Kanagawa University

About Kanagawa University

Kanagawa University traces its institutional origin to Yokohama Gakuin, opened in 1928 to provide evening study in law and commercial economics for working young people. It was authorized as Yokohama Professional School in 1929 and became Kanagawa University in 1949. Graduate education followed in 1967. The institution remains active, with current undergraduate and graduate admissions and degree-conferral information available for 2026 and 2027. The university now operates its degree programs in two parts of Yokohama. The Yokohama Campus accommodates law, economics, human sciences, science, engineering, architecture, chemistry and life science, and informatics. The Minatomirai Campus houses business administration, foreign languages, and cross-cultural and Japanese studies. Their graduate-school distribution broadly follows this pattern, although applicants should confirm the location of their specific course. Kanagawa University is officially listed as private in Japan’s government-supported Study in Japan school directory. Its academic range is that of a comprehensive university rather than a specialist college. The institution explicitly awards its own bachelor’s degrees, while its graduate regulations and completion requirements cover master’s and doctoral study. Prospective international students should distinguish full-degree admission from exchange or Japanese-language programs: the regular undergraduate route is principally Japanese-medium and uses a dedicated foreign-student selection process.

Admission routes vary by level and applicant category. For 2027 undergraduate entry, the dedicated foreign-student examination is open to non-Japanese nationals who meet the university’s educational-background and other conditions. Applicants generally must have completed, or expect to complete, twelve years of schooling outside Japan and hold university-entry eligibility in that system, or qualify through another recognized route. Individual eligibility review may be required in atypical cases. The 2027 foreign-student route uses both Japan Student Services Organization’s Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students and Kanagawa University’s own assessment. Applicants must take the EJU subjects specified by the intended department and obtain at least 300 in Japanese, including the writing component. Eligible EJU sittings are June 2025, November 2025, or June 2026. Required subject combinations differ: humanities-oriented departments commonly specify Japanese and Japan and the World, while science and technology departments may also require mathematics and two science subjects. Some programs impose additional English evidence. The English and English Literature IES program and the International Cultural Exchange department require a TOEFL score; the latter specifies at least iBT 32 under the university’s stated 2027 rules. The GEC undergraduate program is excluded from this foreign-student examination. Selection includes document review and university testing. Because instruction and entrance examinations are principally in Japanese, applicants should treat functional academic Japanese as essential rather than relying only on the minimum EJU threshold.

The undergraduate portfolio spans eleven faculties. Humanities and social-science choices include law, economics, business administration, foreign languages, cross-cultural and Japanese studies, and human sciences. Science and technology options include science, engineering, architecture, chemistry and life science, and informatics. Within these faculties, students apply to defined departments or programs, such as economics data analysis, international business administration, architecture, applied chemistry, computer science, and systems mathematics. Applicants should use the current faculty list because older materials may show departments that have since been reorganized. Graduate study is offered through schools covering law, economics, business administration, humanities, human sciences, science, engineering, and historical and folkloric studies. Kanagawa University’s current graduate information also identifies a planned Graduate School of Integrated Science and Engineering for 2027, subject to establishment procedures. Students considering science or engineering for 2027 should therefore verify the final approved structure and the transition arrangements before applying. The university’s published completion rules distinguish doctoral first-stage programs, which normally require at least two years, prescribed credits, research supervision, and approval of a master’s thesis or specified research output, from doctoral second-stage programs, which normally require at least three years and approval of a doctoral dissertation. Undergraduate degrees are predominantly Japanese-medium. Although particular courses may use English and some graduate work may permit English-language research, the university states that no undergraduate degree can be completed entirely in English.

Key Highlights

• Private, independent university officially listed in Japan’s Study in Japan directory
• Founded as Yokohama Gakuin in 1928 and renamed Kanagawa University in 1949
• Degree education is based at the Yokohama and Minatomirai campuses
• Awards bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees

Student Life & Environment

Student experience depends substantially on campus. Yokohama Campus serves eight faculties and combines teaching facilities with a large library, dining, and sports-related facilities. Minatomirai is a high-rise urban campus for business, languages, and Japanese and intercultural studies. Its facilities include a library, learning commons, global lounge, arena, student dining, halls, and a meditation room. Students may therefore find different rhythms and facilities at the two sites, and cross-campus travel should be considered when choosing activities or electives. The official Study in Japan directory reports that the university provides international students with dormitory accommodation support and other housing assistance. It also records scholarship and tuition-reduction systems for international students, though eligibility, selection, duration, and award value are not specified on that directory page and should not be assumed. Housing is not included in the database record’s costs, so prospective students should request current residence charges and compare them with private accommodation in Yokohama. The university recognizes extracurricular groups and campus services, but availability can vary by site. International students should also plan for Japanese-language administration and daily life, even where exchange support or multilingual spaces are available. Campus visits are particularly useful because Yokohama offers a more conventional campus setting, while Minatomirai places students in a dense commercial and waterfront district.

Location & Surroundings

Both main campuses are in Yokohama, but they occupy different urban settings. Yokohama Campus is at 3-27-1 Rokkakubashi in Kanagawa Ward. It sits beyond the Rokkakubashi shopping area and serves most science, engineering, social-science, and human-science faculties. Students based there should check the university’s route guidance when estimating daily travel, rather than assuming that proximity to central Yokohama means a short walk from Yokohama Station. Minatomirai Campus is at 4-5-3 Minatomirai in Nishi Ward, within Yokohama’s modern waterfront center. The university lists approximate walks of four minutes from Shin-takashima Station, six minutes from Minatomirai Station, eleven minutes from Yokohama Station, and twelve minutes from Sakuragicho Station. It asks visitors not to travel by private car because no visitor parking is available. Program location matters: business administration, foreign languages, and cross-cultural and Japanese studies are based at Minatomirai, while the other eight undergraduate faculties are based at Yokohama Campus. Applicants should budget for transport according to their assigned campus and should not treat the two sites as immediately adjacent.

Costs & Career Outcomes

For students entering undergraduate study in academic year 2026, the university’s official English fee table gives first-year totals that vary by faculty. Law and economics cost JPY 1,259,800, human sciences JPY 1,260,300, business administration, foreign languages, and cross-cultural and Japanese studies JPY 1,376,300, science, engineering, chemistry and biochemistry, and informatics JPY 1,743,300, and architecture JPY 1,746,300. These totals include a JPY 200,000 admission fee and listed ancillary charges. They apply specifically to 2026 enrollees and should not be presented as confirmed 2027 fees. Course materials may cost extra where identified in the syllabus. The official Study in Japan directory records scholarship and tuition-reduction systems for international students, as well as accommodation support. It does not establish that every applicant will receive funding, so students should verify application timing, academic conditions, renewal rules, and whether an award can be combined with other aid. Living, transport, visa, and personal costs are separate from the published tuition totals. Career support includes a university employment portal, adviser appointments, career and recruitment guidance, industry events, and support tailored to groups including international students, public-service applicants, prospective teachers, students seeking work outside the region, and students with disabilities. In 2026 the university advertised year-specific orientations, industry events, and a joint company briefing for students graduating in March 2027. No salary or placement-rate claim is included here because the reviewed current sources do not provide a sufficiently comparable figure.