Kansai Gaidai accepts applications through its online application site GAIDAI-LINK only. The following are the procedures to obtain access to GAIDAI-LINK.

Students applying directly to Kansai Gaidai as independent students must send an e-mail message to kgu-in03@kansaigaidai.ac.jp to obtain a user ID and a password. The inquiry message must contain:

  1. Name (Family Name, Given Name)
  2. Name of Home Institution
  3. Address of Home Institution (City, Country)
  4. E-mail Address
  5. Semester for which an applicant wishes to apply
  6. Duration of study (one semester or one year)

Students applying through one of our affiliated institutions must contact the exchange coordinators of their respective home institutions to obtain the necessary information. User ID's and passwords will be issued to students upon receipt of the nomination message from their home institutions.

Since positions in the program are often completely filled by qualified students prior to the deadline date, making competition extremely fierce as the deadline approaches, we strongly advise early submission of all completed materials. Please observe deadlines.

Deadlines

Application documents must be received by the Center for International Education during the following period:

For Fall Enrollment: January 10 - May 15
For Spring Enrollment: August 1 - November 1

Required Documents

Complete instructions on the required documents are available at the GAIDAI-LINK site. Since the required documents are somewhat different depending upon the status of application, it is strongly advised that students read the online instructions before preparing any documents.

The following are brief explanations of the necessary documents.

  1. Application for Admission (available only online)
    This form must be completed online and submitted.
  2. Official Academic Transcript(s)
    Transcripts should be from all universities/colleges attended.
  3. Two Letters of Recommendation (Cover sheet should be downloaded from GAIDAI-LINK)
    Two letters should be from former or present instructors or academic advisors of college level institutions. When it is deemed necessary by the Admissions Committee, additional recommendation letters may be required. These letters must be sent directly from the persons who write them. Applications are sometimes denied due to late arrival of recommendation letters. It is the applicant's responsibility to check on GAIDAI-LINK if all two letters of recommendation have been received prior to the deadline date.
  4. Japanese Instructor's Reference Form (Form to be downloaded from GAIDAI-LINK)
    Students who have taken any Japanese language courses are required to submit this form. The information contained in this form will be used for better organizing the Japanese language courses. This form can be counted as one of the letters of recommendation as long as it is from an instructor at a university-level institution.
  5. Medical Information Form (Form to be downloaded from GAIDAI-LINK)
    To be completed by the applicant and a physician.
  6. Confidential Financial Questionnaire (Form to be downloaded from GAIDAI-LINK)*
  7. Identification Photo Data (JPEG / JPG format)
    • The photos should have been taken recently and must show the whole face and head features.
    • The photos must be passport-type identification photos with full face and neutral background.
  8. A non-refundable application fee of US$50*
  9. Certificate of English Proficiency
    Applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit evidence of their English proficiency (e.g. their TOEFL score) *
  10. A copy of passport (if available at the time of application)
    The information must include: name, photo, passport number, date of issue, visa(s) granted for any previous trips to Japan.

*waived for students from our affiliated institutions

Screening & Admission Notification

Admission decisions will be notified on a rolling basis.

[Fall Enrollment]
Applicants whose documents arrive between January 10 and March 31 will be notified of the screening results by April 30. Applicants whose documents arrive between April 1 and May 15 will be notified within one month of the arrival of their documents.

[Spring Enrollment]
Applicants whose documents arrive between August 1 and September 30 will be notified of the screening results by October 31. Applicants whose documents arrive between October 1 and November 1 will be notified within one month of the arrival of their documents.

Successful applicants will receive an admission notice containing the following documents via e-mail:

  1. Acceptance Message
  2. URL of the Admission Site

Confirmation of Participation:

As soon as you receive the e-mail admission notification, you should then access GAIDAI-LINK to confirm participation by completing the following online forms:

  1. Arrival Information Form
  2. Housing Survey
  3. Japanese Language Background Survey

If you are applying independently, you must submit

  1. Admission Fee of US$50* and Enrollment Confirmation Deposit of US$200* (both of which are non-refundable)
    This deposit will be credited to your first semester tuition at Kansai Gaidai.
    Failure to complete this process within the specified period may result in automatic cancellation of admission. Your admission status can be confirmed via GAIDAI-LINK.

*waived for students from our affiliated institutions