Kyoto University was founded in 1897 and is Japan’s second-oldest national university, known for its tradition of academic freedom and for its Nobel Prize winners, most recently the chemist Susumu Kitagawa in 2025. In the QS World University Rankings 2027, published in June 2026, it was 64th in the world and second in Japan. Its main Yoshida campus is in the historic city of Kyoto.
International school-leavers usually enter through the Kyoto University International Undergraduate Program (Kyoto iUP), which teaches you Japanese before you join a regular degree. Here are 10 things you can do to give yourself the best chance, based on Kyoto University’s own guidance and official Japanese government information.
1. Understand how Kyoto iUP works
Kyoto iUP lasts four and a half years. You start with a six-month preparatory course on 1 October 2027, with intensive Japanese and foundation subjects, and then join the four-year undergraduate course in April 2028 as a regular student. You’ll study in English and Japanese in the first two and a half years and mainly or entirely in Japanese in the final two. You don’t need any Japanese to apply, but you do need a strong motivation to learn it. You can choose from the Faculties of Integrated Human Studies, Letters (Philosophy and Ethics), Education, Law, Economics, Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Engineering and Agriculture, and list up to three faculties or departments. Medicine isn’t available through iUP.
2. Know how competitive it is
Kyoto iUP will admit 40 students in October 2027. For the 2026 intake, 1,174 people applied and 37 passed the final screening. Engineering is the most popular area: 524 applicants named it as their first choice, and 18 passed. Economics had 188 first-choice applicants and 3 successful candidates. Strong grades in the right subjects matter, so show your best work.
3. Apply between 2 November and 3 December 2026
You apply for October 2027 entry through the online application system from 2 November to 3 December 2026 (5 p.m. Japan time), when the system closes automatically. The application fee is ¥9,800, plus a ¥429 processing fee, and must be paid by 3 December. It isn’t refundable, and there are no fee waivers. If you plan to use a test that isn’t on Kyoto’s list, the deadline to check with the admissions office was 19 October 2026. Kyoto iUP: Application Guidelines for October 2027 Enrollment (PDF).
4. Submit your school results and a standardised test
You’ll need official transcripts for your whole time at secondary school, a certificate of graduation or expected graduation, an evaluation from a teacher and an essay in English on Kyoto’s own form. You must also send at least one standardised test or qualification, such as the SAT (taken by 7 November 2026), the ACT (by 24 October 2026), the EJU, the IB, A Levels or national exams like India’s CBSE Class XII, China’s gaokao or the German Abitur. Predicted grades are accepted. Applicants for Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Engineering and Agriculture must show results in mathematics and at least two sciences (both physics and chemistry for Engineering), and Economics and Integrated Human Studies applicants must show mathematics.
5. Show your English level
There’s no fixed minimum, but successful candidates typically have a TOEFL iBT score of 4.5 on the new scale (90 on the old one) or IELTS 6.5. Tests must have been taken after 1 November 2024, and TOEFL MyBest scores aren’t accepted, although IELTS One Skill Retake results are. If you’re a native English speaker, or if all your classes were taught in English for at least five years of secondary school, you can send Kyoto’s Form C, filled in by your school, instead of a test result. Practise with our free IELTS and TOEFL practice tests.
6. Prepare for the online interview
If you pass the document review, you’ll have an online interview in English between 1 and 16 March 2027, on a date Kyoto sets and you can’t change. During the interview, Kyoto will also discuss which faculty you’d join. Results come on 6 April 2027. Remember that your offer is the start: to join your faculty in April 2028, you must complete the preparatory course and pass the faculty’s Qualifying Test in January or February 2028, which costs ¥17,000. If you don’t pass, you can retake the preparatory course the following year.
7. Make the most of the scholarships
Kyoto iUP is unusually generous. Every iUP student gets a scholarship covering the full admission fee and all or part of the tuition for four and a half years, plus an allowance of up to ¥120,000 a month during the six-month preparatory course. After you join the undergraduate course, you can compete for monthly allowances from companies and other organisations. You’ll also be given a room in a Kyoto University International House for your first 12 months, which can be extended by up to six months.
8. Understand the fees
Without waivers, the preparatory course has an admission fee of ¥28,200 and tuition of ¥296,000 for six months, both of which can be fully waived. The undergraduate course has an admission fee of ¥282,000, which can be fully waived, and annual tuition of ¥535,800, which can be fully or partly waived. Kyoto says these amounts can change without notice, so check them before you enrol. Kyoto is cheaper to live in than Tokyo, but you’ll still need to budget for food, insurance and rent after your first year.
9. Get your Certificate of Eligibility and student visa
Once you’ve accepted your place and paid your admission fee, Kyoto University applies to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan for a Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) on your behalf, using documents you provide, including proof that you or a sponsor can pay for your studies and living costs. When your CoE is issued, which can be done electronically, you take it with your passport to the Japanese embassy or consulate in your country to get a student visa. You’ll be given your residence card when you arrive at a major airport, and you must register your address at your local city office and join Japan’s National Health Insurance within 14 days of moving in. If you need to extend your stay later, note that the fees went up on 1 October 2026 and now depend on the period you’re given: for example, ¥33,000 at an immigration office (¥27,000 online) for a one-year extension, instead of a flat ¥6,000. Immigration Services Agency of Japan: residence fees from 1 October 2026.
10. Plan for work during and after your studies
A student visa doesn’t allow you to work on its own. You first need “permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted”, which you can request at the airport when you arrive or later at an immigration office. It lets you work up to 28 hours a week, and up to eight hours a day during the university’s long vacations, but never in bars, nightclubs or other adult entertainment businesses. Most Japanese companies recruit graduates a year or more before they start, so begin your job search early, and remember that Japanese language skills make a big difference. If you haven’t found a job by graduation, you can apply, with a recommendation from Kyoto University, for a “Designated Activities” status for job hunting, which gives you six months and can be renewed once, for up to a year in total. When you get a job offer, you’ll switch to a work status such as Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services. University of Osaka: work permit for part-time jobs.
Applying for a master’s or PhD at Kyoto?
Kyoto’s graduate schools admit students directly, and many have master’s and doctoral programmes taught in English, with their own dates and requirements. You’ll usually need to contact a potential supervisor before you apply. The Japanese government’s MEXT Scholarship, which you can apply for through the Japanese embassy in your country or through a university recommendation, covers tuition and pays a monthly allowance. See our 50 sample SOPs and free GRE practice tests.
Be ambitious, but apply to a balanced list
With around 3 per cent of applicants getting a place, Kyoto iUP is very selective, so apply to other options too. Read our guides to the University of Tokyo, the University of Osaka, the Institute of Science Tokyo and Tohoku University. Our guide to studying in Japan explains how the Japanese system works, and our free study abroad assessment can help you build a shortlist.
Information was taken from Kyoto University’s official Kyoto iUP application guidelines for October 2027 enrollment, the Immigration Services Agency of Japan and the QS World University Rankings 2027, and checked in October 2026. Admissions rules, deadlines, fees and immigration rules can change, so always confirm the details on the Kyoto iUP website before you apply. StudyAbroadMarket is not affiliated with Kyoto University.