General FAQ | APU Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

There are three colleges to choose from at APU―Asia Pacific Studies, International Management, and Sustainability and Tourism. Asia Pacific Studies will lead to a Bachelor of Social Science degree, International Management will lead to a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, and Sustainability and Tourism will lead to Bachelor of Sustainability and Tourism degree. For more details regarding each college, see our Undergraduate Programs page. Students study major-related courses in their base language (English or Japanese) while also taking language courses in the opposite language. For more details on language education, visit our Language Education page.

Yes. Many of our international students have never visited Japan or studied Japanese before studying at APU. Almost all courses at APU are offered in both English and Japanese, meaning applicants only need sufficient ability in one of these languages at the time of enrollment. However, for English-basis students that have no Japanese language abilities, it is highly encouraged for you to start learning basic Japanese on your own before coming to APU. This will ensure you have a smooth start as you will be required to take intensive Japanese language classes in order to graduate. The reverse applies to Japanese-basis students with limited or no English ability.

It is necessary for English-basis undergraduate students to complete at least 16 credits of Japanese language courses (except third year transfer students). Most students fulfill this requirement by the end of their second year. However, APU encourages students to continue their Japanese studies beyond the minimum requirement as Japanese language skills greatly benefit students when interacting with the local community and when applying for jobs. Similarly, for Japanese-basis undergraduate students, English courses are required. Students are required to fulfill 12 or 24 credits of English language courses. The number of required credits of English language courses will be decided by a placement test.

APU does not offer a Japanese language major. However, English-basis undergraduate students (except third year transfer students) undergo intensive Japanese language classes as part of their regular curriculum. The same applies to Japanese-basis students.

APU provides extensive support through the Student Office to help students in their job search and other post-graduation plans. For the 2022 Academic Year, 97% of APU students looking for employment received at least one job offer by the time of graduation. Some students choose to continue their studies by pursuing a graduate degree at APU or other graduate schools around the world.

APU provides a paid arrival assistance service on specific dates before each semester to help incoming students travel to APU for the first time. As a new student, you will participate in various orientation sessions before classes start. A select group of second to fourth year students also serve as resident assistants (RAs) and live on each floor of AP House, APU's on-campus housing, to help you adjust to your new life in Japan.

While Japan's metropolitan areas such as Tokyo and Osaka have quite high costs of living, APU is located in Beppu, which is a mid-sized city and considerably less expensive. Many students also choose to do part-time work while studying to help cover expenses. However there are restrictions for international students working part-time in Japan. For more information regarding living costs, working part-time, and other money matters, visit our Money Matters page.

Yes. Incoming international students are required to live on campus at AP House (APU’s on-campus housing) during their first year at APU. AP House allows you to adjust to your new surroundings and make friends from all around the world.

After the first year, you will move off campus but you can apply for an extension of stay in the dormitories before the end of your first year (subject to the availability of rooms and particular reasons). Also, you can apply to be a Resident Assistant (RA). RAs continue to live in AP House in order to help new students adapt to life in Japan and at APU.

After their first year, most students move to private apartments or independent dormitories in Beppu. Many students choose to rent an apartment with friends to reduce costs. Housing support is available at APU to help students find off-campus accommodation.

The city of Beppu is serviced by a public bus system, which provides easy access to campus. As a student, you will be eligible to purchase a discounted yearly commuter bus pass. While you may own a car, you are not permitted to drive or park on campus. You may drive a motorbike to campus with proper permission from APU.

If you wish to do part-time work as an international student on a student visa, you are first required to apply for a work permit that allows you to work up to 28 hours per week part-time while school is in session. During breaks and vacations, you are permitted to work up to 40 hours a week. You can apply for this permit at the On-Campus Student Job Center after arriving at APU. Jobs are available both on and off campus. The current minimum hourly wage in Oita Prefecture is 899 JPY.

The APU cafeteria is open on weekdays when classes are in session and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Food may also be purchased at the APU Co-op and Lawson convenience store.

APU's cafeteria offers a variety of foods to meet the needs of students with personal or religious diet requirements, such as vegetarian food and halal options. Additionally, AP House has over 40 communal kitchens that students are free to use to prepare their own meals. Some restaurants in Beppu offer vegan, vegetarian, and halal options as well.

It is possible to bring a phone with you from your home country/region. However, you will need to do some research as certain countries/region’s phones do not support the radio frequency bands used in Japan. If this applies to you, there is the option of buying a phone in Japan. You can buy phones from electronic stores like Yamada Denki or from second hand shops in Beppu. Prices will vary depending on the model, but another thing to keep in mind is that you will need to check with the provider you choose to go with whether that model is compatible with their SIM cards. In Japan there are the 3 big companies for phones but in recent years there have been more discount or cost effect companies. All of these companies also typically provide student discounts.

Yearly tuition at APU is as follows:

For more information regarding tuition, visit our Tuition and Fees page.

Tuition at APU covers course fees. Tuition does not cover other expenses such as books, transportation, housing, food, or health insurance. In addition, some off-campus programs conducted by APU require a participation fee.

International students who will obtain a student visa are eligible to apply for the APU Tuition Reduction Scholarship at the time of application. This scholarship covers 30%, 50%, 65%, 80%, or 100% of tuition for the standard perod of time until graduation. Additionally, APU offers the AP House Global Community Scholarship. This scholarship exempts recipients from the full AP House fees for a total of 11 months. Please note that there will be a deadline for applying for this scholarship. For details, please check our Scholarships Available After Enrollment page.

You can apply for the APU Tuition Reduction Scholarship in the APU Online Application System. You will be evaluated for the scholarship based on your submitted documents, online assessment, and video recorded interview. It is not possible to apply for the APU Tuition Reduction Scholarship after enrollment. For more information regarding the APU Tuition Reduction Scholarship, visit our Scholarships Before Enrollment page.

APU offers the AP House Global Community Scholarship. This scholarship exempts recipients from the full AP House Fees for a total of 12 months. Applicants who wish to apply for this scholarship must complete the relevant fields within the APU Online Application System by the application deadline. Additionally, there are external scholarships for living expenses that you may apply for after enrollment. For more information regarding external scholarships, visit our Scholarships Available After Enrollment page.

No, APU does not have a loan or grant program, but you may apply for a number of different scholarships after enrollment. You are also encouraged to apply for private scholarships in your home country or region.

If you are currently in your last year of high school, you may apply at any time during the application period that corresponds to your country of residence and desired time of enrollment, as long as you will graduate before enrolling at APU. If you apply to APU before graduating from high school, you will be required to submit your most recent official transcripts with your application. If you are accepted to APU and decide to enroll, you will need to submit proof of high school graduation (such as a high school diploma or graduation certificate) before enrollment. Please check the relevant application handbook on our Downloads page for specific application deadlines.

Students are required to complete the equivalent of 12 years of formal education before enrolling at a university in Japan. If your education system only requires 11 years to finish high school, you will need to complete at least one year of university-level study or an equivalent program in order to meet the 12-year education requirement. However, you can apply to APU if you have completed, or will have completed before your date of enrollment* at APU, an 11-year standard education curriculum designated by MEXT at an educational institution in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Peru, Russia, Sudan, Ukraine, or Uzbekistan. For more details, contact the Office of International Admissions before applying.

*The date of enrollment is April 1, 2026 for April enrollment and September 21, 2026 for September enrollment.

Whether or not you are required to submit an English Proficiency Test score such as TOEFL/IELTS depends on your educational history. Please refer to the relevant application handbook on our Downloads page for further information.

Yes. If you wish to apply to APU as a first year student, please go to the Application Eligibility page and answer the questions in our YES/NO chart for more clarity. If you are hoping to apply to APU as a transfer student, please go to our Contact page to fill out the inquiry form to get in touch with one of our admissions counselors.

No, you only need to submit PDF copies of your documents when you apply. APU will only accept your application through the online application system. However, you will be required to submit certified copies or original documents to APU via post in the admission process after acceptance. Regarding certified copies, please refer to the explaining document on our Downloads page.

No. APU requires every applicant to pay the application fee. This fee cannot be waived. APU cannot begin screening your application until the application fee has been confirmed.

APU will not screen applications without confirming the payment of the application fee. In principle, APU will not contact applicants regarding unpaid application fees.

In general, the application fee is not refundable. However, a partial refund (after administrative fees are deducted) or a full refund may be possible in the following cases.

• When the application fee has been paid multiple times, or in cases in when it is clear that the amount paid exceeds the amount for the application fee and administrative fees set by APU.

• When your application is deemed inadmissible and is not screened.
  Further information about our refund policy for the application fee can be found on the Application Fee Refund Policy page.

There is no age restriction when applying to APU. We welcome individuals of any age to apply. However, there will be age conditions for applicants who wish to enroll based on one of the following educational qualifications:

• Be at least 18 years of age and have passed an official examination that shows academic background equivalent or superior to that obtained from a 12-year standard education curriculum before your date of enrollment* at APU (e.g. having received a GED certificate).
• Be at least 18 years of age and have been recognized through an individual screening by APU as having an academic background equivalent to or higher than a high school graduate before your date of enrollment* at APU.

*The date of enrollment is April 1, 2026 for April enrollment and September 21, 2026 for September enrollment.

Applicants with Japanese citizenship, including dual citizenship, are not eligible to apply as an international student regardless of their country of residency. If you have Japanese citizenship, you must submit your application through the Office of Domestic Admissions, you can also contact them at [email protected]. If one or both of your parents has Japanese citizenship but you are unsure if you yourself have Japanese citizenship, you are encouraged to contact your local Japanese embassy to confirm this.

You can check the status of your application within the APU Online Application System by viewing the "Application Checklist" on the application status page. Please note that APU will not disclose application results earlier than the set result notification date.

APU will send you an email regarding how to view your application result as well as the result of your APU Tuition Reduction Scholarship on the result notification date for the application period that you apply for. Please check this date within the Undergraduate Application Handbook on the Downloads page.

If anything is missing from your application or we require any additional documentation, APU will contact you by email. Therefore, be sure that you have entered your email address correctly when you submit your application. Please check your email regularly so that you can respond to our inquiries as soon as possible. Please be aware that missing or incomplete documents may delay your admissions decision significantly.

Inform us at [email protected] when you change your mailing address or telephone number. If your email address has changed, you can change it within the APU Online Application System on the application status page after logging in.

No. In order to begin your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) application process, APU must be able to confirm that you are financially able to support the cost of studying in Japan. For this reason, we must receive all fee payments before beginning the COE process. For more information regarding the Certificate of Eligibility (COE), please see the About Student Visa section below.

A student visa is a document that needed to enter Japan. It is issued at a Japanese overseas diplomatic establishment in charge of the country or region you are currently residing. In order to apply for a student visa, you must first obtain a Certificate of Eligibility (COE). APU will apply for the COE on behalf of admitted applicants who have completed all enrollment procedures.

A Certificate of Eligibility (COE) is a document that is required to obtain a visa and is issued by the Immigration Bureau of Japan. If you are accepted and plan to enroll at APU, APU will apply for the COE on your behalf once you complete all enrollment procedures. Through the Online Enrollment Procedure System you can submit information necessary for your COE. Please follow the instructions in the Enrollment Procedures Handbook which can be found within the Online System on what documents to submit and how to complete the procedure. When the Immigration Bureau of Japan issues your COE via email, APU will forward the email to you. You must then apply at your local Japanese Embassy/Consulate for your student visa. Be sure to inquire at the Japanese Embassy/Consulate in advance about what documents are necessary to apply for a student visa and have them ready.

APU works closely with admitted applicants and the Japanese Immigration Bureau to ensure that all admitted applicants can obtain a COE and a student visa. As long as the required documents are submitted by the deadline and there are no false statements or criminal records, the COE and student visa will be issued without any problems. However, please understand that APU only acts as an agent in the application process, and the final decision to issue the COE and "student" visa is made by the Immigration Bureau and the Japanese diplomatic missions in the applicant's home country or region.

First, please upload official documents such as bank statements or income statements on the APU Online Enrollment Procedures System. APU will check whether the uploaded documents are acceptable or not. If there is any problem with the documents, APU will contact you. Please send the original documents to APU by the document submission deadline. If you submit photocopies, we will not be able to apply for your COE. Please make sure to submit either original documents or a certified copy of an original document. Also, please note that original documents cannot be returned. If you possess documents which cannot be reissued, please make sure to submit certified copies of these originals.

Once APU has received all your documents and enrollment fee payments, your COE application will be processed and submitted to the Immigration Bureau. After your COE application is approved, you will receive your COE by email. Most incoming students may expect to receive their COE during the following months: For April Enrollment: February – mid March , For September Enrollment: July – early September . As the COE issue date varies among the students and each year, we cannot guarantee that each student will receive their COE during the above mentioned months.

APU will advise you on the dates that you should arrive on campus. Arrival Assistance is available for those who arrive on the dates specified by the university before the semester begins. You should not arrive on campus earlier than the specified dates as there will be no available rooms in the on-campus housing, and you will have to look on your own for accommodation.

The closest international airport in Japan to APU is Fukuoka Airport. If you arrive at another international airport, such as Narita Airport of Kansai International Airport, etc., please take a domestic flight to either Fukuoka Airport or Oita Airport. If you would like to use the paid arrival assistance service to AP House, please make sure to arrive at Fukuoka airport within the time period designated by APU. If you arrive in Oita Airport, there is no arrival assistance service available so you will need to go to AP House on your own. View our "APU Arrival Assistance" video on YouTube for further information.

Your family can accompany you to APU, but they will need to find their own accommodation and transportation during their stay. If they need a visa to enter Japan, they will also have to apply for their visas on their own. If your family needs an invitation letter to obtain a visa to visit Japan, contact the Office of International Admissions via the Inquiry Form.