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SMIPRP Admissions

The Graduate School of Business at AGU welcomes potential students who have a strong interest in conducting rigorous empirical and/or theoretical research integrated with their own practical work experiences. Please carefully read and strictly follow the guidelines and instructions mentioned below when you apply to the SMIPRP at AGU.

The number of students to be admitted for SMIPRP course is approximately Seven.

Degree Award

A Master of Arts degree in Business Administration, specializing in Strategic Management and Intellectual Property Rights will be awarded upon your graduation.

Qualification for Applicants

Applicants must meet the following criteria to apply for SMIPRP：

・Bachelor’s Degree or higher
・English proficiency
・Online PC environment

NOTE: For those who wish to receive a WCO Scholarship, please read here carefully.

<English Proficiency>
For those who have not received undergraduate/graduate education in English, please submit an official score report or certificate of exams with the following minimum scores or above.

TOEFL
TOEFL iBT（internet-based test or Home Edition）79 / https://www.ets.org/s/cv/toefl/at-home/
TOEFL PBT（paper-based test）550

or

IELTS
IELTS Academic Module 6.0（in each band）

Note 1: TOEFL ITP and IELTS General Training Module scores are NOT accepted.
Note 2: The score should be obtained within the past two years of the application.

For those who have received undergraduate / graduate education in English, please obtain a “Letter of Proof of Education in English” from the university from which you graduated indicating that your education was conducted in English. If you cannot obtain such a letter from your university, please submit a score report or a certificate of the exams mentioned above.

<Online PC Environment>
An Online PC environment in which you can run Zoom for an interview. To make a free online video call, you will need a webcam (web camera) capable of transmitting both video and audio signals. You must have access to the online PC + webcam environment at the designated date and time of the interview (see “STEP 5 Online Interview” section of this webpage).

Admissions Criteria

Applicants will be selected for admission to this program based on the following criteria：

・Academic record and intellectual distinction;
・Personal characteristics;
・Motivation to study on the SMIPRP;
・Evidence of leadership;
・Potential for individual career development;
・Work experience;

NOTE: Double school registration is not allowed at AGU. Those who are currently attending another school must either graduate from the school or provide documentary evidence that you left your program before enrolling at AGU. Evidence documents should contain specific date of graduation.

Application Procedure

Step 1：Online Entry

Available until 22 August, 2025（23:59 Japan Standard Time）

First, you will need to click “Online Entry for Admissions” in the following and move to the online entry form. The form will be open only during the admission period. You fill out and submit the online registration form with the necessary information.
Please note that you will not be registered as an ‘applicant’ until we have received all the required application documents.

Step 2：Receipt of Email

Upon your submission of the online entry form, you will receive an email.

Step 3：Download Application Forms

Please download and fill out the designated Form1-Form5 and Application Checklist, by clicking links in the following table.

Designated Application Forms & Other Required Documents Form links appear when admission is available
Form1：Application Form with photo
Forms 2-1 and 2-2：Two Letters of Recommendation（Preferably, one from your current supervisor at your workplace）
Form3：Certificate of Employment Status and Acceptance for Leave of Absence
Form4：Research Proposal （What you propose to research if selected to attend the SMIPRP）
Form5：WCO Nomination Form （for a CUSTOMS OFFICER of a developing member of the WCO.）
The form must have a signature and a seal by the Head of the nominating administration e.g. Director General, Commissioner or equivalent official.
Official degree certificates or official copies of diplomas from ALL colleges/universities previously attended.
Official transcripts or official copies of transcripts from ALL colleges/universities previously attended.
Either of the following English Proficiency Certificates1.TOEFL or IELTS（Academic Module 6.0 in each band）official score report
*For those who have not received undergraduate/graduate education in English.
The score should be obtained within the past two years of the application2.Official Letter of Proof of Education in English issued by your university indicating that your undergraduate/graduate education was conducted in English.
This letter must be issued by the educational institute you attended.
A photocopy of your passport
（If the names on the application forms and certificates are different）
Proof of the surname/name change（marriage certificate, etc.）
（Application Checklist）You do not need to submit this, because this is only for your check

Step 4：Submit by Post Designated Application Forms & Other Required Documents

By 25 August, 2025（JST*）

* All required documents must reach our office by the deadline (Japan Standard Time). Please send all the following documents by DHL or any other registered express mailing delivery service according to the instructions below.

* Please contact us if postal delivery measures taken by the postal and courier services connecting your country and Japan will interfere with your ability to submit your complete application packet so that it will arrive at our office on or before the application due date. We do not accept forms submitted by e-mail.

IMPORTANT NOTES：
  • 01.Incomplete applications will NOT be reviewed.
    Please download and use the provided application checklist to make sure that all required forms and documents have been completed and enclosed.
  • 02.All the submitted documents must be original.
    *However, with regards to the official degree certificates and transcripts, official copies are acceptable in case where submission of the original is not possible. Photocopies are NOT accepted.
  • 03.Mailing Materials must be received by the deadline (Japan Standard Time).
  • 04.The documents brought by hand to the university and faxed documents and digital copies sent through e-mail are NOT acceptable.
  • 05.An official copy means a certified true copy of the original document with an official seal obtained from the administration office of the university attended. A true copy of the original document certified by a notary public may also be accepted.
  • 06.All the submitted documents will NOT be returned to applicants. It is advisable that you keep copies of all the documents submitted with your application.
  • 07.All documents must be presented in English. If the original documents are written in languages other than English, you are required to attach its official English translation with a seal and signature to the original documents.
  • 08.AGU respects the privacy of every individual who submits personal information to us. All submitted information shall only be used for the purposes of administration and entry examination. AGU will not disclose submitted information from any individual to a third party.
  • 09.Required documents should be submitted in typewriting, not in handwriting.
  • 10.If the application arrives later than designated deadline, those applications will not process to document screening. We do not accept negotiations to accept late arriving documents.
  • 11.Please calculate the number of days courier needs to deliver your application to Japan.
  • 12.Due to many applications, we do not individually inform arrival of application at university.
  • 13.All application documents need to be printed on one side.
  • 14.Print out the PDF English score result and enclose with other documents.
  • 15.Do not enclose extra documents. Enclose only what we require for the admissions.
Postal Address

Master's Program Admissions Office,
Graduate School of Business,
Aoyama Gakuin University
4-4-25, Shibuya, Shibuya-ku,
Tokyo 150-8366,
JAPAN

Step 5：Online Interview with selected applicants

Schedule of Interview: from 3 October to 10 October 2025

After reviewing applications, the Admissions Committee for the SMIPRP will request an interview for selected applicants (i.e. those applicants who have successfully passed the documentary examination). Those who are selected will receive a notification and scheduling information about the interview via email.

Interviews are conducted via Zoom. If you are invited for an interview, you should be online and prepared to receive our call on the day and time scheduled by the Admissions Committee.

The interviewers consisting of faculty members（the Admissions Committee）will evaluate the candidates according to the admission criteria.

Tuition & Fee

Admission Fee：290,000 yen (as of 2025)
Annual Tuition Fee：917,000 yen (as of 2025)

NOTE: For those who wish to receive WCO Scholarship, please read here carefully.

Notes

We require each applicant to provide us with an email address because it will be your primary form of communication with AGU Admissions. To protect your privacy, admissions notifications are available only through our password-protected Application Status Check Website.

AGU is not responsible for any technological issues（including email filters）that may prevent applicants from receiving our communications. Please contact your email provider and/or set your spam filter preferences to ensure you will receive email from all email addresses with the "aoyamagakuin.jp" and "busi.aoyama.ac.jp" domains.