Frequently Asked Questions

Friendly advice, start at least 1.5 to 1 year in advance and build a list of deadlines of applications (for scholarships and universities).

Step 1: Decide the stream/subject you wish to apply in.

Step 2: Choose the level of the degree you wish to apply to (undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate, doctoral, professional degree)

Step 3: Find universities that offer your course in English. If your course is not listed here, that means that course is currently being offered in the Japanese language only (you can choose to learn Japanese and study there). You can try with a different course or degree for other English courses. If not, tough luck!

External link to see the availability of the English course: https://www.jasso.go.jp/en/study_j/search/daigakukensaku.html

External link to the University of Tokyo’s prospective students’ page (contains all your queries about the university): http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/prospectivestudents/prospective_students.html

TIP: The University of Tokyo has an office in India too. You can seek additional help in finding universities and course prospectus by contacting or visiting them. You can find more information from the following link:

https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/adm/utindia/en/index.html

 Step 1: Go to the link of the course/University of the choice from the MEXT page (link above) and then go to the external link of the university’s website (alternatively you can google it) and find the relevant course information, application period etc from the department website.

 Step 2: Explore the course/department website as much possible as the admission requirements are department-specific and cannot be generalized.

 Step 3: Review and find the admission requirements in detail and plan and mark the deadlines for submission of admission forms.

 Step 4: Find out the qualifying requirements (English proficiency exam requirement like TOEFL, TOEIC, GRE score submission) and plan to take those tests in advance accordingly if required.

 Step 5: List down and prepare the documents required for admission application (transcripts, recommendation letters, attested mark sheets/certificates etc)

Optional: Contact the student centre of that department if you have specific queries regarding that department.  This is the most important and challenging phase! It requires a lot of internet crosslink searches but you will get a hang of it after some time. Just spend a lot of time searching the department website sections.

The external link pages to the University of Tokyo’s website and the embassy of Japan, India website are very well explained and well written. So explore them! It lists all the important scholarships you could apply to at Todai and deadlines for MEXT.

External link to UTokyo website: 

http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/prospectivestudents/tuition_scholarships.html

External link to Embassy of Japan in India (for MEXT scholarship deadlines): http://www.in.embjapan.go.jp/Education/japanese_government_scholarships.html

External link to JASSO website:

https://www.jasso.go.jp/en/study_j/scholarships/index.html

 Application procedure is department-specific. Make sure you meet the deadlines and wait in anticipation! 

1. Confirm admission and enrollment: Things get a lot easier after this phase. Things to look out for at this phase relate to visa application and requirements, preparing documents for that process, (External link to the Japan embassy in India: http://www.in.emb-japan.go.jp/visa%20info.html),bank transfers for admission fee/enrollment (*if required, will be notified by the student section), planning date of arrival, finding and arrangement of accommodation, (external link to Utokyo’s housing page: http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/prospective-students/housing.html). Looking forward to coming to Tokyo and getting information about life in Tokyo (various Facebook groups and websites like Gaijinpot may be useful at this point)

2. Adjusting to the ‘Tokyo life’: That’s what we’re here for! Contact us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/310291691107/ (for general queries/anxieties like accommodation, shopping, language-related help) before your arrival and we can guide you through the process smoothly. For specific and more ‘official’ queries write to us on email. (utisa.india@gmail.com)

Some useful facebook groups/pages you may wanna explore further:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/111139462302653/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/indiansinjapan/

https://www.facebook.com/GaijinPot/?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/UTokyo.News.en/?fref=ts

Enrolled students and prospective students can get information about Campus life from UT-Base.

UT-BASE (https://ut-base.info/en) is a campus media website run completely by UTokyo undergraduate students, which has information regarding all the essentials of campus life such as circles and clubs, classes and so on. The website has quite a fan following and is widely used by 1000s of UTokyo students, with UT-BASE boasting over 5000 followers on Twitter (https://twitter.com/UtBase )! 

In order for even international students on campus to enjoy the contents of UT-BASE without hassle, UT-BASE has English language content now as well, collectively termed UT-BASE English. Written by a mix of both Japanese and international students who know the campus and its offerings well, UT-BASE English has articles on:

• Circles and clubs which actively accept international students

• Campus life

• Campus facilities and so on  

For more information log on to:

• https://ut-base.info/en for the UT-BASE English homepage

• https://ut-base.info/article_categories/20 for articles on campus life and facilities

• https://ut-base.info/circle_categories/23 for info on circles which actively recruit international students

• Follow them on Twitter (https://twitter.com/UtBase )

• Add them on Line (https://line.me/R/ti/p/%40864dlsbp )

You will need to submit your Grade 9, 10, 11 scores as well as any scores from your preboard in Grade 12 and first semester results if they are out. PEAK also requires that your school submits a "predicted score sheet" for you.

The offer made to CBSE board students is conditional based on your predicted scores, and once you submit your final CBSE results for 12th grade your admissions decision will be finalized by the school.

If you have appeared for the SAT exam or taken any AP classes, you are free to submit those scores in addition to your school grades and CBSE score. However, for CBSE students it is NOT compulsory to submit SAT scores.

In most cases, English scores can be waived for CBSE students who have had an English-medium education. So NO, you do not need to submit your English proficiency scores.

PEAK offers a lot of scholarships to its incoming students. All the scholarships are academic in nature, although they do consider need. Your application will be automatically considered for scholarships when you apply. 

No. PEAK currently offers only two branches of study: Environmental Sciences and Japan in East Asia. Changing your major is possible, however, the engineering major requires you to take all or most of your classes in Japanese. 

No. There is no requirement of Japanese language knowledge and ability upon being admitted. However, you will have to take a few compulsory Japanese language courses

(based on your level: from introductory to advanced classes offered) in your first year.

Application timeline can be found on the PEAK website. It changes every year so please check their website regularly. 

PEAK provides you with a template in the admissions packet. The teachers have to fill out a form for you and attach a Letter of Recommendation(LoR). 

The students in PEAK are very motivated and intelligent. Most of them come from the most competitive schools in their countries but are incredibly helpful. Being so diverse, there is also a lot of cultural exchanges within PEAK which make the PEAK community very interesting. Even within the PEAK program, the PEAK students have very different academic interests or concentrations.

The studies in PEAK can be hard if you are not regular with your studies or not motivated. The number of credits you need to take during your four years is fairly large, so PEAK students have to take a lot of classes. At the same time, PEAK students are never competing with each other and are thus always ready to help out their friends and peers. The support system PEAK students have created for each other makes the process of studying a lot less stressful.

The PEAK interview can be an intimidating experience, however, it will also be a very exhilarating and unique experience for most. The interview is usually held at the Delhi office of the University of Tokyo. There will be seven professors present for the interview, out of which one will be present while the others will be connected to the room via Skype.

The questions asked by the professors are straight forward and are about the subjects you have studied in school. They are basically looking at your grasp of the subjects you are studying and the knowledge of the concepts, as well as the reason as to why you want to study at the University of Tokyo and in the PEAK program. They are also identifying your unique skill set and experiences that would contribute to the growth of PEAK.

Most importantly, they are looking for your leadership qualities and skills that make you stand out as a candidate.

Based on the above qualities they are seeking, you should prepare for the interview accordingly. Please do remember to be completely honest, humble and positive during the interview process.

You can find the course list on the PEAK website. The Junior division (first two years) and Senior Division (last two years) of university greatly differ with the subjects offered.

http://peak.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/courses/index.html