English-Taught Degree Programs in Japan and Korea for ASEAN Students

English-medium degrees exist, but they are not the default

Most bachelor's and master's programs in Japan and Korea still teach in Japanese or Korean. English-medium tracks exist at a specific set of universities and departments, mostly built to attract international students and to help home universities internationalize. Finding the right program means searching by university and department, not by country.

For ASEAN students, English-taught programs remove the biggest early barrier, language readiness, but they do not remove the need to function in the local language once you step off campus.

Japan: Top Global University campuses lead on English programs

Japan's Ministry of Education backed a wave of English-medium program building through its Top Global University project, running from 2014 to 2023, which pushed a set of national and private universities to build fully English-taught degrees alongside their Japanese-medium ones. Programs launched under this push are still running and remain a good starting point for English-track applicants.

• The University of Tokyo's PEAK program (Programs in English at Komaba) offers a fully English-taught undergraduate liberal arts degree.

• Waseda University's School of International Liberal Studies (SILS) runs an entirely English-medium undergraduate degree.

• Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) in Beppu delivers full bachelor's degrees in English across business administration and Asia Pacific studies, alongside a large ASEAN student population.

• Graduate engineering and science programs at universities including Tokyo Institute of Technology, Osaka University and Kyushu University commonly run English-medium master's and PhD tracks, since research supervision in STEM fields often already happens in English.

Use the JASSO Study in Japan portal to search current English-taught program listings by field and degree level, since program offerings change as universities add or close tracks.

Korea: strongest in engineering, science and business

Korea's push for English-medium programs runs through its own government internationalization drive under the Ministry of Education, and English tracks concentrate most heavily in STEM and business departments.

• KAIST and POSTECH deliver the large majority of their graduate coursework in English, reflecting their focus on international STEM research.

• Yonsei University, Korea University and Sungkyunkwan University run dedicated English-medium undergraduate and graduate tracks, particularly in business, international studies and engineering.

• Hanyang University and other technical universities offer English-medium engineering programs aimed at international applicants.

Search the Study in Korea portal for a current list of English-taught programs by university, since Korea's government periodically updates which institutions carry official English-track status.

What counts as fully English-taught versus partially English-taught

Program listings sometimes blur the line between a fully English-medium degree and a program that offers a handful of English-language electives inside an otherwise Korean or Japanese curriculum. Read the actual course list, not just the program description, before you apply.

• A fully English-taught degree runs every required course, exam and thesis defense in English from admission to graduation.

• A partially English-taught track may run first-year general education in English but shift core major courses to the local language by the second or third year.

• Some graduate programs advertise English-medium research supervision, but seminars, lab meetings, and campus administration still run in Japanese or Korean.

Ask current students in the program, through the university's Facebook group or an ASEAN student association, whether the degree matched its English-medium description in practice.

Why you still need the local language

An English-medium degree covers your coursework, but it does not cover the rest of student life.

• Part-time jobs (arubaito in Japan, alba in Korea) almost always require conversational Japanese or Korean, since most employers deal with the public.

• Housing contracts, bank accounts and phone plans are commonly handled in the local language, even when a university international office helps with the first steps.

• Internships tied to your field of study, especially in Japan's engineering and business sectors, often expect at least workplace-level Japanese.

• Some English-medium programs still require you to pass a set proficiency level of the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) or the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) before graduation, even though your classes were taught in English.

Check each program's language requirement page directly, since some English tracks require zero local language ability to enroll but expect a JLPT or TOPIK milestone by your final year.

How to search for the right program

1. Start with the JASSO Study in Japan portal or the Study in Korea portal and filter by "English-taught" and your intended field.

2. Shortlist universities, then go to each department's own website, since portal listings can lag behind actual current offerings.

3. Email the international admissions office to confirm the program is still fully English-medium for your intake year, not partially English-medium.

4. Ask about the local-language exit requirement, if any, and how many credit hours of Japanese or Korean language class are built into the curriculum.

5. Check whether the program qualifies for MEXT or GKS scholarship funding, since English-medium tracks are not automatically covered by every scholarship round.

Building language skill alongside your degree

Even in a fully English-taught program, most universities offer mandatory or elective Japanese or Korean language classes for international students, and taking them seriously from your first semester pays off well before graduation. Students who arrive with at least basic conversational ability, or who commit early to language classes on campus, tend to find part-time work and settle into daily life faster than those who wait until their final year to start.