Ritsumeikan University Graduate School, Third Party Scholarship-Based Admissions Guidelines for

The Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA)
African Business Education (ABE) Initiative for Youth;
SDGs Global Leaders Course;
Program on Investment Promotion and Industrial Development for Asian Region;
The Project for Future Researchers at IITH to Enhance Network Development withScholarship of Japan (FRIENDSHIP); and,The Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS); and,The Japan Human Resource Development Scholarship for Chinese Young Leaders (JDSChina)(September 2022 Enrollment)
The following outlines Ritsumeikan University’s recruiting and application procedures for September 2022
enrollment accompanied by the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s 1) African Business Education (ABE)
Initiative for Youth; SDGs Global Leaders Course; Program on Investment Promotion and Industrial Development for
Asian Region; The Project for Future Researchers at IITH to Enhance Network Development with Scholarship of Japan(FRIENDSHIP); 2) Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS); and 3) Ministry of Foreign Affairs ofJapan’s Japan Human Resource Development Scholarship for Chinese Young Leaders (JDS China).
*These admissions are established and administered based on our agreements with the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (hereinafter “JICA”) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (hereinafter “MOFA”).

I. Applicable Graduate Schools, Majors, Levels, and Number of Student Accepted
1. African Business Education (ABE) Initiative for Youth; SDGs Global Leaders Course; Program on Investment
Promotion and Industrial Development for Asian Region; The Project for Future Researchers at IITH toEnhance Network Development with Scholarship of Japan (FRIENDSHIP)
Level

Enrollment
Limit

Number ofStudent Accepted

Master’s

50

A Few

Doctoral

5A Few

Master’s

40

A Few

Doctoral

15A Few

Advanced Information Science andEngineeringMaster’s

200

A Few

Advanced Life Sciences

Doctoral

15

A Few

Graduate School

Major

Economics

Economics

Policy Science

Policy Science

Information Scienceand Engineering
Life Sciences*Enrollment Limit includes all admission methods.
*Actual number of students accepted may be lower, based on number of applications and entrance examination
results.
2. Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS)
Graduate School

Major

Level

International
Relations

Enrollment
Limit

Number ofStudent AcceptedInternational Relations

Master’s

60

A Few

Economics

Economics

Master’s

50

A Few

Doctoral

5A Few

Science andAdvanced Architectural, Environmental
Doctoral
15
A Few
Engineeringand Civil Engineering*Enrollment Limit includes all admission methods.
*Actual number of students accepted may be lower, based on number of applications and entrance examination
results.
3. Japan Human Resource Development Scholarship for Chinese Young Leaders (JDS China)
Graduate School

Major

Level

Enrollment
Limit

Number ofStudent AcceptedInternational
International Relations
Master’s
60
A FewRelations*Enrollment Limit includes all admission methods.
*Actual number of students accepted may be lower, based on number of applications and entrance examination
results.

II. Eligibility Requirements
1.

Master's Programs
Applicants must be citizens of a country other than Japan, must be recommended by either JICA or MOFA,
and must meet at least of one of the following four conditions:(1) Persons who have completed a 16-year education program outside of Japan or who are expected to complete such a
program before being enrolled in the graduate school(2) Persons who have graduated from a Japanese university (*1) or who are expected to graduate from a Japanese
university before being enrolled in the graduate school(3) Persons who have completed (*2) a degree program of 3 years or more and received a bachelor’s degree or theequivalent at a university or other institution outside of Japan (*3), or who are expected to complete such a program
prior to enrollment in a Ritsumeikan University graduate school.
(4) Persons who have been recognized as having an academic ability equal to or higher than university graduates by
Ritsumeikan University’s graduate schools as a result of an individual preliminary screening and who have reached
22 years of age or who will reach 22 years of age before being enrolled in the graduate school (*4)
*1 As designated by Article 83 of the School Education Act*2 Limited to those whose overall academic research and education have been evaluated by an individual authorized
by that country’s government or appropriate related institution, or an individual designated by the Monbukagakusho
who meets these standards.
*3 Including those who completed a distance learning degree program of a university outside of Japan while in Japan,
and those who completed the same at designated educational facilities according to the educational system of therespective university’s country.
*4 Applicants who intend to apply under category (4), above, must contact the International Center at BKC no later
than the day before the application period begins in order to undergo an individual review.
In addition to the requirements above, applicants must have English language ability sufficient to understandcourse materials at their desired graduate school.
2.

Doctoral Programs
Applicants must be citizens of a country other than Japan, must be recommended by either JICA or MOFA,
and must meet at least of one of the following four conditions:(1) Persons who have been awarded, or are scheduled to be awarded prior to enrollment in Ritsumeikan University’s
graduate school, a master’s degree or professional degree as defined by Japanese law, or an equivalent degree.
(2) Persons who have been awarded a degree equivalent to a master’s degree or professional degree, as defined byJapanese law, abroad or who are expected to be awarded such a degree before being enrolled in the graduate school(3) Persons who have been engaged in research activities at a university or research institute for at least two years after
graduating from a university or its equivalent and who have been recognized by Ritsumeikan University’s graduate
schools as having an academic ability equal to or greater than holders of a master’s degree (the 1989 Notification of

the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture No.118) (*1)
(4) Persons who have been recognized by Ritsumeikan University’s graduate schools as having an academic ability equal
to or higher than holders of a master’s degree or professional degree, as defined by Japanese law, as a result ofindividual preliminary screening and who have reached 24 years of age (*1)
*1 Applicants who intend to apply under category (3) or (4), above, must contact the International Center at BKC no later
than the day before the application period begins in order to undergo an individual review.
In addition to the requirements above, applicants must have English language ability sufficient to understandcourse materials at their desired graduate school.
3. Important Notes(1) If you have any concerns about foreign education equivalence, your particular degree, or calculation of years ofschooling described above, please contact the International Center at BKC no later than the day before theapplication period opens.
Ritsumeikan University International Center at BKC, Admissions Team
1-1-1 Noji-Higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan 525-8577
Phone: +81 (0)77-561-3946
Fax: +81 (0)77-561-3956(2) Applicants who pass the admissions screening under the condition of "expecting" to fulfill the Eligibility
Requirements but who ultimately do not fulfill the requirements by September 25, 2022, the day before enrollment,
will not be permitted to enroll.
(3) Payment of an application fee is not required when submitting an application via these procedures.

III. Screening Method
In general, applicants will be screened based on submitted application documents, however, interviews via email orZoom, etc. will be conducted if deemed necessary by the graduate school.

IV. Application Procedures
1.

Documents to be submitted
After receiving recommendation from either JICA or MOFA, submit the following documents together in one
package. If a similar required document is contained in the set of documents used for the final review with
JICA or MOFA, however, that document may be submitted in place of the similar document on this list.
(1) Ritsumeikan University Graduate Application Sheet (University designated form)(2) JICA Application Documents (JICA or MOFA designated forms)(3) Application Questionnaire (University designated form)(4) Official Transcript of Grades from most recent academic institution attended (Undergraduate or Graduate
degree program)*MUST state number of credits and the year/period of credit acquisition for each course undertaken.
*MUST include, or be accompanied by a certificate that shows a clear explanation of the grade scale (i.e.
A=100~90, B=89~80, C=79~70, D=69~60, Fail=59~0, etc.).
(5) Official graduation certificate or certificate of program completion, or diploma, or certificate of expectedgraduation or expected program completion, from most recent academic institution attended (Undergraduateor Graduate degree program)*DO NOT send your original as it WILL NOT be returned to you. Instead, obtain a NEW certificate fromyour university. Any certificate (or letter issued on formal letterhead) containing the freshly imprinted sealof the university and which describes all of your relevant graduation or program completion information isacceptable. To be clear, simple photocopies are not accepted.
*For those who have completed graduate school abroad, this certificate must indicate which degree wasconferred (Master, Ph.D., etc.).
(6) (Optional) Records from most recent university indicating superior academic achievement with clear
indicator of outstanding performance (e.g. GPA, grades and criteria, or individual rank order)(7) Abstract of thesis written for most recent academic degree awarded, etc.
*The abstract MUST be a concise summary (i.e. 1 page maximum) of your most recently written thesis, or ofyour graduation project or a term paper, etc. if you did not write a thesis.
(8) Copy of passport page containing the applicant's name and date of birth or a copy of your family register orresidence certificate, etc. (applicants in possession of a passport must submit the passport page copy)
Documentation showing objective proof of level of English language ability.
1) Submit a grade certificate from an English Language Ability Test. (Score reports must be from one of thefollowing: TOEIC® Listening & Reading Test, TOEFL iBT® Test, IELTS, TOEFL iBT® Home Edition(Special Home Edition), TOEFL ITP® or IELTS Indicator. Copies are acceptable).
*Test must have been taken in the two-year period preceding the application deadline to be acceptable.
2) Applicants who cannot submit a score certificate fulfilling the criteria of 1), but who’s education at theircurrent university or most recent alma mater was conducted primarily in English should submit an original
certificate or letter stating as much issued by either their current university or most recent alma mater.
3) Applicants who cannot submit a certificate fulfilling the criteria of either 1) or 2) above must submit otherdocumentation showing objective proof of their level of English language ability (for example, an English
language test score certificate on which was taken more than 2 years prior to the application deadline). Let it
be known that in particular, any who submit a certificate which fulfills only this criteria 3) may be asked toparticipate in an online interview(s).
(10) PDF copy of 教育部学历证书电子注册备案表 (Graduates of Chinese Universities, only) or PDF copy of教育部学籍在线验证报告(Current Students at Chinese Universities, only) (*Students who attended or areattending universities in Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macau need not submit these forms.)*These forms must be submitted in English. Forms submitted in Chinese will not be accepted.
(9)2.

Important Information Regarding Application.
(1) All submitted documents should be printed in English on A4-sized paper by word-processing software.
Documents submitted in any language other than English must have English translations attached.
(2) On all documents, date of birth must be written exactly as it appears on your passport.
(3) On the Ritsumeikan University Graduate Application Sheet, your name must be written in the Roman alphabet
exactly as it appears in your passport, and following the rules below. Do not fill out your name using Chinesecharacters even if you use Chinese characters in your home country.
* Write your name in the order of Family name (all uppercase), First name (the first letter in uppercase and therest in lowercase), and Middle name (the first letter in uppercase and the rest in lowercase).
* For names without a clear distinction between surname and first name, write the first part of the name in all
uppercase and for the rest, write the first letter in uppercase and the rest in lowercase.
Example: Family Name: RITSUMEI First Name: Taro Middle Name: Saionji
On other forms, fill out your name as per the instructions contained within the form.
(4) All application documents must be submitted together by international express mail to the address listed at“4.” below and arrive before the application period ends.
(5) Submitted documents will not be returned for any reason.
(6) If it is determined that your application documents contain any deliberate falsifications or forgeries, yourapplication will not pass the screening.
(7) About Security Export Control
Ritsumeikan University has established the “Ritsumeikan University Security Export Control Regulations (⽴命館⼤学安全保障輸出管理規程)” in accordance with the “Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act”, andconducts strict screening of international students at the time of admissions on the basis of these regulations.
Please be aware that international students who fall under any of the conditions set out in the Act may beunable to receive their desired education or conduct their desired research at the university. A stringent
screening in accordance with the “Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act” will be conducted after yourapplication documents are received.

3.

Application Period:
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 – Tuesday, May 10, 2022
All application documents must arrive during the application period.
Documents postmarked by the cut-off date that arrive late will not be accepted.
Applications by email, fax, or walk-in will not be accepted.

4.

Application Mailing Address:
Please send documents by express post (EMS, FedEx, DHL, etc.) to:
Ritsumeikan University International Center at BKC, Admissions Team
1-1-1 Noji-Higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan 525-8577
Phone: +81 (0)77-561-3946
Fax: +81 (0)77-561-3956

V. Notification of results
Thursday, June 9, 2022
* Letters of acceptance for those who pass Ritsumeikan University’s screening will be posted to either JICA, JICE or
Japan Development Service Co., Ltd. (JDS).

VI. Enrollment Procedures
JICA, JICE or Japan Development Service Co., Ltd. (JDS) will be notified of the details.