TOHOKU UNIVERSITY Guide for International Students

1. Requirements for Admission

(1) Undergraduate Program

A person who was born before April 1, 1991 and obtains one of the following qualifications

1. A person who completed or is scheduled to complete by March 31, 2009 a 12-year course of school education at a foreign facility or a person with the equivalent as specified and approved by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
2. A person who has the International Baccalaureate Degree granted by the International Baccalaureate Bureau (a foundation established in accordance with Swiss Civil Law).
3. A person who has the Abitur qualification to enroll in a university in the Federal Republic of Germany.
4. A person who has the baccalaureat to enroll a university in the French Republic.

If you have any questions about details on the admission to undergraduate programs, please contact at Admission Division Education and Student Support Department in advance. TEL: 81 - 22 - 795 - 4802

(2) Master course and Master's Program

(Graduate Schools of Arts and Letters, Education, Law, Economics and Management, Science, Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Engineering, Agricultural Science, International Cultural Studies, Information Sciences, Life Sciences, Environmental Studies, Biomedical Engineering, and Educational Informatics /Education Division)

This is a course for university graduates which leads to a mater's degree. An international student who has completed sixteen years of formal education, or who is recognized to be equal or superior in scholastic achievements to a graduate from a Japanese university may apply for admission to this course.

(3) Doctoral Program

(Graduate Schools of Arts and Letters, Education, Law, Economics and Management, Science, Medicine, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Engineering, Agriculture, International Cultural Studies, Information Sciences, Life Sciences, Environmental Studies, Biomedical Engineering, and Educational Informatics / Education Division)

This is a course for a student with a master's degree who intends to pursue a doctor's degree. An international student can apply for this course if he or she has received a master's degree from a graduate school abroad which is equivalent to a master's degree from a Japanese university, or if he or she is recognized to be equal or superior in scholastic achievements to a student with a master's degree from a Japanese university.

Study in this course demands a high level of research ability, and in some cases a student cannot expect to receive a doctor's degree within the prescribed three-year period.

(4) Doctoral Program

(Graduate Schools of Medicine and Dentistry)

This is a course for university graduates from a faculty of medicine or dentistry or for a graduate student who has received a master's degree. A student who has completed eighteen years of formal education in a foreign country or a student who is recognized to be equal or superior in scholastic achievements to a graduate from a faculty of medicine, dentistry, or veterinary science in Japan may apply for this course.

It should be noted that a student who wants to engage in clinical research is advised to acquire a medical or dental practitioner's license issued by the Japanese Government; otherwise the student may have difficulty carrying out his research activities.

In most cases, a graduate of an overseas university who wishes to be admitted as a regular graduate student first registers as a research student, and later has his status changed to that of a regular graduate student, once he has proved himself to have excellent research abilities and has successfully passed screening examination. However, depending on the department, there are cases where an international student is admitted directly into the program.

(5) Research Students

A research student will be placed in one of the following three categories according to his academic career and field of specialization: undergraduate faculties, research institutes, or graduate schools.

Qualifications for application are as follows:

A. Research Students in the Undergraduate Faculties and the Research Institutes

There is no specific requirement common to all divisions of the graduate schools, but in principle a research student in the graduate school must have an academic background equivalent to that of a student with a master's degree from a university or of a student who has completed an undergraduate education in a faculty of medicine or dentistry.

B. Research Students in the Graduate Schools

There is no specific requirement common to all divisions of the graduate schools, but in principle a research student in the graduate school must have an academic background equivalent to that of a student with a master's degree from a university or of a student who has completed an undergraduate education in a faculty of medicine or dentistry.

2. Selection Procedures

All instructions and examinations at the university are generally conducted in Japanese. Foreign students are required to have a good command of the Japanese language.

• Special courses for overseas students in English are as follows:
  http://www.eng.tohoku.ac.jp/english/index-e.php
  http://www.eng.tohoku.ac.jp/english/program/?menu=itn
• International Graduate Program for Advanced Science (IGPAS) (Master and Doctoral Program in English with financial support)
  E-mail:
  http://www.sci.tohoku.ac.jp/english/2nd/igpas.html
• Tohoku University International Post-Graduate Program in Human Security
  E-mail:
  http://human-security.jp/
• Tohoku University Junior Year Program in English (JYPE)
  http://www.insc.tohoku.ac.jp/jype/index.html

(1)Undergraduate Students

Admission requirements, procedures and deadlines may vary according to each faculty/graduate school, so it is advisable to contact the Faculty/graduate school you wish to apply to on time. (The addresses are on Table 6)

In most cases, applicants for admission must submit the following documents:

• Completed undergraduate programs application form
• A copy of Certificate of Graduation or expected graduation from the high school or the school the student last attended
• Official transcripts of all academic institutions the student formerly attended (high schools and universities); and a letter 14 of recommendation from the school (If a copy of Certificate of Graduation is not available, the high school transcript should indicate that the applicant has graduated and is qualified to enter a university in his/her own country.)
• Certificate of Japanese language proficiency adequate for undergraduate studies, (EJU scores)
• TOEFL score report
• Photograph
• Entrance Examination Fee

(2) Graduate Students

Admission requirements, procedures and deadlines may vary according to each graduate school, so it is advisable to contact the graduate school you wish to apply to on time. (The addresses are on Table 6)

In most cases, applicants for admission must submit the following documents:

• Completed graduate school application form (The forms are available at each graduate school.)
• A copy of Certificate of Graduation or expected graduation from the university/college
• Official transcripts of the university/college the student last attended, showing courses taken and grades received
• A statement of research plan including research conducted in the past
• Certificate of medical examination (The forms are available at each graduate school.)
• Photograph
• Entrance Examination Fee
• A letter of approval from the school attending or the office employed (if applicable)

(3) Research Students

Admission requirements, procedures and deadlines may vary according to each faculty/graduate school, so it is advisable to contact the Faculty/graduate school you wish to apply to on time. (The addresses are on Table 6)

In most cases, applicants for admission must submit the following documents:

• Completed application form (The forms are available at each faculty/graduate school/research institute).
• A letter of recommendation from the applicant's adviser (professor) or the President or the dean of the university/college the student last attended

Above-mentioned Documents marked with are also required.

3. Tuition and Fees

Applicants wishing to enter the University, besides completing and submitting the necessary application forms, must pay fees for the entrance examination. Furthermore, students admitted to the program, besides completing new student paperwork, must pay admission and tuition fees as shown in Table 4.

Students may be partially or totally exempt from tuition and admission fees if circumstance make the payment of these fees difficult or impossible. Research students and auditors are excluded from the benefit of this exemption.

Table 4

N.B. Research student's tuition should be prepaid every three months.

Table 5 Communication with the University

※ See Table 6

Table 6 Mailing address

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