Graduate School of International Culture and Communication StudiesWaseda University

GSICCS offers full-time program.

Students must…

1. Complete at least 2 years of study

2. Earn at least 30 credits from the designated courses

3. Submit a Master’s thesis upon completion of the directed research

4. Pass the thesis evaluation and the oral examinations

Students will be taking the following courses.

1. Directed research

2. Seminar I & II

3. Basic courses

4. Specialized courses

5. The courses on research ethics designated by GSICCS

6. Related courses (Not mandatory)

*Subject to change

GSICCS offers full-time program.

Students must…

1. Complete at least 3 years of study

2. Earn the designated number of credits

3. Submit a Doctoral dissertation upon completion of the directed research

4. Pass the preliminary examination, intermediate review, and oral defense

Students will be taking the following courses.

1. Directed research (Core Study)

2. Independent study (Not mandatory, but strongly recommended)

3. Ph.D. Seminar

4. The courses on research ethics designated by GSICCS

*Subject to change

The classes are mainly held from Monday to Saturday between 8:50 to 20:35 on the Waseda main campus.

GSICCS is an English-based graduate school, meaning that the medium of instruction is English. However, if an applicant wishes to apply for the Directed Research in Interpretation Studies, applicants will be required to have a decent level of Japanese language skills.
(※Submission of any Japanese proficiency test scores are not required.)

Interpretation Studies at GSICCS will focus on interpretation between English and Japanese. Thus, you will be required to have an appropriate level of Japanese language proficiency if you wish to conduct research in this field.
(※Submission of any Japanese test scores is not required.)

No. Japanese courses are not included as the required course work for obtaining either the Master’s or Doctoral degree at GSICCS. If students wish to learn Japanese language, students may take Japanese language courses offered by the Center for Japanese Language (CJL) of Waseda University.
Note that additional fee will be required besides the basic tuition fee.

※For Doctoral Students only

GSICCS does provide support such as the overseas research travel grant program and subsidy for miscellaneous costs which are related to research activities.

Refer to the following website for further information.
The Research Portal Website

Please refer to the details on the application guidelines, which can be downloaded from the following website.

• Master’s Program
• Doctoral Program

Application Guidelines will be released as follows:

April Enrollment – End of June
September Enrollment – Beginning of December
（*These schedules are subject to change without prior notice. ）

Document screening will be based on the holistic evaluation of all the required documents that are submitted.

Some applicants may be invited to an interview via Zoom or in-person only if needed.

The GSICCS admissions office does NOT confirm the delivery status of application documents.
For English proficiency test scores which are sent directly from the testing institution, please check with the testing board.

An official translation from a translation agency or another appropriate office officially approved by the government is acceptable.
Notarization of the translation is not required.

※For those who have graduated from universities in mainland China, please refer to further details on the application guidelines.

Yes. Applicants must submit transcripts of all the undergraduate and graduate school(s) in which they have been enrolled up until the time of application. This also includes the transcripts of all study abroad programs which the student has experienced.

As a rule, NO Japanese language skills are required except for “Interpretation Studies”.

Applicants are not required to submit JLPT scores.

However, if you are applying to the Doctoral program, your Japanese language skills may be reviewed as a part of the screening process depending on your research topic.

No. There is no difference, thus please select the admission which is the most appropriate for you.

Your examinee number will be informed via the online application system (TAO). Please check the application guide for the specific schedule.
The examinee number will not be provided when the application is rejected.

Only if the admission boards find that further explanation of the application documents or educational background is necessary, some applicants will be invited for an interview.
Please wait for the result announcement as instructed on the application guide.

Based on the university regulations, the GSICCS admissions office will not accept any inquiries regarding the results and will not disclose any details on the decision that is made.

Your English language proficiency will be a part of the holistic document assessment. Please refer to the application guidelines to check which test results GSICCS accepts for admissions.

No. There are no minimum requirements. However, as a reference, a guideline of English proficiency test scores required for research activities after admission to GSICCS are available. Please note that the results of the document screening reflect a comprehensive evaluation of all the required application documents that are submitted by the designated deadline.

The period of validity is within two years of the first day of the month following the last day of the application period. For details, please refer to the application guidelines.

The submission of an English proficiency test scores is required for all applicants regardless of their native language.
This includes those who have completed an English-based undergraduate/graduate degree.

No. The recommenders must submit their evaluation through the designated online application system (TAO).
Please see the application guide for more details.

If none of your supervisors are available, ask someone who can, at least, evaluate your academic skills and abilities.

Based on Waseda University’s admission policy, students are not allowed to defer their enrollment period under any circumstances. If you wish to defer, you need to decline the acceptance and re-apply for the period you prefer all over again.
Similarly, students cannot take a leave of absence during the 1st semester except for unavoidable reasons such as military services.

No. GPA of 3.0 or higher is a requirement for the intramural selection by recommendation. Thus, you will not be eligible and will be required to apply through the AO admissions.

Yes, we offer “GSICCS Scholarship” for Master’s students of September enrollment ONLY.
This is a pre-enrollment scholarship and scholarship recipients will be selected among successful applicants who completed the enrollment procedures.

Scholarship quota: 3

Stipend: 500,000 yen in the 1st year

The number of scholarships you can apply for before enrollment is extremely limited.
If you wish to apply for scholarships before you come to Japan, you need to search for information by yourself.

For external scholarships, you may be able to apply for the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship for international students.
GSICCS accepts MEXT scholarship students with embassy recommendation.
For more information about MEXT scholarships, please access to the following URL.

MEXT Scholarship Programs – Center for International Education,Waseda University

Also, please refer to the link below to find a guidebook for international students provided by Japan Student Services Organization. Some scholarship foundations accept applications from overseas.

http://www.jasso.go.jp/en/study_j/sgtj.html

Non-degree MEXT students at GSICCS are classified as an “Elective Course Student” in terms of status of residence.
Elective course students are students who mainly take courses.

To be a regular student, please apply for AO admission.
If you are admitted, the screening fee will be refunded after enrollment.

You may register for scholarships following the procedure described in the scholarship information booklet, “Challenge”.  Refer to the following website for further information.

Scholarship and Financial Assistance Section

※ Foreign nationals with a resident status of “permanent resident” (eijusha), “long-term resident” (teijusha), “spouse or child of a Japanese resident”, or “spouse or child of a permanent resident” can apply for scholarships in the same way as Japanese students.

Yes, Waseda university provides various scholarships. In general, students may apply to scholarships after enrollment. Details will be announced to successful applicants.
Refer to the following website for the list of available scholarships.

Center for International Education

You may also apply to the external scholarships from other source directly.

民間・地方団体奨学金 – 早稲田大学 奨学課 (waseda.jp)

Please carefully take a look at the Online Viewbook, Faculty Details and the application guide for the details of the available directed research fields. You will be required to select your preference of a study plan (Master’s program only) /research directors at the time of application, and afterwards be informed of the final decision by our school at the time of the result announcement.

In principle, the GSICCS Office does not provide any suggestion for applicants about their intended supervisors in order to avoid mismatch between them.
We advise applicants to read the journals, theses, research outputs, etc., of the professors to find your best-fit supervisor.

Contacting or receiving approval from our faculty member prior to admissions is NOT required.
Please note that GSICCS does not pre-screen applications nor accepts appeals before application.

You may contact our faculty member from each faculty member’s page on the Faculty Details. There is a contact form at the bottom of each faculty member’s page. Please keep in mind that it is up to the professor to respond or not, and some take longer than others. For inquiries related to matters on admission, please direct your inquiries to the admissions office of GSICCS ([email protected]).

No. Any advice or suggestion cannot be made on the application documents including a research plan as it is related to the evaluation on the document screening. Applicants may ask guidance after acceptance to GSICCS.

Your allocation will be notified at the time of the result announcement. A message regarding the allocation and details on enrollment procedures will be sent to the applicant via the online application system (TAO).

In principle, you will not be able to change your selection of the study plan or research director after the application period.