Application

For admission decisions, we holistically review application documents and do not require a traditional entrance exam.

Application

Selection Types and Eligibility Requirements

School-Based Recommendation

Applicants with a Letter of Recommendation from High School Principal

Applicants must submit a letter of recommendation from their upper secondary school principal confirming academic performance and character and meet one of the following eligibility requirements. Applicants through this selection type must enroll at OUS if accepted.

  • 1. You have graduated from upper secondary school or the latter half division of secondary education school, or are expected to graduate in March 2026.
  • 2. You have completed a 12-year education of formal curriculum (or equivalent school education of other curriculum), or are expected to complete in March 2026.
  • 3. You have completed a 12-year curriculum of school education in a country other than Japan or the equivalent designated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), or are expected to complete by March 31, 2026.
  • 4. You have completed the curriculum at an overseas educational facility certified by MEXT as having a curriculum equivalent to upper secondary school, or are expected to complete by March 31, 2026.
  • 5. You have completed an upper secondary curriculum of specialized training college designated by MEXT (limited to those whose study period is over 3 years and who meet other criteria designated by MEXT) on and after the date specified by MEXT, or are expected to complete by the date.

General

Applicants other than School-Based or Working Adults

Applicants in this selection process must meet one of the following requirements:

  • 1. You have graduated from upper secondary school or latter half division of secondary education school, or are expected to graduate in March 2026.
  • 2. You have completed a 12-year school education of formal curriculum, or are expected to complete in March 2026.
  • 3. You are recognized you have academic ability equivalent or greater than upper secondary school graduates in accordance with the provisions of Article 150 of the School Education Act Enforcement Regulations (Ministry of Education Ordinance No 11 of 1948), or are expected to achieve this by March 31, 2026.
＊Please be aware that if you are the applicant who has completed a 12-year curriculum of school education in a country other than Japan or the equivalent designated by MEXT in accordance with Article 150, Paragraph 1, Article 1 of the School Education Act Enforcement Regulations, you may be requested to submit additional financial support related documents.

Working Adults

Applicants with minimum 5-year work and life experience

Applicants who turn 23 years old by April 1, 2026, have at least 5 years of work/life experience as a “working adult” and are motivated to pursue further education in our program must meet one of the following requirements:

  • 1. You have graduated from upper secondary school or the latter half division of secondary education school.
  • 2. You have completed a 12-year formal curriculum of school education.
  • 3. You are recognized as having academic ability equivalent to or greater than upper secondary school graduates in accordance with the provisions of Article 150 of the School Education Act Enforcement Regulations (excluding item 6).
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Selection Types Binding/Non-Binding Admission Capacity 2nd Year Transfer 3rd Year Transfer
School Recommendation-Based Binding 20 10 20
(Application will open in 2027)
General Non-Binding 80
Working Adults Non-Binding 100

*For transfer application, please refer to “Transfer Application Guide (in Japanese)”
*Acceptance of 3rd year transfer students will begin in 2027.
*Students in this program at OUS are not allowed to be enrolled simultaneously at another university/college.

Application Schedule

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Selection Types Application Period Results Notification Enrollment Deadline(One-time payment
due of admission &
tuition fees)
School
Rec-based		 General Working
Adults
1st Term 〇 ー 〇 Nov. 1-20, 2025 Dec. 1, 2025 Dec. 15, 2025
2nd Term 〇 ー 〇 Nov. 21-Dec. 12, 2025 Dec. 23, 2025 Jan. 16, 2026
3rd Term ー ー 〇 Dec 13, 2025-Jan 12, 2026 Jan. 21, 2026 Feb. 12, 2026
4th Term ー 〇 〇 Jan 13-Feb 2, 2026 Feb. 13, 2026 Feb. 27, 2026
5th Term ー 〇 〇 Feb. 3-23, 2026 Mar. 3, 2026 Mar. 13, 2026
6th Term ー 〇 〇 Feb. 24-Mar. 16, 2026 Mar. 25, 2026 Mar. 31, 2026
7th Term ー 〇 〇 Mar. 17-Apr. 16, 2026 Apr. 24, 2026 May 8, 2026

＊We may open applications for the 7th term only on a space-available basis.
＊Please note that newly admitted students from the 1st-6th application terms are expected to attend the entrance ceremony on April 3, 2026.
＊Newly admitted students from the 7th application term will start the program May 12, 2026.
＊All students have the same official enrollment date starting April 3, 2026, tuition fee and enrollment period limit regardless of the application terms above.

Application Documents and Screening Method

We make admission decision after holistically reviewing the required application documents. We look essay/statement of purpose for quality and skills expected of applicants to fulfil our admission policy.

Any documents in a language other than Japanese must be accompanied by Japanese translations.

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Required Documents Selection Types School
Recommendation-Based		 General Working Adults
Application Form 〇 〇 〇
Essay/Statement of Purpose*1 〇 〇 〇
School Report*2*3*6 〇 〇 ー
Letter of Recommendation 〇 ー ー
Certificate of Graduation/Transcripts (original)
from upper secondary school (or higher
education if applicable)*3*4*6		 〇 〇 〇
CV/Resume (only for foreign nationals) 〇 〇 〇
Copy of Photo ID*4*5 〇 〇 〇
Proof of Japanese Language Proficiency Test*6 〇 〇 〇

＊1. Please write essay/statement of purpose in your words by hand in Japanese (400-500 characters). It is encouraged to review our admission policy before writing.
＊2. School report must be issued and sealed by upper secondary school. It will be considered invalid once opened before submission. If the school report is not available at your upper secondary school, please include a note of explanation with your application for timely and appropriate application process.
＊3. Please submit transcript or predicted transcript if you have passed or are expected to pass the upper secondary school equivalency exam and/or university entrance qualification exam.
＊4. Any documents produced/issued in a language other than Japanese must be accompanied by the Japanese translations.
＊5. For photo ID, please submit a photocopy of resident card, passport or any official photo ID accepted in your country. Please do not send the original.
＊6. If the school report and certificate of graduation from upper secondary school are available but Japanese language proficiency test results are not available (as a native Japanese speaker), you do not need to submit the test results.

Note

Since our online courses are delivered in Japanese, applicants are expected to demonstrate Japanese proficiency equivalent to or higher than JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) Level N2 for academic success.
If your total period of enrollment from elementary school through upper secondary school or secondary education school is less than 3 years out of 12 years of formal school education based on the Japanese School Education Act, you are required to submit a photocopy of your Japanese proficiency test score at the time of application:

  • Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT): Level N2 (minimum)
  • Subject: Japanese as a Foreign Language (Reading, Listening, Reading-Listening Comprehension), Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students (EJU): 200 (minimum score)
  • Business Japanese Proficiency Test (BJT): 400 (minimum score)
  • Alternate to the tests above for Japanese Proficiency: In some occasions, the university may consider the proficiency level met the required through the screening of submitted materials.
Download
(Application Guide and Documents)

Application Fee

Application Fee JPY10,000

Admission Policy

We aim to nurture individuals who will identify and analyze problems in our society with information technology at the core, and who will enhance human potentials and contribute to shaping a warm human society through information system development.
To achieve this objective, we seek students:

Admission Policy

A. Knowledge and Skills who have been equipped with the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to pursue further education in our program.

B. Abilities to Think, Judge and Express who possess abilities to think, judge and explain clearly and logically based on the existing knowledge and skills.

C. Independence and Proactiveness who have strong interests in information technology, and motivation and enthusiasm to keep learning and growing through independent and collaborative works in order to achieve the goals.

D. Diversity and Collaboration who hold a strong desire to expand the potential and contribute to society by learning in our program.

Basic Policy on Admission Selection

With the admission policy in mind, we conduct school recommendation-based selection, general selection and working-adult selection. Each selection process requires respective application documents which will be reviewed and assessed for qualities and skills expected for admission.

  • 1. School Recommendation-Based Selection
    In this selection process, we would like to learn the applicant’s performance and accomplishment in upper secondary school* activities and skills to learn independently yet collaboratively in diverse team. Applicants are required to submit a letter of recommendation from the upper secondary school principal. We look for information about applicants’ competence, experience and relationship with others at upper secondary school and assess their performance in school activities. We also expect and review the application documents including essay/statement of purpose required like in other selection processes.
  • 2. General Selection
    In this screening process, we would like to see basic knowledge and skills the applicants are already equipped with and are expected to have for admission. The school report from upper secondary school is expected to provide us with the list of subjects the applicants have learned at school and help us gauge their proficiency level of each subject. We also review the essay/statement of purpose and assess applicant’s motivation, drive and skill to make clear explanation.
  • 3. “Working Adult” Selection
    “Working Adults” in this process refer to those who are currently employed, temporarily unemployed, retired, housewives and so forth. We consider the enrollment periods at night courses and at correspondence courses as work experience. Any motivated applicants with work experience go through this “working adult” selection process. In this screening process, work experience and application purpose are what we consider first. Essay/statement of purpose is expected to tell us applicants’ motivation and skill of making clear and logical explanation, and support us to assess how the work experience can contribute to their study at our university. Curriculum vitae (cv)/Resume is supposed to include contact information, educational background of 12-year or longer enrollment at schools and work experience. We review the cv/resume and assess if applicants have acquired knowledge, manner and skills expected of “working/experienced adult” since graduating from upper secondary school. We assume “working/experienced adult” applicants have diverse backgrounds. For fair evaluation of the basic knowledge and skills expected to study at the Faculty of Information Science and Engineering, we review the certificate of graduation or transcript from the highest level of education completed (upper secondary school or higher) to assess their competence acquired upon graduation.
    *The term “upper secondary school” refers to the final stage of secondary education, which is also known as “senior high school” or “high school.”
Before applying for our program, please also check

Non-Degree Students

Applicants who wish to take specific courses only without pursuing a degree

Non-degree enrollment allows students other than the current OUS degree-seeking students to take individual courses based on their interests and needs. They can even earn course credits once successfully passed the final exams.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

  • 1. You have graduated from upper secondary school or the latter half division of secondary education school.
  • 2. You have completed a 12-year formal curriculum of school education.
  • 3. You are recognized as having academic ability equivalent to or greater than upper secondary school graduates in accordance with the provisions of Article 150 of the School Education Act Enforcement Regulations (excluding item 6).
  • 4. You remain enrolled in your high school and obtain permission from the principal to attend OUS online courses as non-degree students.

Application Details

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Application Periods Spring Entry: Feb 10-28, 2026
Fall Entry: Jun 10-29, 2026
Fees Application Fee：JPY5,000
Admission Fee：JPY10,000
Tuition：JPY11,000/credit
(One credit represents eight 90-min classes.)
How to Apply Register Application Online
Non-Degree Application Guide Check the Guide
*Our online courses are delivered in Japanese.

Transfer Students

Applicants who wish to transfer to the program at the 2nd year or 3rd year level
Eligibility Requirements 【 Transfer after a 2-Year College or Equivalent 】

Applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

  • 1. You have graduated (or expected to graduate) from a 2-year college.
  • 2. You have graduated (or expected to graduate) from a college of technology.
  • 3. You have completed (or expected to complete) a special program at a specialized training college.
    (with a minimum 2-year enrollment period; or at least 1700 total course hours; or at least 62 credits earned)
  • 4. You have earned a certificate equivalent to one of the above overseas.
【 Transfer from/after a 4-Year University 】

Applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

  • 1. You have graduated from a 4-year university.
  • 2. You have enrolled at least one year and earned 31 credits or more at a 4-year university.

Transfer Application Details

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Admission Capacity
Department and Faculty Transfer Types 2nd-Year Level 3rd-Year Level
Information Science and Engineering Transfer after a 2-Year College or Equivalent 10 -
Transfer from/after a 4-Year University Only limited space is available. -
*We will accept the 3rd year level transfer students in 2027
*Students in this program at OUS are not allowed to be enrolled simultaneously at another university or junior college.
Screening Method We make admission decisions after holistically reviewing the application documents.
Please note that applicants are expected to complete a transfer credit evaluation BEFORE making a transfer application.
Application Schedule
Transfer Credit Evaluation Application Period Decision Notification Enrollment Deadline
Term 1 by Aug 1, 2025 Sept 24 – Oct 2, 2025 Oct 23, 2025 Nov 17, 2025
Term 2 by Dec 19, 2025 Feb 3-9, 2026 Mar 6, 2026 Mar 19, 2026
Application Documents
Other Applicants
(not with
Work/Life Exp.
or
non-international)		 Applicants with Work/
Life Experience		 International
Applicants※3
1 Application Registration Form*1 〇 〇 〇
2 Essay/Statement of Purpose*2 〇 〇 〇
3 Graduation Certificate (final or provisional) or Enrollment Certificate from the latest educational institution: original 〇 〇 〇
4 Academic Transcript (final or provisional): original 〇 〇 〇
5 Syllabi (for courses in the Transcript) 〇 〇 〇
6 Qualification and Exam Certificates (if applicable)*5 〇 〇 〇
7 Curriculum Vitae/Resume*2 - 〇 〇
8 Proof of Japanese Language Proficiency*4 - - 〇
9 Photo ID - - 〇
  • *1 “Application Registration Form”: Please complete and print from our online application portal.
  • *2 “Essay/Statement of Purpose” and “Resume”: Forms are available in our website.
  • *3 Any documents in languages other than Japanese must be accompanied by Japanese translations.
  • *4 Our online courses are delivered in Japanese. Applicants whose primary language is not Japanese must demonstrate Japanese language proficiency equivalent to or higher than N2 on Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), 200 on the Exam for Japanese University Admission for International Students (EJU) or 400 on Business Japanese Proficiency Test (BJT).
  • *5 There are some exams eligible for credits. Please refer to the Transfer Application Guide (in Japanese) for details.
How to Apply Register Application Online
Transfer Application Guide and Documents See the Guide
*Our online courses are delivered in Japanese.

Online Application Registration

Please read through the application process for your selection type and click “Register Online Application”

Register Application Online
Step1
Check the Required InformationPlease review the Application Guide for details.
Step2
Register Your Application Online
Step3
Complete Application Fee Payment
How to make the payment Pay via convenience store, credit card or Pay-easy.
Step4
Print and Mail the Application Documents By the Deadline

Application Guides and Documents

Please download the required application documents.

Application FAQs (in Japanese)

Check the links below for Application FAQs.

Application Fee

You can pay the application fee via convenience store (only in Japan), Pay-easy (only in Japan) or credit cards.

Convenience Store

Available only in Japan.

コンビニロゴ
Credit Card
クレカロゴ
Pay-easy

Only through Japanese banks with ATMs or internet banking service

ペイジーロゴ

For application questions, please contact our office.

Distance Education Office
Okayama University of Science

Tel.+81-86-256-9778

(Monday-Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Japan time.
Closed on Saturdays, Sunday and holidays)

Preparatory Courses

1Basic Guidelines

Our online program offers students preparatory courses through the LMS for a successful academic experience.
The courses include:

  • ● A review of basic math and English
  • ● Scientific and technical terms in Japanese and Japanese culture for students living overseas
    Students can take the courses even after starting the program.

2Delivery Format

Preparatory courses are delivered in the same format as other regular courses. New students receive an ID and password to access the LMS.

3Classes

Each class contains several sections. Typically, one section lasts 90 minutes, containing six 10-minute videos and quizzes/surveys (30 minutes).

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Classes Sections Details
1 Basic Math 6 This is a comprehensive math course. Students review basic math to prepare for university-level studies. Any interested students are welcome.
2 Basic English 6 Students review basic English grammar and vocabulary. Any interested students are welcome.
3 Content Interface 2 Students learn how to use learning systems including the LMS. All students are required to take this course.
4 Scientific and Technical Terms (for students living overseas) 1 Students learn numbers, formulas and math languages in Japanese. Dictation practice also included. Any interested students are welcome.
5 Japanese Culture (for students living overseas) 2 Students learn about Japanese culture. Any interested students are welcome.

*Please note that these courses are delivered in Japanese.

4Course Schedule

October November December January February March April May
Available