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Waseda University crest

Waseda University

Tokyo, Japan • Founded 1882 • QS 2027 #201 =

Updated May 2026 · Source: waseda.jp

Overview

English Name: Waseda University
Local Name: 早稲田大学
Founded: 1882
Institution Type: University
Control Type: Private
Rankings:
QS World University Rankings 2027 #201 = Times Higher Education 2026 #801-1000 ARWU (Shanghai) 2026 #601-700 CWTS Leiden 2025 #1418 SCImago 2026 #529
Motto: Independence of Learning
Colours: Maroon
Mascot: Waseda Bear
Waseda University academic and student spaces
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Established in 1882, the Waseda University (Waseda Daigaku) is a private higher education institution located in the urban setting of the large metropolis of Tokyo (population range of over 5,000,000 inhabitants).

Officially recognized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, Waseda University is a very large-sized coeducational Japanese higher education institution. Waseda University offers courses and programs leading to officially recognized higher education degrees such as bachelor's degrees, master's degrees and doctorate degrees in several areas of study.

This 141-year-old Japanese higher-education institution has a selective admission policy based on entrance examinations. The acceptance rate range is 0-9% making this Japanese higher education organization an extremely selective institution.

International applicants are eligible to apply for enrollment.

Waseda University also provides several academic and non-academic facilities and services to students including a library, study abroad and exchange programs, as well as administrative services.

Location & Contact

Where to find Waseda University, plus its phone, email, website, and social media links.

Address: 1-104 Totsuka-machi Shinjuku-ku
Postal Code: 169-8050
Phone: +81 (3) 3204 2253
Fax: +81 (3) 3202 8583
Social Media:

Academic Details

Enrolment, faculty headcount, and accreditation data for Waseda University are listed below.

Academic Year: April to March (April-July; September-March)
Recognition: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan
Accrediting Agency: Japan University Accreditation Association (JUAA)
Admission Requirements: Graduation from high school or equivalent or foreign equivalent, and entrance examination
Student Enrollment: 45,000-49,999
Academic Staff Range: 3,000-3,499
Campus Setting: Urban
Memberships & Networks
Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Universitas 21 (U21) Open Education Consortium (OEC)

Academic Structures

Waseda University's faculties, schools, institutes, and constituent units are listed below.

Unit 33 items
  • Graduate School of Accountancy
  • Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering
  • Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies
  • Graduate School of Commerce
  • Graduate School of Creative Science and Engineering
  • Graduate School of Economics
  • Graduate School of Education
  • Graduate School of Environment and Energy Engineering
  • Graduate School of Fundamental Science and Engineering
  • Graduate School of Human Sciences
  • Graduate School of Information, Production and Systems
  • Graduate School of International Culture and Communication
  • Graduate School of Japanese Applied Linguistics
  • Graduate School of Law
  • Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences
  • Graduate School of Political Science
  • Graduate School of Social Sciences
  • Graduate School of Sport Sciences
  • Law School
  • School of Advanced Science and Engineering
  • School of Commerce
  • School of Creative Science and Engineering
  • School of Culture, Media and Society
  • School of Education
  • School of Fundamental Science and Engineering
  • School of Human Sciences
  • School of Humanities and Social Sciences
  • School of International Liberal Studies
  • School of Law
  • School of Political Science and Economics
  • School of Social Sciences
  • School of Sport Sciences
  • Waseda Business School

Faculties & Divisions

All faculties operate under Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.

Commerce (Faculty) 1 subject offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Business and Commerce
Education (Faculty) 8 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Cultural Studies
  • Education
  • English
  • Japanese
  • Mathematics
  • Natural Sciences
  • Social Sciences
  • Social Studies
Letters, Arts and Sciences II (Faculty) 9 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Arts and Humanities
  • Folklore
  • History
  • Linguistics
  • Literature
  • Performing Arts
  • Philosophy
  • Religion
  • Social Sciences
Political Science and Economics (Faculty) 3 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Economics
  • International Economics
  • Political Sciences
Accountancy (Graduate School) 2 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Accountancy
  • Business Administration
Advanced Science and Engineering (Graduate School) 7 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Applied Chemistry
  • Applied Physics
  • Biochemistry
  • Biological and Life Sciences
  • Chemistry
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Physics
Asia-Pacific Studies (Graduate School) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Commerce (Graduate School) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Creative Science and Engineering (Graduate School) 7 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Architecture
  • Civil Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Management Systems
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Natural Resources
Economics (Graduate School) 1 subject offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Economics
Education (Graduate School) 7 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Curriculum
  • Education
  • Educational Sciences
  • English
  • Humanities and Social Science Education
  • Japanese
  • Mathematics Education
Environment and Energy Engineering (Graduate School) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Finance, Accounting and Law (Graduate School) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Fundamental Science and Engineering (Graduate School) 8 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering
  • Applied Mathematics
  • Computer Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Electronic Engineering
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Multimedia
Global Information and Telecommunication Studies (Graduate School) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Human Sciences (Graduate School) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Information, Production and Systems (Graduate School) 3 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Computer Engineering
  • Information Sciences
  • Information Technology
Japanese Applied Linguistics (Graduate School) 2 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Applied Linguistics
  • Japanese
Law (Graduate School) 3 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Civil Law
  • Law
  • Public Law
Letters, Arts and Sciences (Graduate School) 17 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Arts and Humanities
  • Chinese
  • Cultural Studies
  • Education
  • English
  • Fine Arts
  • French
  • German
  • History
  • Japanese
  • Literature
  • Natural Sciences
  • Philosophical Schools
  • Philosophy
  • Psychology
  • Russian
  • Sociology
Political Science (Graduate School) 1 subject offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Political Sciences
Public Management (Graduate School) 1 subject offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Okuma School
Science and Engineering (Graduate School) 3 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Engineering
  • Mathematics and Computer Science
  • Natural Sciences
Social Sciences (Graduate School) 5 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • International Studies
  • Management
  • Political Sciences
  • Regional Studies
  • Social Sciences
Sport Sciences (Graduate School) 1 subject offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Sports
Teacher Education (Graduate School) 2 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Education
  • Teacher Training
Asia-Pacific Studies (Research Division) 2 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Asian Studies
  • Pacific Area Studies
Business Administration (Research Division) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Comparative Law (Research Division) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Comprehensive Research Organisation (Research Division) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Contemporary Political and Economic Affairs (Research Division) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Education (Research Division) 1 subject offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Advanced Studies
Environment (Research Division) 1 subject offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Environmental Studies
Environmental Safety (Research Division) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Global Information and Telecommunications (Research Division) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Human Sciences (Research Division) 1 subject offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Social Sciences
Human Services (Research Division) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

International Education (Research Division) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Japanese Language (Research Division) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Materials Science and Technology (Research Division) 1 subject offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Kagami Memorial
Media Network (Research Division) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Open Education (Research Division) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Science and Engineering (Research Division) 3 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Engineering
  • Mathematics and Computer Science
  • Natural Sciences
Waseda University Archives (Research Division) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Advanced Science and Engineering (School) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Creative Science and Engineering (School) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Culture, Media and Society (School) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Fundamental Science and Engineering (School) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Human Sciences (School) 6 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Behavioural Sciences
  • Cognitive Sciences
  • Environmental Studies
  • Health Sciences
  • Social Sciences
  • Social Welfare
Humanities and Social Sciences (School) 20 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Archaeology
  • Art History
  • Chinese
  • Education
  • English
  • Environmental Studies
  • Film
  • French
  • German
  • Health Sciences
  • History
  • Japanese
  • Philosophical Schools
  • Philosophy
  • Psychology
  • Russian
  • Social Sciences
  • Social Welfare
  • Sociology
  • Theatre
International Liberal Studies (School) 2 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Arts and Humanities
  • International Studies
Law (School) 8 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Administrative Law
  • Constitutional Law
  • International Law
  • Law
  • Mass Communication
  • Public Administration
  • Public Law
  • Taxation
Letters, Arts and Sciences I (School) 19 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Archaeology
  • Art History
  • Arts and Humanities
  • Chinese
  • English
  • Film
  • French
  • German
  • History
  • Japanese
  • Mathematics and Computer Science
  • Natural Sciences
  • Philosophical Schools
  • Philosophy
  • Psychology
  • Russian
  • Sociology
  • Theatre
  • Writing
Science and Engineering (School) 18 subjects offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Applied Chemistry
  • Applied Physics
  • Architecture
  • Biological and Life Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Chemistry
  • Civil Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Information Management
  • Management Systems
  • Materials Engineering
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Nanotechnology
  • Natural Resources
  • Physics
Social Sciences (School) Faculty details available

Specialisations & Subjects

No specified subjects listed.

Sport Sciences (School) 1 subject offered

Specialisations & Subjects

  • Sports

Programs Offered

Waseda University's programme catalogue is grouped by level below.

48 programmes on record. Each level below shows a sample. Compare these on the programs page All programs in Japan

Bachelor's Degree 14 programmes

Bachelor's Degree in School of Advanced Science and Engineering
General Engineering

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Bachelor's Degree in School of Commerce
Business & Management

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Bachelor's Degree in School of Culture, Media and Society
Media Studies & Mass Media

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Bachelor's Degree in School of Education
Education & Teaching

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Bachelor's Degree in School of Fundamental Science and Engineering
General Engineering

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Bachelor's Degree in School of Human Sciences
Humanities & Cultural Studies

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Bachelor's Degree in School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Humanities & Cultural Studies

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Bachelor's Degree in School of International Liberal Studies
Liberal Arts

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Showing 10 of 14.

Master's Degree 20 programmes

Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering
General Engineering

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of Business and Finance (Business School)
Finance, Banking & Insurance

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of Commerce
Business & Management

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of Creative Science and Engineering
General Engineering

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of Economics
Economics

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of Environment and Energy Engineering
Energy Engineering

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of Fundamental Science and Engineering
General Engineering

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Showing 10 of 20.

Doctorate 14 programmes

Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering
General Engineering

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of Commerce
Business & Management

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of Creative Science and Engineering
General Engineering

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of Education
Education & Teaching

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of Environment and Energy Engineering
Energy Engineering

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of Fundamental Science and Engineering
General Engineering

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of Human Sciences
Humanities & Cultural Studies

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of Information, Production and Systems
Information Systems & Technology

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Graduate School of International Culture and Communication Studies
Communication Studies

Programme website (opens in a new tab)

Showing 10 of 14.

How to apply to Waseda University

How to apply to Waseda University — a five-step structure.

  1. 1
    Find a programme that fits your goals

    Start by exploring the programmes section on this page. Waseda University runs 48 active programmes across multiple degree levels. Narrow by qualification tier and read each programme description before shortlisting.

  2. 2
    Confirm you meet the requirements

    Before applying to Waseda University, confirm you meet the academic, language, and document requirements for your chosen programme. International applicants should also check visa eligibility for Japan.

  3. 3
    Assemble your application package

    Standard documents: official transcripts, identity proof, language test results, personal statement, and references. Confirm exact requirements with Waseda University's admissions office before assembling, as expectations vary by programme.

  4. 4
    Submit your application

    Lodge your application through the official website (www.waseda.jp). Online forms are the standard route. Save your draft frequently and submit before the programme deadline.

  5. 5
    Contact admissions and follow up

    Verify your application has been received by the admissions team. Reach the institution by phone at +81 (3) 3204 2253. Monitor the portal for status updates, interview invitations, or document requests, and respond within the stated deadlines.

Frequently Asked Questions about Waseda University

Concise answers to common questions about Waseda University.

In what year was Waseda University established?

Waseda University was founded in 1882 (approximately 144 years ago).

In which city is Waseda University?

Waseda University is based in Tokyo, Japan.

Is Waseda University a public or private institution?

It is a private higher-education institution.

How many students study at Waseda University?

Waseda University has approximately 45,000-49,999 students.

Where does Waseda University stand in university rankings?

Waseda University is ranked QS 2027 #201 =.

How many faculties does Waseda University have?

The institution comprises 33 academic units.

Is Waseda University officially recognised?

The institution holds recognition from Japan University Accreditation Association (JUAA).

Where can I learn more about Waseda University?

Waseda University's official website is www.waseda.jp.

Top-Ranked Universities in Japan

Top Japan universities often run international branch campuses. Waseda University's international footprint compared to this benchmark signals global engagement scale.

Members of Open Education Consortium (OEC)

Other members of Open Education Consortium (OEC) are listed below.

Faculties at nearby universities

Universities located near Waseda University are listed below.

Where Else to Study General Engineering

Below: other Japan universities that offer General Engineering programmes.

Universities Compared with Waseda University

Comparable universities to Waseda University are listed below.

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