English-Taught Degree Programs at Japan's Top Universities for Canadians

Why English-taught degrees exist in Japan

Several of Japan's top universities built dedicated English-medium degree tracks starting around 2009, when MEXT funded a set of flagship national and private universities to open their doors wider to international applicants. Those programs now run as established degree tracks with their own admission processes, separate from the standard Japanese-language route. You still benefit from learning Japanese for daily life and part-time work, but your coursework, exams, and thesis can run entirely in English.

Search the Study in Japan portal for the current list of English-taught programs before you apply, since admission requirements and intake years shift.

University of Tokyo: PEAK

PEAK (Programs in English at Komaba) is the University of Tokyo's English-taught undergraduate track, run out of its Komaba campus. You choose between two majors, one focused on Japan in the context of East Asia, the other on environmental sciences. Coursework, application materials, and the entrance interview all run in English.

Kyoto University: iUP

The Kyoto University International Undergraduate Program (iUP) combines English-taught liberal arts and sciences coursework with an intensive Japanese language track built into the first two years. By your third year, you're expected to handle some coursework in Japanese, which makes iUP a middle path between a fully English program and a standard Japanese-taught degree.

Waseda University: School of International Liberal Studies

Waseda's School of International Liberal Studies (SILS) runs a fully English-taught undergraduate liberal arts degree, and it builds a study-abroad term into the standard four-year plan. Class sizes stay small relative to Waseda's other faculties, and the student body draws heavily from outside Japan.

Sophia University: Faculty of Liberal Arts

Sophia's Faculty of Liberal Arts (FLA) in Tokyo offers a fully English-taught undergraduate degree across humanities, social science, and natural science tracks. Sophia has run international programs since 1949, longer than most of the newer English-medium tracks at other universities.

International Christian University

International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo runs as a genuinely bilingual campus rather than a separate English track added onto a Japanese-language school. Course offerings in English are extensive, and ICU pairs incoming students with intensive Japanese instruction so you build language skills alongside your degree instead of needing them on day one.

Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), on Kyushu's east coast, built its entire model around a mixed domestic and international student body, with English-medium majors in Asia Pacific Studies and Management available start to finish. APU's dormitory system deliberately mixes Japanese and international students, which pushes daily language practice outside the classroom.

Keio University: PEARL

Keio's Faculty of Economics runs PEARL (Program in Economics for Alliances, Research, and Leadership), an English-taught undergraduate economics degree. It sits inside one of Japan's oldest private universities, with an economics-specific focus you won't get from the broader liberal arts tracks at other schools on this list.

Tohoku University: Future Global Leadership Program

Tohoku University's Future Global Leadership (FGL) Program offers English-taught undergraduate tracks across several faculties, aimed at students who want a research-intensive national university experience without starting in Japanese.

University of Tsukuba: Global 30 heritage programs

University of Tsukuba runs several English-medium undergraduate tracks under its long-running international program structure, spanning subjects from international social sciences to engineering. As a national university with a strong research profile, it suits students who want an English-taught degree without narrowing themselves to a liberal arts focus.

Osaka University

Osaka University offers English-taught coursework within specific departments rather than one standalone English degree track, so check department by department rather than assuming a university-wide program exists. Its size and research output make it worth checking directly even though it doesn't have one flagship English program the way Tokyo's PEAK or Waseda's SILS do.

How to choose between them

Start from your intended major, not the university's overall reputation. A liberal arts focus fits PEAK, SILS, Sophia's FLA, or ICU. A stronger single-subject focus, like economics or environmental science, points you toward PEARL or PEAK's environmental sciences track instead. If you want a campus built around a mixed domestic and international student body from day one, APU stands apart from the others on this list.

Location matters too. Tokyo hosts PEAK, SILS, FLA, ICU, and PEARL, while Kyoto, Sendai, and Beppu each host one program with a different city size and cost of living than the capital. Program size differs sharply too. PEAK admits a small cohort each year, while APU's English-medium majors enroll in the hundreds, which changes how much individual attention and how large a peer network you'll have. If Japan isn't a must, compare the equivalent options among English-taught degree programs at Korean universities. A similar lineup exists for English-taught degree programs in China as well.

Funding these programs

Several English-taught programs on this list, including PEAK and SILS, admit students who go on to hold a MEXT scholarship through the university-recommended route, since the host university nominates you once you're enrolled. Ask your program's international office whether they nominate students for MEXT funding and what internal deadline that follows, separate from the university admission deadline itself. If you're financing privately instead, look at JASSO's living-expense subsidies as a supplement.

Before you apply

• Confirm the current application cycle and required documents on the program's own admission page. Intake years and document lists change. Once you're accepted, budget time for the separate certificate of eligibility and student visa process.

• Ask whether the program expects an English proficiency score, commonly IELTS or TOEFL, on top of your transcript, since most English-medium programs do.

• Check whether the program is fully English-taught or a hybrid, like Kyoto's iUP, where Japanese coursework grows over your degree.

• Factor in Japanese language study even if your degree doesn't require it for graduation. Daily life, part-time work, and internships in Japan run in Japanese.