Chiba University
千葉大学
A large national university east of Tokyo where every undergraduate studies abroad and horticulture has its own faculty.
- Students
- 14,004
- 10,443 undergraduates
- Tuition
- ¥643K
- 2027-28
- Founded
- 1949
- QS World Ranking
- 851-900
- 2027 edition
About Chiba U
Chiba University traces its roots to the Chiba Normal School and the Chiba Public Hospital of the 1870s, and was re-established as a national university in 1949. It is now one of the larger national universities in Japan, with 10,443 undergraduates and 3,561 graduate students (May 2026) across eleven undergraduate faculties, from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to the School of Medicine. Most undergraduates study on the Nishi-Chiba campus; medicine, pharmacy and nursing are at Inohana, and horticulture at Matsudo.
Chiba has a habit of trying things first. In 1998 it became the first university in Japan to let exceptional high school students enrol early, it was the first national university to open a College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (2016), and from 2020 it made study abroad compulsory for every entering student, the first comprehensive national university to do so. Its Faculty of Horticulture, founded in 1909, is the only faculty of that name at a Japanese national university.
Undergraduate teaching is in Japanese. International students normally enter through the Entrance Examination for Privately-funded International Students, which combines EJU scores with each faculty's own interview or written tests. Tuition is the same for Japanese and international students. Chiba suits applicants with solid Japanese who want a comprehensive national university with a strong science, medicine and design tradition, a short train ride from Tokyo.
Ad altiora semper
“Always aim higher (inscription on the University Bell)” — university motto
Why students choose Chiba U
Study abroad is part of the degree: since 2020 every student entering Chiba is required to go abroad, and 2,978 Chiba students went overseas in FY2025.
Tuition is the same for international and Japanese students: 642,960 yen a year for undergraduates admitted from April 2020 onwards.
The Faculty of Horticulture at Matsudo, founded in 1909, is the only faculty of that name at a Japanese national university.
Research centres unusual in Japan are on hand, including the Medical Mycology Research Center, the country's only institute for comprehensive research on fungal infections.
Admissions
April 2027 entry (Reiwa 9 selection)
Selectivity
For April 2026 entry, 12,566 people applied for 2,317 undergraduate places across all selection routes (5.4 applicants per place) and 2,355 enrolled; Chiba does not publish an offer rate. Places in the Entrance Examination for Privately-funded International Students are 'a small number' (若干名) in each faculty.
Typical entry requirements
| Eligibility | Non-Japanese nationals (not permanent residents) who completed 12 years of schooling abroad by March 2027, or hold the IB Diploma, Abitur, French baccalaureate, GCE A-levels or European Baccalaureate obtained abroad; graduates of Japanese high schools cannot use this route |
|---|---|
| EJU | Faculty-specific subjects and minimum scores, e.g. Letters: Japanese 340+ and combined Japan and the World plus Mathematics 280+; Engineering and Informatics: 80% of the specified subjects (680 of 850); Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences: 80%; Nursing: 70% in each subject |
| EJU session | June 2026 EJU for Letters, Law Politics and Economics, Science and Informatics; June or November 2026 for Education, Engineering, Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences; November 2025 or June 2026 for Horticulture and Nursing |
| English score (some faculties) | TOEFL or TOEIC L&R taken from November 2024 (Science, Horticulture, Informatics, Law Politics and Economics) or January 2025 (Medicine, Pharmaceutical Sciences); Engineering accepts TOEFL iBT or TOEIC L&R plus S&W |
| English language | Degree teaching is in Japanese, so Japanese (assessed through the EJU Japanese as a Foreign Language section and the interview) is the key language requirement. Several faculties also require a TOEFL or TOEIC score at application, which is factored into selection; no minimum is set in the university-wide guide. |
Deadlines
- Faculty of Informatics Non-binding PassedSeptember 25, 2026 (application window September 18-25)
Exam October 17, 2026; results November 13, 2026. Already closed for 2027 entry.
- Faculty of Horticulture Non-binding Next deadline · In 3 daysOctober 9, 2026 (window October 2-9)
Exam November 7, 2026; results December 4, 2026.
- Faculty of Science Non-binding In 9 daysOctober 15, 2026 (window October 8-15)
Exam November 14, 2026; results December 4, 2026.
- Faculty of Law, Politics and Economics; School of Nursing Non-binding In 15 daysOctober 21, 2026 (window October 19-21)
Exams November 14, 2026; results December 16 (Law, Politics and Economics) and December 2, 2026 (Nursing).
- Faculty of Letters Non-binding In 30 daysNovember 5, 2026 (window November 2-5)
Exam November 29, 2026; results December 11, 2026.
- Faculties of Education, Engineering, Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences Non-binding In ~4 monthsJanuary 27, 2027 (window January 25-27)
Exams February 24-26, 2027 (Engineering: first stage February 25, second stage March 13); results March 9, 2027 (Engineering final results March 20).
Dates are from Chiba University's 2027 (Reiwa 9) selection outline for the Entrance Examination for Privately-funded International Students. Faculty application guides give the exact requirements; always check the faculty's own 2027 guide before applying.
How to apply
Take the EJU in the session your faculty accepts, then apply to the faculty during its window with transcripts, EJU results and any required English score. Selection combines EJU results, Chiba's own tests (an interview with oral questions for all faculties; written mathematics, science and English papers in Engineering, Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences) and school records. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences does not run this selection. Each faculty publishes its own 2027 application guide (mostly in Japanese).
What admissions looks for
- EJU scores in the subjects your faculty specifies, above any published minimum.
- Basic academic ability for university study, tested through oral questions in the interview (including English in the Faculty of Letters).
- For science-based faculties, performance in Chiba's own mathematics, science and English papers, which are the same as in the general entrance exam.
- For Nursing, communication skills, interest in nursing and a clear reason for studying it in Japan.
Tips for applying to Chiba U
- 1 Plan your EJU sitting early: Letters, Law Politics and Economics, Science and Informatics only accept the June 2026 EJU for 2027 entry.
- 2 Check whether your faculty needs a TOEFL or TOEIC result at the time of application, and that the test date falls inside the accepted window (from November 2024 or January 2025).
- 3 Informatics, Horticulture and Science close in September and October, so autumn-applying faculties need documents ready well before the new year.
- 4 Budget for the 282,000 yen admission fee and 17,000 yen exam fee on top of the first year's tuition.
Costs & financial aid
2027-28 · figures in JPY
Privately financed international students can apply for tuition exemption after enrolment, register with the International Support Desk each April and October to be recommended for private foundation scholarships, and receive the JASSO Monbukagakusho Honors Scholarship if reserved through a high EJU score. Japanese Government (MEXT) scholars study fee-free.
- 282,000 yen
- Admission fee (one-off)
- 17,000 yen
- Entrance exam fee
- Studio from about 35,000 yen
- Monthly rent near Nishi-Chiba campus (Oct 2024 guide)
Academics
Academic calendar: Six-term system within spring (April-September) and fall (October-March) semesters; undergraduates enter in April
Faculty of Horticulture
Founded in 1909 on a hilltop campus in Matsudo, it is the only faculty named for horticulture at a Japanese national university, covering plant production, food and landscape.
Faculty of Engineering (Design, Architecture and Medical Engineering courses)
The largest faculty, with 2,540 undergraduates in nine courses; video game designer Masanobu Endo graduated from its image science department.
School of Medicine
Descended from the 1870s Chiba Public Hospital; accepts international applicants through the EJU route, with 692 applicants for 117 places overall in 2026.
Faculty of Informatics
Opened in April 2024 for data science and information engineering, with 426 applicants for 100 places in 2026.
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
The first College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at a Japanese national university (2016), built around interdisciplinary work on global issues.
Early enrollment (Advanced Science Program)
Since 1998 Chiba has admitted exceptional high school students early, the first university in Japan to do so; entrants pay no admission fee.
Research
- The Medical Mycology Research Center (established 1987) is Japan's only institute for comprehensive research on fungal infections and a MEXT Joint Usage/Research Center.
- The Center for Environmental Remote Sensing (CEReS, 1995) distributes satellite data such as Himawari-8 and SKYNET ground observation data.
- The International Center for Hadron Astrophysics (ICEHAP, 2012) studies the origins of high-energy cosmic rays through neutrino astronomy and plasma astrophysics.
- Chiba hosted 770 international researchers in FY2025 and sent 1,418 staff abroad.
Schools & faculties
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Faculty of Letters
- Faculty of Law, Politics and Economics
- Faculty of Education
- Faculty of Science
- Faculty of Engineering
- Faculty of Informatics
- Faculty of Horticulture
- School of Medicine
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- School of Nursing
Of 2,371 undergraduates who graduated in FY2025, 1,267 went into employment and 866 went on to graduate study.
Student life
Life centres on the leafy Nishi-Chiba campus, reached from JR Nishi-Chiba Station, with its library, sports grounds and student centre. The university festival takes place in the fall term, and the six-term calendar leaves windows for short programmes abroad. Housing is mostly private: there is no university dormitory for Nishi-Chiba students, and the two international student residences closed in September 2025, so the International Support Desk points students to UR housing complexes it rents, partner share houses and local agents. Rents are lower than in central Tokyo.
- Compulsory study abroad for all students entering since 2020 (ENGINE programme).
- 2,978 students went abroad in FY2025, about 970 of them to Europe.
- The Chiba University Festival is held each fall.
- Five campuses: Nishi-Chiba, Inohana, Matsudo, Kashiwanoha and a satellite campus in Sumida, Tokyo.
Housing. University dormitories serve only some medical, pharmacy, nursing and horticulture students, so most international students rent privately, including university-rented UR apartments and partner share houses.
Location
Chiba is a coastal city on Tokyo Bay, linked to central Tokyo by direct JR Sobu Line trains. The main Nishi-Chiba campus is in Inage ward; medicine is at Inohana near the city centre, and horticulture in Matsudo on Tokyo's eastern edge. The university's own guide lists studio rents near Nishi-Chiba from about 35,000 yen a month, noting that living costs are lower than in Tokyo.
Nearest airport: Narita International Airport (NRT); Tokyo Haneda (HND)
Notable alumni
- TK Tomisaku KawasakiPediatrician who described Kawasaki disease; medical graduate (1948)
- NA Nobuyoshi ArakiPhotographer and contemporary artist; studied film and photography (degree 1963)
- ME Masanobu EndoVideo game designer who created Xevious and The Tower of Druaga; graduate of the Department of Information and Image Science
- NT Norihisa TamuraMinister of Health, Labour and Welfare (2020-2021); graduate of the faculty of law and economics
- NM Naoshi MizutaVideo game composer at Capcom and Square Enix (Street Fighter Alpha); studied law and economics
- TK Taku KishimotoAnime screenwriter (Haikyu!!, Erased); master's degree
Frequently asked questions
Can I study at Chiba University in English?
Not at undergraduate level: the university states that Japanese proficiency is essential for undergraduate admission, and applicants are assessed through the EJU Japanese section and an interview.
How do international students apply to Chiba University?
Through the Entrance Examination for Privately-funded International Students: take the EJU in the session your faculty specifies, apply in the faculty's window, and sit Chiba's interview and any written tests.
How much is tuition at Chiba University?
642,960 yen a year for undergraduates, the same for Japanese and international students, plus a 282,000 yen admission fee and a 17,000 yen exam fee.
When are Chiba University's application deadlines for April 2027?
They depend on the faculty: from September 25, 2026 (Informatics) through October (Horticulture, Science, Law Politics and Economics, Nursing) and November 5 (Letters) to January 27, 2027 for Education, Engineering, Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Does Chiba University have dormitories for international students?
Its international student residences closed in September 2025, and there is no dormitory for Nishi-Chiba students. The International Support Desk helps students find UR apartments the university rents, partner share houses and private flats.
Sources & methodology
Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.
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