The University of Osaka

The University of Osaka (大阪大学, Handai) is a national research university founded in 1931 as Japan's sixth imperial university; since April 2025 its official English name has been The University of Osaka rather than Osaka University. It ranks 95th in the QS World University Rankings 2027 (third in Japan), =151st in THE 2026 and in the 101–150 band of ARWU 2026. International students enter through a Japanese-taught screening with the EJU in almost every faculty, through two English-taught bachelor's programmes in Human Sciences and in Science (IUPS), or at graduate level. Tuition is $3,390 (¥535,800) a year plus $1,790 (¥282,000) on enrolment, and applications to Human Sciences for October 2027 run from 1 December 2026 to 5 January 2027.

Who the University of Osaka suits, and who should look elsewhere

Osaka suits applicants who want a QS top-100 national university at the standard fee and are considering humanities or science in English, as well as those ready for the Japanese track with the EJU. For English-taught undergraduate engineering, compare it with GSEP at the Institute of Science Tokyo and civil engineering at Kyoto University. For the country overview, see studying in Japan.

Programmes and what you can study in English

Schools

The university has 11 undergraduate schools: Letters, Human Sciences, Foreign Studies, Law, Economics, Science, Medicine (medicine and health sciences), Dentistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Engineering and Engineering Science. The School of Foreign Studies comes from Osaka University of Foreign Studies, merged into the university in 2007, and teaches more than twenty languages, from Chinese and Arabic to Russian and Swedish, as well as Japanese as a major.

Human Sciences International Undergraduate Degree Program

The English-taught bachelor's of the School of Human Sciences has run since October 2011:

• Structure: shared foundation courses for the first three semesters, then one of three concentrations from the fourth: Diversity and Inclusion Studies (equality and inclusion in education, health and business), Japan Studies (Japanese society, culture and institutions) or Political and Global Studies (politics and international relations). All lead to a Bachelor of Human Sciences.
• Duration: 1 October 2027 to 30 September 2031; strong students can graduate after 3.5 years.
• Japanese: not needed to apply, but the programme expects students to gain proficiency and builds language learning into the course.
• Intake: deliberately small, for intensive teaching and supervision.

International Undergraduate Program in Science (IUPS)

Run by the departments of biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics:

• Duration: 4.5 years: six months as a research student (October–March) and four years of undergraduate study;
• language: English and Japanese; JLPT N3 is required to apply (N2 for biology);
• English: TOEFL iBT 85 or IELTS 6.5;
• afterwards, graduates can continue at the Graduate School of Science, which runs English-taught master's and doctoral programmes: SISC (biology, chemistry, macromolecular science) and IPC (physics).

Master's and doctoral programmes

Graduate schools and professors make graduate admission decisions. The university publishes a table showing which graduate schools offer programmes in Japanese and in English and advises confirming English-taught options with a prospective supervisor. The Graduate School of Science, for instance, runs the SISC and IPC programmes in English.

How to apply to the University of Osaka

After school: the Japanese-taught screening for international students

The "Special Entrance Examination for Privately Funded International Students" (私費外国人留学生特別入試) is held by almost every school. Its rules for April 2027 appear in the university's 2027 selection guide, with the detailed guidelines and forms due in late September 2026.

• Conditions: no Japanese citizenship or permanent residence; 12 years of schooling abroad or a programme on MEXT's list (Russian general secondary education completed on or after 6 October 2009 qualifies), IB, A Levels, Abitur and other qualifications.
• EJU: subjects and test language are set by each school; 2025 or 2026 sessions are accepted depending on the school. Minimum Japanese totals (reading, listening and writing, maximum 450): Engineering and Engineering Science 200 for reading and listening plus 25 for writing, Health Sciences 200, Law and Economics 250, Dentistry 270, Letters, Human Sciences and Biological Sciences 300, Foreign Studies and Pharmaceutical Sciences 360, Medicine 400.
• TOEFL iBT: many schools set thresholds on the new scale, for example Letters 3.0 (48 on the old scale), Human Sciences 4.0 (79), Law 3.5 (61). Only tests taken on or after 4 January 2025 count, and only Test Date scores (not MyBest). You must both have ETS send the score directly and enclose a printout with your documents. Foreign Studies, Health Sciences and Dentistry do not require TOEFL.
• Places: "a small number" per school; the Japanese major in Foreign Studies has 8 places.

The JLPT is not normally required on this route, since Japanese is assessed through the EJU. See our EJU guide.

After school: Human Sciences in English

• Eligibility: 12 years of schooling abroad, a programme on MEXT's list (for Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Uzbekistan and others), IB, Abitur, French or European baccalaureate and other routes, completed by 30 September 2027.
• English: TOEFL iBT 4.5 on the new scale (or 85 for tests taken on or before 20 January 2026), IELTS Academic 6.5 (generally no component below 6.0), obtained before 8 January 2027.
• Documents: secondary school transcripts and a graduation or expected-graduation certificate (on the programme's form if needed), standardised test results (SAT, ACT, AP, IB, A Level etc.) where available, predicted grades for school-leaving exams, an English certificate, a personal statement, two recommendation letters, a passport copy and the fee receipt. Paper documents must go by a tracked service such as EMS, DHL or FedEx.
• Timeline: online registration and payment of the $110 (¥17,000) fee from 1 December 2026 to 23:59 Japan time on 5 January 2027; paper documents must arrive by 8 January 2027, and the personal statement goes by email by the same date. The programme office is closed from 28 December to 3 January and does not answer questions then, so resolve anything unclear before the holidays. If the committee wants clarification, it invites applicants to interview by 17 February, with interviews from mid-February to mid-March; decisions on 26 March; replies by 7 May; enrolment fee and visa in June; classes from 1 October 2027.
• From the next cycle (2028 entry), the application window moves to 1 November – 5 December.

After school: IUPS

The university publishes the rules for April 2028 entry in the autumn. In the previous cycle (preliminary course from October 2026, bachelor's from April 2027) applications ran from 1 December 2025 to 9 January 2026, with fees due by 7 January; assessment took place between February and April and results came by late April. The application fee is $170 (¥26,800).

Graduate school and research students

• Admissions Assistance Desk (AAD). The university recommends starting with a research plan and a prospective supervisor, then applying through the AAD system. AAD tells you whether you may contact the professor; it does not itself give you a letter of acceptance.
• Research students. A non-degree status while you prepare for the master's exam: application fee $60 (¥9,800), admission fee $540 (¥84,600), tuition $180 (¥28,900) a month.
• MEXT scholars. Embassy-route candidates for 2027 had to request a letter of acceptance through AAD by 1 September 2026; they usually spend 6–12 months as research students before taking the master's or doctoral entrance exam.

Our guide to master's degrees in Japan explains research plans and supervisor contact.

Step-by-step plan for 2027

1. September – October 2026. Choose your track: Japanese (EJU and TOEFL), Human Sciences (English, grades, references) or IUPS (JLPT N3/N2). Download the selection guidelines due in late September.
2. November 2026. EJU (Japanese track); take TOEFL or IELTS so that results are available before 8 January 2027 (Human Sciences).
3. 1 December 2026 – 5 January 2027. Register and pay for Human Sciences; paper documents must arrive by 8 January. For the Japanese track, follow the September guidelines.
4. February – March 2027. Interview if invited; Japanese-track school exams.
5. 26 March – 7 May 2027. Human Sciences decision and reply; with a conditional offer, send final IB (July) or A Level (August) results.
6. June – September 2027. Enrolment fee, COE, visa and moving into housing in late September.

Application calendar

Japanese and English requirements

• Japanese-taught screening: EJU Japanese totals of 200–400 out of 450 depending on the school, and TOEFL iBT according to the school's threshold (not required by Foreign Studies, Health Sciences or Dentistry).
• Human Sciences: TOEFL iBT 4.5 (85) or IELTS 6.5; no Japanese.
• IUPS: JLPT N3 (N2 for biology), TOEFL iBT 85 or IELTS 6.5.
• Graduate programmes: set by each programme.

See our JLPT guide.

What studying and living in Osaka cost

Fees

Tuition is paid in two instalments, in May and November, by automatic debit from a Japanese bank account, so you will need a local account within your first months.

Living costs

• IUPS estimates student living costs at $630–760 (¥100,000–120,000) a month.
• International students in Japan spend about $660 (¥105,000) a month on average excluding tuition, with average rent of $260 (¥41,000), according to Study in Japan.
• University housing costs $50–110 (¥8,000–17,700) a month in older halls, $240–260 (¥37,400–40,500) for a room in a shared unit and $350 (¥56,000) for a studio at Global Village Tsukumodai.

More in our guide to the cost of studying in Japan.

Scholarships and fee exemptions

• MEXT via an embassy. If MEXT places an undergraduate grantee at Osaka, they study Japanese for a year at the university's Center for Japanese Language and Culture and enter the bachelor's after an exam. Research and master's students request a letter of acceptance through AAD. Stipends are $740 (¥117,000) for undergraduates and $910–920 (¥143,000–145,000) for graduate and research students. See our MEXT scholarship guide.
• MEXT, university recommendation. At undergraduate level, through Human Sciences and IUPS: candidates must first be admitted to the programme before the university can nominate them.
• Scholarships after admission. Human Sciences expects competitive scholarships before and after enrolment and allows tuition-waiver applications once students join. IUPS lists scholarships from the School of Science, local governments, international associations and private foundations.
• JASSO Honors Scholarship for top EJU scorers. $300 (¥48,000) a month, reserved on the basis of EJU results.
• Fee exemptions. Full or partial for successful applicants, plus a separate Tuition Fee Exemption for International HONORS Students for graduate applicants.

The university, MEXT, JASSO or a foundation decides on funding. More options in our overview of scholarships abroad.

Where to live

Places are allocated mainly on a first-come basis; Global Village applications for autumn 2026 ran from 5 August to 30 September. On 4 September 2026 the university listed no vacancies. Human Sciences and IUPS students receive first-year housing priority. See our guide to student housing in Japan.

How to get a student visa

The visa comes after admission, and the university starts it: it applies on your behalf to Japan's immigration services for a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) for "Student" status. Immigration may ask for proof that study and living costs are covered: a bank balance certificate, a sponsor's income certificate for the past year and an explanation of where the money comes from. Once the COE is issued, you take your passport, the application form, a photo and the COE (a copy is fine) to a Japanese embassy or consulate. For Human Sciences, the enrolment fee and the start of visa processing fall in June and arrival at the end of September. After moving in you have 14 days to register at the municipal office of Suita, Toyonaka or Minoh, wherever you live. Immigration issues the COE and the consulate the visa. See our student visa guide for Japan.

Strengths and challenges for applicants from Russia and the CIS

What helps:

• MEXT recognises Russian school-leaving certificates from 6 October 2009 onwards, and Human Sciences writes the MEXT list into its eligibility rules.
• Human Sciences requires no Japanese and decides mainly on documents; any interview can be in person or online.
• Standard national fees and older dormitories from $50 (¥8,000) a month.
• Foreign Studies teaches Russian among its majors, and its Japanese major reserves 8 places for the screening for international students.

What makes it harder:

• The Japanese track needs the EJU, which is not held in Russia or Central Asia; you will sit it in Japan or, for example, Seoul.
• Human Sciences requires two recommendation letters and a personal statement in English, and a standardised test (SAT, ACT, IB, A Level) is worth adding if you have one, since competing applicants often do.
• Tuition is debited from a Japanese bank account, and money from home must be transferred legally; check the options with your bank in advance.
• On 1 May 2026 the university had 15 students from Russia, 6 from Kazakhstan and 7 from Uzbekistan, so the Russian-speaking community is small.
• Part-time work requires immigration permission. See our guide to working while studying in Japan.

Common mistakes

• Using the old name. Since April 2025 the English name is The University of Osaka; use it in forms and letters.
• Taking TOEFL too early. For the 2027 Japanese-track screening, only tests taken from 4 January 2025 count; for Human Sciences, the score must be valid and obtained before 8 January 2027.
• Treating IUPS as fully English-taught. It requires JLPT N3 (N2 for biology), and part of the teaching is in Japanese.
• Waiting until winter for Japanese-track rules. They come out in late September, and the EJU for them must be taken in June or November.
• Counting on a cheap dormitory. Places go first-come, and there were none free in autumn 2026.

Pre-application checklist

• Track chosen: Japanese, Human Sciences, IUPS or graduate school.
• School programme on MEXT's list or 12 years, qualification completed by 30 September 2027 (Human Sciences).
• EJU Japanese score above the school's threshold (Japanese track); strong school grades and, where available, a standardised test (Human Sciences).
• TOEFL iBT or IELTS at the right level and within its validity.
• Two recommendation letters and a personal statement (Human Sciences).
• For graduate study: a research plan and an AAD application.
• First-year budget without a scholarship and a plan for opening a Japanese bank account.

Campuses: Suita, Toyonaka and Minoh

The university has three campuses in the Hokusetsu area of northern Osaka Prefecture: Suita, Toyonaka and Minoh. Its main address is in Suita. Residences are spread across all three: Suita dormitory and Global Village Tsukumodai in Suita; Toneyama, Seimei and the international house in Toyonaka; and the Niina women's dormitory in Minoh. According to the university's access page, Toyonaka hosts the Center for Education in Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Schools of Letters, Law, Economics, Science and Engineering Science, while Suita hosts Human Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Dentistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Engineering. Check your timetable for both the first and later years before choosing a residence.

Rankings

The spread between rankings is wide, so look at subject rankings and specific labs.

Work during and after your studies

Students need immigration permission for activities outside their status before taking part-time work. The university's Center for International Education and Exchange provides career support for international students. Human Sciences prepares graduates for international organisations, NGOs, corporate social responsibility and HR roles, while its Japan Studies concentration targets work with Japanese organisations.

FAQ

What is Osaka University called in English now?

Since April 2025, The University of Osaka. The Japanese name (大阪大学) and the website domain osaka-u.ac.jp are unchanged.

Can I get into the University of Osaka without Japanese?

Yes, through the Human Sciences International Undergraduate Degree Program, which requires no Japanese at application. IUPS requires JLPT N3 (N2 for biology), and the Japanese-taught screening requires a high EJU Japanese score.

How much does the University of Osaka cost?

$3,390 (¥535,800) a year plus $1,790 (¥282,000) on enrolment for bachelor's and master's students; application fees are $110 (¥17,000) for bachelor's and $190 (¥30,000) for master's programmes. Dormitories start at $50 (¥8,000) a month.

When do I apply to Human Sciences?

For October 2027, from 1 December 2026 to 5 January 2027 online, with paper documents arriving by 8 January 2027. Decisions come on 26 March 2027.

What EJU scores does the Japanese-taught screening require?

Minimum Japanese totals (out of 450) range from 200 in engineering and health sciences to 360 in Foreign Studies and Pharmaceutical Sciences and 400 in Medicine. Several schools also set TOEFL iBT thresholds.

Can I get a MEXT scholarship through the University of Osaka?

Yes, in two ways: via an embassy (undergraduates placed at Osaka study Japanese for a year at the university's centre first) and by university recommendation for students admitted to Human Sciences or IUPS.

Can StudyU help me apply to the University of Osaka?

Under an agreement with StudyU, we help choose a track and programmes, check requirements, prepare documents, essays and research plans, and support the application, scholarship and visa stages. The university decides on admission, and the university or another provider (MEXT, JASSO or a foundation) decides on scholarships. The immigration authorities and the Japanese consulate decide on the visa.

Sources

• University of Osaka: English name change, history, student numbers on 1 May 2026 (PDF), international students by country (PDF, Japanese), checked 24 Sep 2026
• University of Osaka: tuition, information for international applicants, MEXT scholarship, residences, campuses and access, checked 24 Sep 2026
• 2027 selection guide including the screening for international students (PDF, Japanese) and screening page, checked 24 Sep 2026
• Human Sciences International Undergraduate Degree Program: admissions and 2027 guidelines (PDF), checked 24 Sep 2026
• IUPS: programme and fees and guidelines for April 2027 entry (PDF), checked 24 Sep 2026
• MEXT, foreign school courses designated as equivalent to upper secondary school, checked 24 Sep 2026
• Study in Japan, immigration procedures, checked 24 Sep 2026
• Study in Japan: EJU, MEXT scholarships, living costs, checked 24 Sep 2026
• QS, top universities in Japan (updated 1 Jul 2026), THE, The University of Osaka, ARWU 2026, checked 24 Sep 2026

Dollar amounts are converted at the ECB reference rate of 23 September 2026 ($1 = ¥157.92) and rounded to the nearest $10.

Continue your research

Compare Osaka with other options in our guides to universities in Japan for international students and universities in Tokyo, and in the profiles of Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo. To find out which Osaka track is realistic for your profile, apply for a consultation.

During the free initial consultation, we clarify your goal, profile, timing, and budget and identify the next realistic step.