To qualify for consideration, you must have:

• A Master’s, MBA, or higher degree from a recognized institution, or exemption from the DBA Program Committee. Applicants requesting an exemption must seek approval from the DBA Program Committee beforehand. Please inquire before the following deadline if seeking an exemption. 1^st Round: Thursday, August 1, 2024 2^nd Round: Thursday, January 24, 2025
  For specifics, see “Qualification of Applicants” in the Hitotsubashi ICS DBA Application Package
• Sound knowledge of and interest in business scholarship, as demonstrated by the research proposal described in your application
• Two or more years of full‐time work experience, or approval for exemption from the DBA Program Committee.
• A good command of English, with a score above 109 in TOEFL iBT or 7.5 in IELTS Academic or equivalent.
• GMAT score or GRE score is mandatory for all applicants.
• GMAT score of 600 or higher, or GRE score of 160 or higher on Quantitative Reasoning and 150 or higher on Verbal Reasoning.
• GMAT scores and GRE scores are valid for up to five years after the exam date. We accept score(s) of GMAT Focus Edition or GRE shorter overall test time.

Master’s degree certificate and official transcript	Degree certificate/official transcript or certified copy of a diploma/official transcript signed by the president or dean of the university. *Successful applicants must submit copies of original documents to the Hitotsubashi ICS Admissions Office within the enrollment period.
Essay (Career accomplishments and personal statements)	Download Essay Questions
Official TOEFL or IELTS score report	1. Applicants are required to upload the test takers score report on the online application, and to have the official score reports sent directly to Hitotsubashi ICS. [TOEFL] University Code No.: 8682 [IELTS] Organization Name: Hitotsubashi University - School of International Corporate Strategy Department: Hitotsubashi ICS Admissions Office University: Hitotsubashi University Address: National Center of Sciences, 2-1-2 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8439, Japan Hitotsubashi ICS strongly recommends that candidates take the TOEFL/IELTS at least one month before the application deadline to ensure that the official score report is received in time. *The following applicants are not required to include this item. Applicants whose native language is English Applicants who graduated with a bachelor’s or higher degree from a program conducted entirely in English (Applicants who graduated with a bachelor’s or higher degree from a program conducted entirely in English in a country other than Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK or the US must notify the Hitotsubashi ICS Admissions Office by email (<chiyoda-info@hub.hit-u.ac.jp>) no less than ten days before the application deadline.) Applicants who have worked for over three years in an English-speaking country * TOEFL or IELTS scores are valid for up to two years after the exam date.
Official GMAT or GRE score report	Applicants are required to upload their document on the online application, and to have the official score reports sent directly to Hitotsubashi ICS from GMAC/ETS. [GMAT] Document to upload: test takers score report or screenshot of the scores on GMAC portal University Code No.: F6R-Q5-52 [GRE] Document to upload: test takers score report University Code No.: 1617 Hitotsubashi ICS strongly recommends that candidates take the GMAT or GRE at least one month before the application deadline to ensure that the official score report is received in time. * GMAT or GRE scores are valid for up to five years after the exam date.
Proof of application fee payment (JPY 30,000)	See the Application Package page 10 for payment procedures. The application fee is exempted for the following individuals. Individuals who graduated from a master’s program of Hitotsubashi University after September 1, 2024. Individuals who are expected to graduate from a master’s program of Hitotsubashi University after September 1, 2024. Japanese government-sponsored students (Kenkyusei) are not required to pay the application fee; please upload the government scholarship certificate issued by the enrolled university.
Identity document	Photocopy of the relevant page(s) of the applicant’s identity document indicating applicant’s name, photograph, passport number or Japanese driver’s license number, date of birth, etc.
Reference letters (optional)	Up to two letters of reference From persons who have been directly responsible for assessing the candidate's work and/or academic performance Preferably one from an employer, and one from an academic supervisor * A request email will be sent automatically to the applicant's referees once their contact information is entered in the Hitotsubashi ICS Online Application System and “Send email to referee” button is clicked by the applicant. The referees are to follow directions given in said email and complete their recommendation online.

Notes

• See the Hitotsubashi ICS DBA Application Package for more detailed information. We release the Application Package in July each year. Please make sure to download the latest version.
• All documents must be written in English. For any documents or certificates written in another language, please attach an English translation.
• Only complete applications will be considered. Incomplete applications at the time of the application deadline will not be considered.
• The online application system’s ‘Submit’ button becomes available for selection ONLY when ALL mandatory documents above have been uploaded.
• As the online application system can accept individual documents whenever they are ready and is also able to accept uploading of the same document multiple times, please start uploading individual documents to the online system as soon as they are available. In the case of needing to update an already-uploaded document, you may simply upload the document again. Please be sure to upload all documentation by the specified application deadline.
• Applicants wishing to support their application with a reference letter(s) should ensure that their nominated referee(s) have uploaded the reference letter(s) to the online system before the application is submitted. Reference letter(s) must be uploaded before the applicant clicks the “Submit” button in order for the reference letter(s) to be included as application documents. .Maximum 10 files can be submitted and stored in each section.

Pre-application consultation

Pre-consultations regarding research content are generally accepted at any time. However, faculty members cannot respond to administrative questions related to the admissions. If there are any points that remain unclear after reviewing the published admission information, please contact the DBA Program Office or the Chiyoda Campus Administration Office <chiyoda-info@hub.hit-u.ac.jp>. Please note that we are unable to provide answers regarding the interview questions or their content.
Regarding research-related questions, we expect the applicant to present a sufficiently specific research plan and content. Additionally, since our DBA program is small in scale and the number of faculty members is limited, we ask the applicants/consultants to contact the faculty members with understanding in advance that the available timing and commitment of faculty members may vary depending on the situation.

Pre-consultation for applicants with disabilities or other special needs

Applicants who have disabilities or special needs that require accommodating in the application process and/or once they start their program of study at Hitotsubashi ICS should notify the Hitotsubashi ICS Admissions Office by email to <chiyoda-info@hub.hit-u.ac.jp> two months prior to the starting date of application period. (If you do not know the application period, please contact us as well. Although the Hitotsubashi ICS Admissions Office will accept such notifications after this date, it may not be able to make arrangements necessary to accommodate disabilities/special needs in time for the screening and/or the program starting date.)
Requesting such type of accommodation in the application process does not obligate you to apply to Hitotsubashi ICS. Even if you are undecided about whether or not to apply to Hitotsubashi ICS, you may still make such requests.
NB: Depending on the nature of the accommodation requested, it may take some time for the Hitotsubashi ICS Admissions Office to respond.

Upon request, we provide reasonable accommodations for the application process, including but not limited to:

• Application process support, such as alternative formats for application materials
• Exam accommodations, such as consideration of interview time based on the applicant's medical or disability-related needs, option to switch from in-person to online interviews.