for your Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) for you, through its CoE Web Application System, and the CoE takes about 3 to 8 weeks from application to issuance. After that you apply for a student visa at your nearest Japanese Embassy or Consulate-General.

The university's pages give no processing time for the visa at the embassy and no post-graduation visa guidance.

When the visa step falls

For the Human Sciences programme (October 2027 enrollment) the enrollment fee deadline and the visa application both fall in June, after the March screening result. Because the CoE alone can take weeks, expect to start the paperwork as soon as you accept an offer.

Residence status and part-time work

You enter on "Student" status. Those granted "Student" status with a permitted period of more than 3 months can apply, after receiving landing permission, for permission to engage in activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted. You need that permission before taking a part-time job, and the work must not harm your health or your studies.

Apply to Osaka University through the privately-funded screening (April 2027 entry) if you can work from Japanese-language guidelines, or choose the English-taught Human Sciences programme (October 2027 entry); the next dated step is December 1, 2026, when online registration for that programme opens. Tuition is stated at 535,800 JPY a year (as of FY2025).

Who it suits

This is a reading of the facts in the earlier chapters, not a prediction. The privately-funded screening (April 2027 entry) suits applicants who can meet their school's TOEFL threshold, 3.5 for Law for example, and who can work from Japanese-language guidelines.

The Human Sciences programme (October 2027 enrollment) suits applicants who want to study in English: teaching is English-medium, and students are also expected to gain proficiency in Japanese.

It suits less well an applicant who needs published employment figures or a published acceptance rate, because the university publishes neither.

Summary - next steps

Do not mix these windows: a date on one route says nothing about another. Read the application chapter for the full steps, and the tests chapter for the TOEFL rules.

What the university does not publish

The university gives tuition of 535,800 JPY a year as of FY2025. Its pages state no world ranking, no Nobel count, no living-cost total, no graduate employment figures and no advice on parallel applications to other Japanese universities.

Sources and method

No overall ranking position is listed: ranking positions come from their publishers, and a university's own ranking claim is attributed to the university.

Official pages of Osaka University, UCAS, gov.uk and the ranking publishers. Applicant reports, where shown, are self-reported and labelled.

Tekijuku － The University of Osaka · Special Screening for Privately-funded International Students － The University of Osaka · 2027 年度 · Human Sciences International Undergraduate Degree Program · ２０２６年度 私費外国人留学生特別入試 実施状況 · Tuition Fee Exemption for International Honors Students － The University of Osaka · Residences for International Students － The University of Osaka · IUPS International Undergraduate Program in Science School of Science, The University of Osaka · Special Courses in English － The University of Osaka · Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship Students － The University of Osaka · Distinguished Honorary Professor SAKAGUCHI Shimon 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Commemorative Page － The Un · Admissions Assistance Desk (AAD) － The University of Osaka · Notification of changes to the Application document submission period for October 2028 Enrollment · https://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/en/admissions/intl-students/Undergraduate-Students/Special-Entrance-Examination-for-Privately-Funded-International-Students-EJU-Japanese-score-of-200-400-or-higher-required-varies-by-school-and-department · AY2027 Special Screening for Privately-funded International Students － The University of Osaka · International student numbers － The University of Osaka · Admission Policies of Schools － The University of Osaka · Who to contact regarding questions and requests for application materials － The University of Osaka · Prospective Students | Human Sciences · Part-time work － The University of Osaka · [Intended for Graduate Students and International Students] The University of Osaka Enrollment/Tuition Fee Exemption Pro · Human Sciences | Osaka University · CoE Procedures － The University of Osaka

Photos: Building of the Osaka University Faculty of Medicine: photo ignis, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons · Osaka University Minoh Campus building: photo Asturio Cantabrio, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons · Osaka University Hall on the Toyonaka campus: photo Soraie8288, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons