Ritsumeikan University: Kyoto Kinugasa + Osaka Ibaraki, Kansai’s MARCH, GLA and ANU Dual Degree, CRPS International Relations

Published on May 14, 2026

If Doshisha is often seen as “Kansai’s Waseda / Kyoto University,” then Ritsumeikan is “Kansai’s Keio / Osaka University” — the second-strongest name among the four leading Kansai private universities: Kansai University, Kwansei Gakuin University, Doshisha University, and Ritsumeikan University. In terms of English-taught program diversity, depth of international partnerships, and institutional scale of innovation, Ritsumeikan arguably goes even further than Doshisha. Ritsumeikan is not content to remain simply a “Kyoto private university.” In 2015, it made a major move into Osaka with the Osaka Ibaraki Campus, and today it has become a large private university with dual core campuses in Kyoto and Osaka.

What matters even more is how Ritsumeikan has designed its English-taught programs: GLA (Global Liberal Arts) with a dual degree from Australian National University (ANU), CRPS (the English-taught track in the College of International Relations), and IRD (the English-taught track in information systems). These are three distinct English-taught pathways, offering more flexibility than Doshisha’s single ILA route. On top of that, the broader Ritsumeikan Trust also includes APU (Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University). Choosing Ritsumeikan means entering one of Kansai’s largest private university groups, spanning Kyoto, Osaka, and Beppu.

1. Basic Information