In short: up 90,000 yen (about 5.2%) from 2021 to 2026
- First-year cost, 2021
- 1,731,000 yen
- First-year cost, 2026
- 1,821,000 yen
- Increase (about 5.2%)
- +90,000 yen
First-year published cost for each entry year, including the matriculation fee.
The 2022 cost was the same as 2021, and it has risen every year since 2023.
| Entry year | First-year published cost | Change from previous year |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,731,000 yen | n/a |
| 2022 | 1,731,000 yen | no change |
| 2023 | 1,755,000 yen | +24,000 yen |
| 2024 | 1,761,000 yen | +6,000 yen |
| 2025 | 1,791,000 yen | +30,000 yen |
| 2026 | 1,821,000 yen | +30,000 yen |
Fee breakdown (2026 entry)
ICU's first year consists of the matriculation fee plus the annual tuition and facilities fees. The 2026 breakdown on ICU's tuition and fees page is as follows.
| Item | Amount (2026 entry) |
|---|---|
| Matriculation fee | 300,000 yen |
| Tuition (per year) | 1,167,000 yen |
| Facilities fee (per year) | 354,000 yen |
| Tuition + facilities (per year) | 1,521,000 yen |
| First-year total | 1,821,000 yen |
There is no separate ELBA fee
English Language Based Admissions (ELBA) is the name of an admissions route. Students admitted this way enrol in the College of Liberal Arts like everyone else, so the fees compared here apply to the whole college.
Compared with PEARL and SILS
For 2026 entry, the first-year published cost is 1,821,000 yen at ICU, 1,693,000 yen at SILS and 1,508,350 yen at PEARL.
The programmes differ, though: ICU offers a bilingual liberal arts environment, SILS is International Liberal Studies and PEARL is economics, and the way fees are defined differs too. Do not decide on the size of the gap alone.
You can follow each university over time in Waseda SILS tuition history and Keio PEARL tuition history.
Include scholarships in the picture
ICU offers scholarships such as the Peace Bell Scholarship. Check the net cost after the scholarships you qualify for, not just the sticker price, in the admissions guide.
A realistic fee comparison looks at the curriculum and scholarships as well as how costs have changed.
Summary
ICU's first-year published cost rose about 5.2% between 2021 and 2026. Treat it as the cost of the whole programme rather than of an admissions route, and compare it together with the curriculum and scholarships.
