Information for students from Japan

Find out about the Japanese student community at Southampton, entry requirements for our courses and other information specific to your country.

Quick links

Scroll down the page, or follow these links to go straight to information about: 

• course entry requirements

• the Japanese student community

If you have any questions about studying at the University of Southampton, please contact the International Office team.

Entry requirements

This information is for general guidance only; entry requirements vary for different courses. For more specific details, please visit the relevant course web page or contact the admissions office for your chosen subject area.

Foundation year entry requirements 

International Foundation Year (progressing to undergraduate degree in management, humanities, arts and social sciences)	Upper Secondary School Leaving Certificate, Kotogakko Sotsugyo Shomeisho or Centre Test, achieving 3.5/5 or 7/10 overall with grades 3.5 in maths.
Engineering Foundation Year (progressing to undergraduate courses in engineering, physics, computer science and geophysics)	Upper Secondary School Leaving Certificate, Kotogakko Sotsugyo Shomeisho or Centre Test, achieving 3.5/5 or 7/10 overall with grades 4 or 8 in subjects relevant to the chosen undergraduate course
Science Foundation Year (progressing to undergraduate courses in biology, chemistry and other science-related courses)	Upper Secondary School Leaving Certificate, Kotogakko Sotsugyo Shomeisho or Centre Test, achieving 3.5/5 or 7/10 overall with grades 4 or 8 in subjects relevant to the chosen undergraduate course Please note that this course does not progress to an undergraduate degree in medicine.

Undergraduate entry requirements

To be considered for a place on one of our undergraduate (bachelors) degrees, you will need:

Upper Secondary School Leaving Certificate (Kotogakko Sotsugyo Shomeisho), achieving a minimum overall grade of 3.5 out of 5 plus an appropriate foundation year or the first year of a Japanese university degree

University Entry Licence Examination Certificate (Daigaku Nyugaku Shikaku Kentei Shiken Gogaku Shosho)

High grades in UK A levels

Between 28 and 38 points in the International Baccalaureate (IB)

Postgraduate entry requirements

Masters programmes	Bachelors degree (Gakushi) with an overall final grade of at least 80% and a subject credit certificate (Gakugyou Seiseki Shoumei-sho)
PhD programmes	Good grades in bachelors and masters degrees awarded by a recognised university, and a strong research proposal

English language entry requirements

You will need to be able to demonstrate the required level of English language proficiency. Find out more about our English language requirements and support.

The Japanese student community

We are pleased to welcome students from Japan to the University each year. In 2016/17 we have 28 Japanese students studying with us.

Student-run clubs and societies

Getting involved in clubs and societies is a great way to meet other students from your country and from around the world. There are many societies run by the University's Students' Union (SUSU) for different interests, religions, sports and academic groups. You may be interested in joining the Southampton University Japanese Society.

Visit the University of Southampton Students' Union (SUSU) website for more information about clubs and societies.