For Prospective Students

 Professor Yasuhiro Matsuda specializes in international politics in East Asia, focusing specifically on China and Taiwan. Prospective applicants must read the application guidelines. Those with high Japanese proficiency are also recommended to read the essays below (Japanese version only). Specific inquiries should be submitted to the relevant administrative offices of the University of Tokyo..

Essays

（１）Choosing the course

 Yasuhiro Matsuda is a full-time professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (IASA) in Hongo Campus. IASA is a research institution, and therefore does not admit degree-seeking students. However, Professor Matsuda accepts students into his research lab and supervises theses/dissertations at the following graduate schools: the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics and the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies (GSII) in Hongo Campus, and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in Komaba Campus. Note, however, that in some cases Professor Matsuda may be unable to supervise students from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Thus, students who wish to study under Professor Matsuda are strongly recommended to apply for the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics or the GSII in Hongo Campus. Lectures, supervision, and thesis writing in the Information, Technology, and Society in Asia (ITASIA) course are done in English. Courses other than ITASIA require a high level of Japanese proficiency.
 Matsuda Lab holds seminars every month and goes on a seminar trip once a year. Presentations and discussions during seminar activities are conducted in English regardless of which graduate school students belong to. Students who wish to study in the Matsuda Lab are expected to learn necessary foreign languages as well as theories of political science and international relations.

 For more details about these graduate schools, please visit their respective websites.

 Students can apply to more than one graduate school at the same time. If accepted by any of them, they can conduct their research in Professor Matsuda’s lab. Please inquire with the graduate schools’ admission offices for further information. Once a student has been admitted to a school, specific study-related inquiries should be sent directly to Professor Matsuda at: ymatsuda “at mark” ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

（２）Choosing the program

There are generally three programs in each graduate school: a graduate international research student (daigakuin gaikokujin kenkyusei) program, a master’s program, and a doctoral program. In some cases, it may be possible for the student to apply for more than one program simultaneously. Please refer to the link below for more information regarding international students.
https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/prospective-students/grad_admissions.html

For more details about admission to the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics, please follow the link below..
http://www.j.u-tokyo.ac.jp/is/index.html International research students are admitted in April and Septemer each year. Normally, a research period is between six months to one year. The student may be permitted to extend his/her period of study.

For students receiving a Japanese government scholarship or the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association (JTEA) scholarship, application documents serve as the sole evaluation criteria for admission. Privately financed student may be asked to attend an interview in Tokyo in addition to the submitted application documents. The University of Tokyo supports students in obtaining short-term visas for the purposes of interview by writing a formal letter of invitation. However, students are required to find a sponsor on their own. For further details, please inquire with the relevant graduate school.

International research students at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies can enroll at the beginning of April or September , depending on the division to which they apply. Normally, research is conducted for six months, but it may be permitted to extend the research period up to one year. Graduate and doctoral programs at ITASIA start only in September.


International research students at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Area Studies, can enroll at the beginning of April or September. Normally, research is conducted between six months to one year. Prospective students are recommended to attend the entrance examination orientation session. Admission information is available at:


Decisions are left to instructors as to whether or not to make contact with applicants prior to the entrance examination. If students wish to contact Professor Matsuda before applying, they should submit their proposed research project and personal educational/research history by e-mail, and inform the name(s) of graduate school(s) to which they intend to apply. This information is necessary to determine whether the student can be supervised by Professor Matsuda. However, in order to ensure fairness, it is strongly recommended that students refrain from contacting professors after submitting their applications. Note also that not every applicant is guaranteed to receive a response to his/her inquiry.
Supervisors are allocated after successful admission.
Foreign students can obtain more general information about the University of Tokyo and student life by visiting the website of the International

（３）Others

It is also possible to enter Professor Matsuda’s lab as a postdoctoral researcher (posudoku kenkyuin), a visiting fellow (homon kenkyuin), or a private researcher (shigaku kenshuin) in IASA. Visiting fellows are from overseas research and educational institutions, whereas private researchers are from domestic research and educational institutions. Please contact Professor Matsuda directly with questions about the application procedures. Note however, that not every inquiry can be answered.

Note: The information above is as of April 2017 and is provided for general references only. Professor Matsuda assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information contained on this webpage. For latest updates on admission, prospective students should contact the schools/departments in which they would like to enroll.

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