International facts & figures

A diverse and welcoming environment where ideas and peoples mingle and work together is a fertile soil for educational advancements and innovative research.

Blending together its well-known academic freedom spirit and historical commitment to contribute to major academic developments throughout the world, and by constantly engaging in ongoing dialogue with the international community, Kyoto University continues to be a fertile ground for the production of epoch-making innovations and to enhance its global prestige.

The University's international reputation speaks for itself. Many award-winning scholars — including several Nobel Prize laureates, Fields Medalists, and recipients of Gauss Prize and Lasker Award, only to mention the most internationally recognized awards — contribute to making KyotoU one of the most outstanding universities in Japan and the world.

With a highly international mobility rate among members of the University's body, KyotoU continues to enhance its diversity through exchange and interactions among the nearly 3,000 researchers from around the world working in its labs, and more than 8,000 researchers dispatched to all corners of the world. Similarly, international education continues to be a key priority to address the University's over 2,600 inbound students from more than 110 countries and regions and the more than 3,000 KyotoU students sent abroad* in the 2020 academic year (Kyoto University Facts and Figures 2021–2022 pp 15-19, as of 1 March 2020).

*The number of outbound students decreased significantly in the 2020 academic year due to impediments on international travel caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Kyoto University Institute of Liberal Arts and Science (or ILAS ) is a unique institution that brings together some 200 international academics from different fields to provide a great variety of subjects in Liberal Arts and Science taught in English , while more than 500 courses in English and other languages are taught throughout the University’s faculties and graduate schools in specific fields.

Pioneering in the challenge of bilingual higher education, Kyoto University launched in 2017 the International Undergraduate Program (iUP) , an innovative scheme designed to nurture globally-minded professionals and leaders with a high level of international exposure (as graduates that will be proficient in English and Japanese). Japanese language skills are not required at the time of enrollment, as the new students start with a semester immersion period that prepares them to gradually shift from general courses in English to specialized courses in Japanese.

Kyoto University offers a number of degree programs in English, including an undergraduate degree program in Civil Engineering , while at the postgraduate level it boasts 12 master’s programs and 10 doctoral programs in a wide range of fields and interdisciplinary areas, and more than 20 double- and joint-degree programs for master's and PhD with international partners.

Kyoto University connects with the world through a growing network of global partners. As of 31 March 2021, general memoranda for academic exchange at university level (MOU: 201), department level (MOU:758) and student exchange agreements (SEA: 345) are active with over 240 universities around the world, 4 university alliances, 5 strategic partnerships and 16 national academies covering 59 countries. A comprehensive list of partners can be found at Kyoto University's Global Engagement website under Overseas Partner Institutions.

Kyoto University actively promotes international mobility of students welcoming international students, and offering at least 150 options to study abroad through university-level student exchange agreements and multilateral agreements. Faculties and Departments have their own partners and networks, based on academic exchange agreements in specific academic and research fields expanding possible destinations for study abroad.

Kyoto University fosters international cooperation and academic interaction through memberships in international consortia and multilateral networks. At the university level, these include participation in the University Administrators Workshop (UAW) , and 6 international networks of universities (HeKKSaGOn, RENKEI, USJI, AEARU, AUN/ASEAN+3 UNet, and USR Network).