Admissions Policy
Faculty of Commerce and Management
The mission of Hitotsubashi University Faculty of Commerce and Management is to foster individuals who have a keen interest in phenomena relating to business and markets and a capacity to explore such phenomena in depth in order to identify problems that need to be solved, to arrive at creative solutions to those problems through an ongoing process of reciprocal interaction between social scientific ideas/theories and real-life phenomena, and to provide leadership in advancing those solutions in practice. Students entering the Faculty of Commerce and Management will therefore study the applied social sciences of business and markets focusing on such disciplinary areas as management, accounting, finance, and marketing in small-group seminar courses that offer attentive guidance and a sequentially organized curriculum that effectively progresses from the basic to the applied.
In order to pursue their studies effectively after admission, students must have a keen interest in the betterment of society at large. Such an interest in a variety of social problems, not limited to business and markets, is a wellspring of motivation to identify challenges independently, learn in a self-directed manner, and arrive at one’s own conclusions. In addition, advanced mathematical and logical skills are essential for the purposes of developing an in-depth theoretical understanding of the applied social sciences related to business organizations and markets and undertaking empirical analysis of social phenomena. Furthermore, our students must develop the foreign language communicative skills and general linguistic proficiencies they will need to succeed in the global arena. By developing a fundamental grounding in these areas in their learning up to the senior high school level, our students can expect a more enriching learning experience in the Faculty of Commerce and Management. Our entrance examinations are conducted in line with the policies described above.
The Faculty of Commerce and Management also operates a recommendations-based admissions system to provide a path to entrance for students with outstanding abilities in specific fields. Recommendations-based admission entails a multi-faceted evaluation that requires applicants to attain a certain level of results in the standardized university entrance examinations, as well as undergo a short essay examination and interview in the second round. The school also conducts admissions selection for privately-financed international students and actively welcomes students from around the world.
Faculty of Economics
The Faculty of Economics at Hitotsubashi University aims to nurture individuals who can be active leaders in business, public policy, academic research, and other fields, with specialized knowledge in economics and related fields, a broad perspective supported by a robust education, a creativity based on an accurate sense of reality, the ability to think independently and to discover and solve problems, and excellent communication skills in both Japanese and English. We aim to develop individuals who can be active leaders in business, public policy, academic research, and other fields.
The scope of economic activity is broad and economic phenomena are complex, so economic analysis draws upon a variety of scientific inferences that require advanced mathematics. In accordance with this, in addition to requiring mathematics in the first scheduled entrance examination, we are the only faculty that offers on our second entrance examination the option of Mathematics III, which is a part of the national high school curriculum guidelines. On the other hand, economics is a social science that deals with human beings and society, and the problems to be solved change according to the context of the times. Therefore, in addition to knowledge of economics, students must also have a historical and geographical view of contemporary problems. In addition, with the globalization of the economy, the ability to communicate in English is becoming increasingly important. In light of the above, we would like to accept students who have the following abilities:
(1) interactive foreign language skills to attend lectures in English, (2) mathematical skills to understand economics, (3) Japanese language skills for interactive communication, (4) analytical skills to analyze economic phenomena from multiple and interdisciplinary perspectives, and (5) broad general knowledge and the ability to understand concepts in depth.
In addition, due to the importance of sending diverse and unique graduates into society, the Faculty of Economics actively accepts those who are particularly outstanding in a particular field. For this purpose, the School Recommendation Selection System has been implemented in which a multifaceted evaluation is conducted based on interviews and essays, assuming a satisfactory level of academic achievement. In addition, we actively accept international students who have graduated from foreign schools and international exchange students through a selection process based on interviews and essays, assuming a satisfactory level of Japanese language ability.
Faculty of Law
As a comprehensive university for the social sciences representing the learning of civil society, Hitotsubashi University has contributed to the development of Japan's political and economic society and the nurturing of its creative driving force through its liberal academic traditions. Based on this history and record of achievement, the University aims to create intellectual and cultural property which will contribute to the building of free and peaceful political and economic societies in Japan and the world and to nurture those who will assume positions of leadership.
With this mission in mind, the Faculty of Law has striven to nurture human resources combining a sound knowledge of law with internationalism through the twin pillars of our courses in Law and International Relations. To this end, we have made the nurturing of cultured persons who will be rich in humanity and international sense through a sound training in the fundamentals of law and international relations, based on the University's traditional system of seminars comprising small numbers of students, the goal of the education we provide.
Our graduates have benefited from this education and gone on to assume positions of leadership in the world of business and diverse fields such as the legal profession, civil service, and international society. The Faculty of Law is committed to building on these traditions, and seeks through our multiple selection processes students from around the country who possess knowledge of various fields and outstanding academic ability and students who possess excellent logical thinking, language, and communication skills and are eager to learn
Faculty of Social Sciences
As a university dedicated to a wide rage of social sciences for the analysis of civil society, Hitotsubashi University, with its uniquely liberal tradition, has been contributing to the political, economic, and social development of Japan as well as to the education of creative social leaders. Based upon this history and experience, Hitotsubashi's objective is to create intellectual and cultural resources that promote the construction of a free and peaceful society as well as to educate its leaders.
Within these university-wide goals, the Faculty of Social Studies is dedicated to enhancing students' critical thinking, future vision, and ability to analyze and solve problems. The Faculty provides a wide range of programs that equip students with a strong intellectual foundation, including the capacity to see issues as a whole, an appreciation of the diversity of human experience, and an international perspective. At the same time, we aim to impart professional knowledge that students can apply in their later careers. Our alumni are active in journalism, private corporations, national and local government, NGOs and NPOs, as well as in research and educational institutions. We welcome applications by students with excellent analytical, language, communication skills as well as strong interests in a variety of social issues.