DBA Program 2025-2026

Application Package

DBA Program

Academic Year 2025-2026
Hitotsubashi University Business School
School of International Corporate Strategy

DBA Program 2025-2026

Application Package for the DBA Program(2025-2026)

Program Overview
Hitotsubashi ICS has offered since 2002 a doctoral degree program aimed at developing scholars who
can serve as “one bridge” between the worlds of scholarship and practice. The Doctor of Business
Administration (DBA) program is conducted in English at Hitotsubashi ICS’s campus in Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo.
The DBA program places particular emphasis on business problem-solving and its practical implications,while providing a theoretical and scientific foundation that adds academic rigor to research. DBA
candidates combine insights from their own business experience with new knowledge gained througha rigorous program of independent research and exposure to state-of-the-art ideas discussed atbusiness schools. DBA candidates are required to produce distinctive, original output at the leadingedge of applied management research. Successful DBA theses combine original theories and methods
as well as offer practical relevance and insights that will influence how managers think about businessissues.
The DBA program relies heavily on individual initiative. Each DBA candidate spends a minimum of three
years designing and executing a research project under the academic supervision of Hitotsubashi ICS
faculty. This work results in a thesis targeting publication as an academic paper or a research-oriented
management book. DBA candidates are required to complete three mandatory courses (two required
and one special lecture) and seminar, and can choose from among a range of elective courses as manyas which support implementation of their research. A candidate’s academic milestones in the program
include A) successful defense of their thesis proposal at a hearing, and B) successful completion anddefense of their doctoral thesis. DBA candidates are permitted to audit MBA courses with the approvalof their advisor and the course instructor. During the program, there are opportunities to work as a
research assistant (RA) or teaching assistant (TA) for their advisor or other faculty members.
Successful applicants to the DBA program must have two or more years of full-time work experience.
While an MBA degree or other master’s degree is generally required for admission, the Admissions
Committee may grant waivers for exceptionally qualified applicants.
The types of qualified applicants Hitotsubashi ICS seeks to attract to its DBA program include:(1) Professionals with a master’s degree seeking an early career change into academia as a faculty
member of a business school. As standards for academic performance continue to rise among
hiring business schools, more rigorous academic training is required for full-time faculty
positions. Hitotsubashi ICS strongly recommends that candidates seeking a career in academia
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DBA Program 2025-2026

enroll in the program full time and contact the school one or two years prior to applying to the
DBA program. This course of action improves the likelihood of a full-time doctoral student
securing funds from their first year via external research fellowships such as the Research
Fellowship for Young Scientists of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
(2) Faculty members and instructors at other business schools currently not holding a doctoral
degree (e.g., Jitsumuka-kyoin at Japanese business schools) and seeking to develop theirresearch, education and academic careers at a higher level as doctoral degree holders.
(3) Experienced senior management practitioners who have already formulated clear researchideas through their own work experiences and are envisioning the DBA degree as an integrated
part of their business careers.
DBA candidates must maintain residency in Japan while enrolled at Hitotsubashi ICS in order toparticipate in the program’s courses and meetings with faculty members.
Professor Satoshi Akutsu is the DBA Program Director. Students may request any member of the DBA
faculty to be their thesis advisor, contingent on obtaining approval from the DBA Program Committee
and the faculty member concerned.

Admissions Policy
The DBA Program in School of International Corporate Strategy, Graduate School of Business
Administration at Hitotsubashi University (hereafter referred to as the DBA Program) is designed forstudents who wish to engage in research or education in the fields of commerce and businessadministration as instructor, researcher, or practitioner in the future. Students must: (1) demonstrategenuine interests in the field of commerce and business administration through their professional
experience, (2) be motivated to formulate and respond to their own research questions, (3) possess
the literacy (in-depth academic knowledge in their discipline and high level of language competence)and clarity to start research project in the field of their choice, (4) possess a high level of research ethics
to contribute to the sound development of social sciences, and (5) demonstrate a strong motivation tocontribute to the development of academia and industry as a DBA holder.
In order to select our candidate, we evaluate the ability and motivation of candidate based on dossier
which includes research plans, and by conducting interview to attest their clarity and research plans,in addition to TOEFL (exempted for native English speakers and those who have obtained a bachelor's
degree or higher in an English language program) and GMAT or GRE scores. One important prerequisite
for the admission is to have at least two years of professional experiences and a master's degree in a
related field, such as an MBA, or equivalent experience and knowledge.

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DBA Program 2025-2026

Application and Admissions Procedures(1) Maximum number of students to be admitted for 2025
Four (4) students*If the number of applicants reaches the enrollment capacity in the first round, the second
round will not be held.

(2) Qualification of applicants•

An MBA or other master’s degree is required for admission. Applicants requesting an
exemption must seek approval from the DBA Program Committee beforehand. Please inquire
before the following deadline if seeking an exemption.
1st Round: Thursday, August 1, 2024•

2nd Round: Thursday, January 24, 2025

Two or more years of full-time work experience, or approval for exemption from the DBA
Program Committee.

•

A good command of English, with a score above 109 in TOEFL iBT or 7.5 in IELTS Academic orequivalent (see Section 3 below).

•

GMAT score or GRE score is mandatory for all applicants.
GMAT score of 600 or higher, or GRE score of 160 or higher on Quantitative Reasoning and
150 or higher on Verbal Reasoning.
GMAT scores and GRE Scores are valid for up to five years after the exam date.
We accept score(s) of GMAT Focus Edition or GRE with shorter overall test time.

(3) Required application documents
All documents must be submitted via the Hitotsubashi ICS Online Application System. You canstart uploading documents once these are available. It is also possible to re-upload documentationin the event of you needing to update contents but please note that documentation uploading/reuploading MUST be done by the application deadline.
Please refer to “How to apply”: https://www.ics.hub.hit-u.ac.jp/admissions/dba/apply.html
Documents

Details
Degree certificate or certified copy of a diploma signed by the president or

Master’s degree

dean of the university.

certificate*Successful applicants must submit copies of original documents to the
Hitotsubashi ICS Admissions Office within the enrollment period.
Official or certified copy of transcript signed by the president or dean of

Official transcript of
MBA or master’s
degreethe university.
*Successful applicants must submit copies of original documents to the
Hitotsubashi ICS Admissions Office within the enrollment period.
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DBA Program 2025-2026

Essay(Career

Please download the format at “How to apply”:

accomplishments,

https://www.ics.hub.hit-u.ac.jp/admissions/dba/apply.html

Personal statement)

Scores must be dated within two years after the exam date.
(1) Applicants are to have their test takers score report uploaded to theonline application system.
AND(2) Applicants are to have the ETS/IELTS test centre send the official score
report directly to Hitotsubashi ICS.
- TOEFL

University Code No.: 8682

- IELTS

Organization Name: School of International Corporate
Strategy (ICS), Hitotsubashi University
Department: Hitotsubashi ICS Admissions Office
University: Hitotsubashi University
Address: National Center of Sciences, 2-1-2

Official TOEFL or
IELTS score report

Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8439, Japan(3) Hitotsubashi ICS strongly recommends that candidates take the
TOEFL/IELTS at least one month before the application deadline toensure that the official score report is received in time.
*The following applicants are not required to include this item.
(4) Applicants whose native language is English(5) Applicants who graduated with a bachelor’s or higher degree from a
program conducted entirely in English (Applicants who graduated witha bachelor’s or higher degree from a program conducted entirely inEnglish in a country other than Australia, Canada, Ireland, New
Zealand, the UK or the US must notify the Hitotsubashi ICS Admissions
Office by email (chiyoda-info@hub.hit-u.ac.jp) no less than ten days
before the application deadline.)(6) Applicants who have worked for over three years in an Englishspeaking country

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DBA Program 2025-2026

Scores must be dated within five years after the exam date.
(1)

Applicants are to have their following document uploaded to theonline application system.
- GMAT:

test takers score report or screenshot of the scoreson GMAC portal- G R E: test takers score reportAND(2)

Applicants are to have GMAC/ETS send the official score report
directly to Hitotsubashi ICS.

Official GMAT or-

GMAT University Code No.: F6R-Q5-52-

GRE University Code No.: 1617

GRE score report(3)

Hitotsubashi ICS strongly recommends that candidates take the GMAT or
GRE at least one month before the application deadline to ensure thatthe official score report is received in time.

(4)

We also accept following versions of GMAT and GRE score(s).
-GMAT Focus Edition:
https://www.mba.com/exams/gmat-focus-edition-

GRE with shorter over all test time(started from September 22, 2023):
https://www.ets.org/gre/test-takers/general-test/prepare/teststructure.html

See page 10 for payment procedures.
• The application fee is exempted for the following individuals.
(1) Individuals who graduated from a master’s program of Hitotsubashi
Proof of application
fee payment(JPY 30,000)

University after September 1, 2024.
(2) Individuals who are expected to graduate from a master’s programof Hitotsubashi University after September 1, 2024.
• Japanese government-sponsored students (Kenkyusei) are notrequired to pay the application fee; please enclose the government
scholarship certificate issued by the enrolled university.

Photocopy of the relevant page(s) of the applicant’s identity document
Identity document

indicating applicant’s name, photograph, passport number or Japanese
driver’s license number, date of birth, etc.

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DBA Program 2025-2026

Hitotsubashi ICS highly recommends that applicants submit one or two
reference letters to enable the school to learn more about the applicant
via the objective evaluations provided by referees.

Up to two letters ofreference(Optional)

A reference should be from a person who has been directly responsible
for assessing the applicant’s work and/or academic performance. It is
desirable that a reference be from a supervisor within the applicant’s
current company/employing organization.
Applicant must register the referee(s) on the online application system.
The Hitotsubashi ICS Online Application System will send the form to theapplicant’s referees directly by email after completion of online
registration.

Notes:
All documents must be written in English. For any documents or certificates written in anotherlanguage, please attach an English translation.



Only complete applications will be considered. Incomplete applications at the time of theapplication deadline will not be considered.



The online application system’s ‘Submit’ button becomes available for selection ONLY when ALL
mandatory documents above have been uploaded.

As the online application system can accept individual documents whenever they are ready and isalso able to accept uploading of the same document multiple times, please start uploading
individual documents to the online system as soon as these are available. In the case of needing
to update an already-uploaded document, applicants may simply upload the document again.
Please be sure to upload all documentation by the specified application deadline.

Applicants wishing to support their application with a reference letter/reference letters should ensurethat their nominated referee(s) have uploaded the reference letter(s) to the online system before theapplication is submitted. Reference letter(s) must be uploaded before the applicant clicks the ‘Submit’
button in order for the reference letter(s) to be included as application documents.

Maximum of 10 items can be uploaded and stored in each section.

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DBA Program 2025-2026(4) Admissions Schedule
For the 2025 intake, please note the following:● If the number of applicants reaches the enrollment capacity in the first round, the second
round will not be held.

● The selection process involves two screenings. The first screening consists of a review of thewritten application documents, including the research proposal. The second screening
consists of an interview.
1st Round

2nd Round

Note

Application period
ThursdayThursday

September 12

March 13

2024

2025

to

to

Wednesday

Wednesday

September 25

March 26

2024

2025

Applications must be submitted via the Hitotsubashi ICS
Online Application System.
An application is regarded as officially received if theapplicant has pressed the ‘Submit’ button on the systemno later than 14:59 JST on the respective deadline date.

Announcement of first screening result
Screening criteria include the candidate’s level of academic
aptitude and writing ability.
FridayFridayOctober 11

April 11

2024

2025

Applicants will be communicated by email whether they
have passed the first screening and are eligible to proceed
to the second screening (interview) and, in the event ofbeing invited to interview, the exact time of the interview,
shortly after this date.

Second screening (interview)FridayFridayOctober 25

April 25

2024

2025

•

20 minutes per applicant•

Interview based on the application documents•

Location: Hitotsubashi University Chiyoda Campus(National Center of Sciences) or online•

The interview method and location are subject tochange depending on circumstances.

Announcement of final result

FridayThursday

November 22

May 292024

2025

Applicants will be notified of the admissions decision byemail and by post on the dates shown on the left.
Decisions will not be communicated by telephone or fax.

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DBA Program 2025-2026

1st Round

2nd Round

Note

Periods for completion of enrollment
Successful applicants must remit the non-refundable
matriculation fee and submit the original documents inaccordance with instructions from the Hitotsubashi ICS
Admissions Office within the relevant enrollment period.
(a) Matriculation fee: JPY 282,000 (preliminary estimate)•

The matriculation fee is exempted for the following
individuals.
(1) Individuals who graduated from a master’s programof Hitotsubashi University after September 1, 2024
(2) Individuals who are graduates of a master’s
program of the Graduate School of Business
Administration, the Graduate School of International
Corporate Strategy, or the Graduate School of

MondayMondayNovember 25

June 2

2024

2025

to

to

FridayFridayNovember 29

June 62024

2025

Commerce and Management.
•

For all other applicants, the matriculation fee must be
paid through a bank transfer using the prescribedmethod provided by Hitotsubashi University.

•

For applicants in Japan, a transfer request form will besent with an acceptance letter.

(b) Degree certificate and Official transcript:
Copies of original documents must be sent in one
envelope to the following address by either registeredmail or courier service, within the enrollment period.
Please write “DBA Application Documents” in red on
the envelope. Both documents must be originals;
photocopies are not acceptable. Applicants should NOT
send your original diploma, as documents will not be
returned to applicants.
Address: Admissions Office
Hitotsubashi University Business School
School of International Corporate Strategy
National Center of Sciences, 5th Floor
2-1-2 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 101-8439, Japan

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DBA Program 2025-2026

(5)

Notes
(a) Admissions enquiries should be made only by email (chiyoda-info@hub.hit-u.ac.jp) or fax(+81 (0)3-4212-3006).
(b) The annual tuition fee is JPY 642,960, payable in two installments of JPY 321,480 each in
October 2025 and May 2026 for AY2025-2026 (preliminary estimate).
The tuition fees above are preliminary estimate. Should the actual amount become subject
to revision at the time of admissions or during enrollment, the new revised amount shall beapplied and go into effect from the time of revision.
(c) Applicants who have disabilities or special needs that require accommodating in theapplication process and/or once they start their program of study at Hitotsubashi ICS should
notify the Hitotsubashi ICS Admissions Office by Thursday, August 1, 2024 prior to submitting
their DBA Program application. Although the Hitotsubashi ICS Admissions Office will accept
such notifications after this date, it may not be possible to make arrangements necessary toaccommodate disabilities/special needs in time for the screening and/or the program starting
date.
Requesting such accommodation for the application process as per the above does notconstitute an obligation to apply to Hitotsubashi ICS. A person who is undecided about
whether to apply for the DBA Program may still submit such accommodation requests.
Note: Depending on the type(s) of accommodation requested, it may take some time for the
Hitotsubashi ICS Admissions Office to respond.
(d) Please be aware that a health examination taken at the Chiyoda Campus or submission of acertificate (copy) of a health examination taken within one year from October 2024 ismandatory for all students newly enrolled at Hitotsubashi ICS in the autumn term of 2025.
Please read the information at the link below from the Hitotsubashi University Health Center
regarding medical requirements while staying in Japan:
http://www.hit-u.ac.jp/hoken/healthexam.html

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Application Fee
Applicants are to pay the application fee of JPY 30,000 during the application period.

Applicants in Japan■ Payment at a convenience store / Payment via Pay-easy, internet banking or credit card
Instructions can be found at the following link:
https://www.hit-u.ac.jp/faculties/graduate/examfee.html*Please select “経営管理研究科” > “博士後期課程” > “国際企業戦略専攻” > “DBA プログラム” whenselecting the category.
■ Payment by bank transfer
Payment can be made by bank transfer to the account below.
Bank name:
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Branch:Kunitachi Branch
Account name:
Hitotsubashi University
Savings A/C no.: 7761795*Applicants are to upload the “ 入学検定料・選考料・取り扱い明細書 ” or “ 収入証明書 ” (printed“result” page) to the online system.

Applicants outside Japan■ Payment by credit card
Instructions can be found at the following link:
https://www.hit-u.ac.jp/faculties/graduate/examfee.html*Please select “Graduate School of Business Administration” > “Doctoral Programs” > “School ofInternational Corporate Strategy” > “HUB ICS DBA Program” when selecting the category.
*Applicants are to upload the printed “result” page to the online system.

Notes:

The application fee of JPY 30,000 is non-refundable.

Japanese government-sponsored students (Kenkyusei) are not required to pay an application fee;
please submit a government scholarship certificate issued by the enrolled university.

Bank cheques are not an acceptable form of payment.

In the event of the full amount of the application fee not being transferred within the application
period, the application will not be accepted.

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DBA Program 2025-2026

Contact Us
Email address: chiyoda-info@hub.hit-u.ac.jp

Location and address
Hitotsubashi ICS is housed within the
Gakujutsu Sogo Center (National Center of
Sciences).
Hitotsubashi University Business School
School of International Corporate Strategy
National Center of Sciences
2-1-2 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 101-8439 JAPANAdmissions Office: 5th Floor

Getting to Hitotsubashi ICS by Train
From Takebashi Station
Take the Tokyo Metro Tozai line to Takebashi
Station. Approximately a four-minute walkfrom Exit B1.
From Jimbocho Station
Take the Tokyo Metro (Hanzomon line) or
Toei Subway (Shinjuku or Mita lines) toJimbocho Station. Approximately a threeminute walk from Exit A8.

International Arrival
From Narita Airport
Take the Narita Express train toTokyo Station (approx. 60 minutes), walk to
Otemachi Station (approx. 5 minutes),then take the Tozai line to
Takebashi Station.
Alternatively, take the Mita linefrom Otemachi Station to
Jimbocho Station.
From Haneda Airport
Take the Keihin Kyuko line toMita Station (approx. 28 minutes),then change to the Toei Mita line
and get off at Jimbocho Station.
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