April/September 2021

Application Guidelines for

Master’s Program, International Program in Economics,
Graduate School of Economics, the University of Tokyo (UTIPE)
Enrollment in April/September 2021

International Program in Economics at Graduate School of Economics, the University of Tokyo (hereafter UTIPE),
began with a Master’s program in April 2010 for English-speaking students. The Doctoral program is open to those
who complete the Master’s program with distinction. UTIPE has two purposes: i) to nurture students as scholars
and educators with international perspectives based on advanced analytical skills in modern economics; ii) to teach
students practically and globally useful expertise in economics. Therefore, students with both English proficiency
and an advanced knowledge in mathematics and/or economics are particularly welcome.

1. Eligibility
Applicants must hold Bachelor’s degree(s) and fulfill at least one of the following requirements:
i) Those who have completed or will complete the equivalent of 16-year school education outside of Japan
by the time of enrollment in the program.
ii) Those who have been conferred a degree equivalent to that of a bachelor’s degree, or are expected to be
conferred by the time of enrollment in the program from a foreign university or other foreign institution
(limited to those whose comprehensive status of education and research activities have been assessed by
the government of the said foreign country or a related organization), having completed a program with a
completion period of three years or more. (*Note 1)
iii) Those who will be at least 22 years of age as of the enrollment date, and who have been recognized by this
graduate school, through individual screening of entrance qualifications, as having achieved academic
equivalent of a university graduate. (*Note 2)

*Note 1:
Those who intend to apply under Eligibility (ii) above should submit additional documents (see
【Eligibility (ii)】) to UTIPE Office by post at the time of the submission of their application in order to
determine their eligibility.

*Note 2:
1) Eligibility (iii) above applies to those who do not qualify under (i) and (ii) above, but who have
graduated (or completed a program of study) from an educational institution equivalent to a four-year
university in Japan, and who have been deemed, through individual screening of entrance qualifications

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by this graduate school, as having attained the academic equivalent of a university graduate.
2) Those who intend to apply under Eligibility (iii) and those who want to confirm their eligibility must
have their qualifications individually screened before submitting an application. Such persons are asked
to provide additional documents (see 【Eligibility (iii)】) to UTIPE Office by post to reach no later than
September 10, 2020. Additional information may also be required.

Applicants who meet one of the following criteria are NOT eligible to apply:
 Those who have earned or will earn a degree from a university in Japan
 Those who have earned or will earn a degree from a university that have joint-degree programs with
a university in Japan, and if the home university of an applicant is situated inside Japan.
 Those who have been educated for more than 2 years in Japan, including the primary, secondary
and/or higher education(s)

2. Course Overview
UTIPE offers a two-year Master degree program in English, and the program does NOT require Japanese

language ability to obtain the degree. Approximately 15 students per year have been accepted for the
program offered by the Department of Economics of Division of Economics, and the students may choose to
enroll either in April or September. UTIPE students are not allowed to transfer to other departments after the
enrollment nor when to advance to the doctoral program. To complete the program, UTIPE students are
required to complete a minimum of 30 credits by the end of the second year including the completion of a
Master thesis and a thesis defense, which will be supervised by one of UTIPE faculty. Selection of

supervisor is limited within UTIPE faculty. It is mandatory for UTIPE students to complete core courses
comprised of Macroeconomics, Microeconomics and Econometrics to satisfy graduation requirements. UTIPE
students have a wide selection of courses to choose from both in English and Japanese (See list of courses);
however, it is advised to check the language of instruction before the course registration.

3. Fees (As of 2019, subject to change.)

Application fee 10,000 JPY
Admission fee 282,000 JPY
Tuition 535,800 JPY per year

4. Selection
Admission selection is based on the evaluation of application materials. An oral online examination may be
required for some selected applicants.

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5. Application Process & Documents

To apply, create an online profile to begin the application, upload necessary documents, and submit the
required documents by post as specified below. All the documents and the certificates must be either in
English or Japanese. Incomplete applications will not be considered. After submission, application documents
cannot be revised under any circumstances. Any documents submitted for application will not be returned.

A. Application Form (Required both online and by post)

− Choose either April or September for admission term, which may not be revised after submission.
− Make a note of the Application Number generated in the Web Entry System for your identification.

B. Photo (JPEG) (Required online)

C. Degree Certificate (Required by post)

− Must be an official paper version, which includes the degree name, conferral month and year, and a
seal of the institution from which you have earned a Bachelor’s degree. (Do not send a Diploma)

− An official transcript can be substituted if the above information is included.

− Those who have not yet graduated at the time of application are required to submit an official
certificate of enrollment with the expected degree name, conferral month and year, and a seal of the
institution instead, and must submit the Degree Certificate before the enrollment. Degree conferral
date should be prior to the enrollment day.

D. Transcripts (Required both online and by post)

− Must be official paper transcripts with official stamp or sealed by the registry of universities, which
include all the courses taken and the grades received. Photocopied, scanned, emailed or digital version
is not acceptable.

− Must include the explanation on grading system. If not, submit the document printed from related
official webpage

− Required from every college and university you have attended including joint degree program. A
transcript for summer/exchange programs may be submitted as a copy.

E. Two academic recommendation letters (Required Online)

− Must be uploaded by referees. (A4 size, no designated format)

− Written by faculty members who are in positions to evaluate applicant’s academic abilities.
− Provide the current institutional email address of referees for our verification. Avoid free email
accounts such as Gmail, Yahoo, etc.

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F. TOEFL iBT or IELTS Academic, taken after September 1, 2018 inclusive (Required both online and by
post)
 TOEFL
① Institutional Score Report from ETS (Request ETS to send directly to UTIPE Office, Institution
Code: 7101, with Department Code: 99)
AND
② Online and by post: Copy of Test Taker Score Report from TOEFL online account
Special measures for TOEFL:
*Scores of TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition are accepted. Follow the instruction ① and ② above.
*Scores of TOEFL ITP Plus for China are accepted. To submit, go to the “Send to Schools” page in
Vericant Student Portal and choose Graduate School of Economics, the University of Tokyo, as a
recipient. And a copy of TOEFL ITP scores reported in the Vericant student portal is required online
and by post.
 IELTS
① Official Test Report Form (Request a local test center to send directly to UTIPE Office. See 6. for
the shipping address.)
AND
② Online and by post: Copy of Test Report Form

− Those who have earned or will earn a degree from a university/college in UK, Ireland, US, an English
medium university in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and native English speakers in those
nations are exempt from submission of TOEFL and IELTS scores.

− Those who have earned or will earn a degree from a joint-degree program with a university in one of
above nations, but if the home university of an applicant is situated in other regions, either TOEFL or
IELTS scores are required to submit.

G. GRE General Test, taken after September 1, 2018 inclusive (Required both online and by post)
① Graduate Institutional Score Report from ETS (Request ETS to send directly to UTIPE Office,
Institution Code: 4179)
AND
② Online and by post: Copy of Test Taker Score Report from ETS online account
Special measures for GRE General Test:
* Scores of GRE General Test at Home are accepted.
* Scores of GRE General Test, taken after September 1, 2015 inclusive are accepted this time.

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Note: For F. and G., there is no minimum test score required to apply. To be considered, its copy must be
uploaded online and posted with other application materials within the application period, and the official
reports may arrive late due to unavoidable circumstances.

H. Research Statement (Required both online and by post)

− Describe the field of your study in the past, your study plan in Japan, reasons for applying to this
program and etc. within 500 words in A4 paper.

I. Medical Certificate (Required by post)

− Must be an original and undertaken within the last three months prior to the application.
− Must be submitted in our designated form (no designated clinic/hospital).

J. Application fee of 10,000 JPY (Receipt required both online and by post):

− Make the fee payment through e-shiharai.net, available from late September and upload its receipt.
− The application fee is not refundable under any circumstances.
− MEXT scholarship students may be exempted from this payment if the certificate of the scholarship is
submitted with other application materials.

− MEXT scholarship applicants are required to pay the application fee.

6. Application Period
November 2, 2020 to November 6, 2020
In addition to the online application, the documents required by post must reach UTIPE Office below by
registered post/couriers within the above period. Any late application will NOT be considered. UTIPE Office
does not respond to inquiries about individual delivery status.
UTIPE Office
Graduate School of Economics, The University of Tokyo
Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan

MEXT scholarship applicants for 2021, who passed the primary screening at the embassy should complete
their UTIPE application as above, and also follow the MEXT application procedure on the website.

7. Decision
Admission decision will be announced after December 24, 2020 through the Web Entry System. An official
letter will be sent to only successful applicants by postal mail. UTIPE Office will not answer any inquiries
about the admission result.

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8. Admission
A letter of admission will be issued in late February*1/late July*2 and posted along with the admission
documents. Accordingly, the admission procedures must be completed within the designated period in
Mid-March*1/Mid-September*2 to enroll into the program. The admission fee is not refundable under any
circumstances.
*1April enrollee *2September enrollee

9. Miscellaneous
i) Applicants with disabilities should consult with Graduate School Office prior to the enrollment so that
considerations for facilitating them in classrooms, etc. may be arranged.
ii) The University of Tokyo shall use the personal information received only for the purpose of Selection
procedures, Notification of results and Enrollment procedures. For those have been enrolled, the
information will also be used for Educational affairs, Student support, and Collection of tuition fees.
iii) The results used in the selection of entrants may be used in future studies for the improvement of both the
entrance examination and the education at the University of Tokyo.
iv) The offer of admission may be withdrawn at any time, even after the enrollment, if any of the submitted
documents are found to be untrue.
v) The University of Tokyo has established the “The University of Tokyo Security Export Control
Regulations” in accordance with Japan’s “Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act”, and rigorously
screens potential international students on the basis of these regulations. Please be aware
that international applicants who fall under any of the conditions set out in said regulations may not
receive permission to enroll at the university or may have their research activities restricted.
Details can be obtained from the following website:
Office of Export Control
https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/adm/export-control/ja/rule.html (Japanese only)

For the latest information, visit UTIPE website and

FAQs. For inquiries, contact us at utipe@e.u-tokyo.ac.jp.