Quick Summary
Rikkyo University is a private, Christian-founded university in Tokyo established in 1874, with roughly 22,000 students split across its Ikebukuro and Niiza campuses. It is best known for pioneering tourism and hospitality education in Japan and for an AACSB-accredited College of Business, alongside strengths in intercultural communication, law, and the liberal arts. International students can enroll through the English-medium PEACE Program without prior Japanese fluency, while domestic-track students typically apply via the EJU examination. It suits students seeking a historic, mid-sized comprehensive university with strong social science and business programs in the heart of Tokyo.
01
Institutional Profile
Who they are
Rikkyo was founded in 1874 by Channing Moore Williams, an Episcopal missionary bishop, which gives it one of the longest continuous histories of any private Christian-founded university in Japan and still shows in its Latin motto, Pro Deo et Patria. It was the first Japanese university to establish an independent Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, in 1967, and later the first to open a full College of Tourism, on the Niiza campus in 1998 — a genuinely first-of-its-kind distinction rather than a marketing claim. Its College of Business holds AACSB accreditation, placing it among a limited set of Japanese business schools recognized by that international standard, which matters for students planning international careers. The English-medium PEACE Program lets students earn a full Rikkyo degree without Japanese fluency, an option not available at many older Japanese private universities that still teach primarily in Japanese.
Subject Strengths
Hospitality & Leisure ManagementSociologyBusiness & Management Studies
Founded1874
TypePrivate
Total Students21962
Intl Students5%
Faculty RatioNot Available
CampusUrban, with a secondary suburban campus at Niiza
Campus SizeTwo main campuses — Ikebukuro (Tokyo) and Niiza (Saitama)
Affiliated HospitalsNot Available
AccreditationChartered by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
02
Global Standing
Three independent ranking systems
QS World 2026
#1401+
Quacquarelli Symonds
Times Higher Ed
#1501+
THE World University
ARWU Shanghai
Not Available
Academic Ranking
03
Academics & Research
What you can study
Bachelor's degrees,Master's degrees,Doctoral degrees,PEACE Program (English-medium undergraduate degrees in the College of Intercultural Communication, Global Liberal Arts Program, and College of Law and Politics)
Programs
Yes — doctoral programs are offered across Rikkyo's graduate schools, including tourism, business, and the sciences.
PhD Programs
No dedicated fully online degree programs; instruction is primarily campus-based across Ikebukuro and Niiza.
Online Programs
Institute of Tourism Research,Rikkyo Institute for Global Studies,Research Center for Higher Education,Weekly repository of scholarly output through Rikkyo University's institutional archive
Research Centers
Rikkyo established the first independent Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management within a Japanese four-year university system in 1967, and it opened Japan's first standalone College of Tourism, on its Niiza campus in 1998 — a distinction that continues to anchor its identity in tourism and hospitality scholarship. Because Rikkyo is a liberal-arts-oriented comprehensive university rather than a science-and-engineering-focused national university, its published research output concentrates in the humanities, social sciences, tourism, and business rather than in laboratory sciences. Its College of Business holds AACSB accreditation, a distinction held by a minority of business schools globally, which reflects a level of external validation for its management and international business research specifically. The university's Graduate School of Tourism, built on decades of coursework dating back to a 1946 postwar program, gives Rikkyo a continuous institutional history in tourism research that is unusually long for the field in Japan.
Research Output
Chartered by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
Accreditation
04
Admissions Brief
What it takes to get in
Entry Requirements
Acceptance RateNot Available
IELTS6.0
TOEFL72
Min GPANot Available
GRENot Available
GMATNot Available
SATNot required; the PEACE Program instead evaluates high school transcripts, personal statements, and English proficiency scores
ACTNot required
Key Dates
FALLApplication Deadline · Early spring (varies by PEACE Program track; typically around January-February for September/April entry cycles)
SPRINGApplication Deadline · Autumn (varies by track)
MAR-APRDecisions Released
Required Documents
TranscriptsSOPEnglish ScoresLORsPassport
Insider Tip
For the English-taught PEACE Program, admission is based on academic transcripts, English proficiency scores, and a personal statement rather than standardized entrance exams, so applicants should focus on articulating genuine interest in an interdisciplinary or intercultural course of study. Applicants targeting Japanese-taught faculties instead typically need strong results on the Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students (EJU) plus Japanese language proficiency, a very different pathway from the PEACE track. Because Rikkyo runs three distinct PEACE tracks — the College of Intercultural Communication, the Global Liberal Arts Program, and the College of Law and Politics — with different tuition levels and curricula, applicants should confirm which track matches their academic goals before applying, since transferring between them later is not straightforward. The 15,000 yen application fee is non-refundable once submitted, so applicants should have transcripts and English test scores finalized before starting the application.
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Cost Ledger
Amounts in Japanese Yen
UG Tuition
¥1,391,500/yr
per year · JPY
Living Cost
¥1,900,000/yr
per year · JPY
Application Fee
$100
one time · USD
Total Estimated Annual Cost
¥3,291,500/yr
tuition + living + essentials · JPY
Scholarships AvailableMEXT (Japanese Government) Scholarship,JASSO Scholarship for International Students,Rikkyo University Scholarship for Privately Financed International Students
Financial AidInternational students may apply for MEXT government scholarships, JASSO support, and Rikkyo's own tuition-reduction scholarships for privately financed students, administered through the university's international student office.
Work-StudyLimited — international students on a valid student visa may apply for a permit to work part-time off campus within hours set by Japanese immigration regulations, but this is a national student-visa provision rather than a university-run work-study program.
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Featured & Popular Programs
A sample from Bachelor's degrees,Master's degrees,Doctoral degrees,PEACE Program (English-medium undergraduate degrees in the College of Intercultural Communication, Global Liberal Arts Program, and College of Law and Politics) programs total
| Program | Level | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Tourism and Hospitality Management | BACHELOR | 3-4 YRS |
| Intercultural Communication | MASTER | 1-2 YRS |
| Business | PHD | 3-5 YRS |
| Sociology | MBA | 12-24 MO |
| Law and Politics | BACHELOR | 3-4 YRS |
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Career Outcomes
Where graduates land
Not Available
Average Salary After Graduation
Not Available
Employment Rate
Industry Connections
Rikkyo's tourism and hospitality programsthe oldest independent tourism department in the Japanese four-year university systemgive it long-standing ties to Japan's travelairlineand hospitality industries that recruit directly from its College of Tourism graduates. Its AACSB-accredited College of Business maintains connections with multinational firms operating in Tokyoreflected in Rikkyo's MIB (Master of International Business) programwhich is designed around students who intend to work across borders. Because Rikkyo sits in Ikebukuroone of Tokyo's major commercial and transit hubsstudents have geographic proximity to corporate headquarters for recruiting events and internships that a suburban campus would not offer. Placement support runs through the university's career center rather than through school-specific recruiting officesso students from Christian-foundedliberal-arts-style Rikkyo pursue conventional Japanese new-graduate hiring (shukatsu) processes alongside students from any comprehensive Japanese university.
Notable Alumni
Shinjiro Koizumi (politician, son of former PM Junichiro Koizumi),Shigeo Nagashima (professional baseball player and manager),Akiko Yano (musician),Hiroshi Kume (broadcaster)
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Campus & Student Life
Life beyond lectures
Housing
Yes — Rikkyo operates dormitories for international students, including facilities near the Ikebukuro campus, alongside support for finding private off-campus housing.
Sports Facilities
Fujimi Sports Ground,gymnasiums on the Ikebukuro and Niiza campuses,tennis courts,facilities used for Rikkyo's university athletic clubs
Student Clubs
Over 200 registered student clubs and circles spanning sports, culture, and the arts
Library Resources
Ikebukuro Library,Niiza Library,subject-specific reading rooms, plus digital journal and database access through the university library system
Exchange Programs
Rikkyo maintains partnership and exchange agreements with several hundred universities worldwide, supporting both short-term and semester- or year-long outbound exchange for its students.
Summer Programs
Rikkyo Summer Program in Japanese Language and Culture, an intensive short-term program for visiting international students.