School Not in the List

Assessment of Admission Qualifications (in general)

Q：An institution from which an applicant has applied to our university in Japan was not on the list of universities on the website of the Ministry of Education in the located country. Is the institution a diploma (degree) mill?

A：There are several possible reasons the institution in question is not on the list:

1. The list of universities is not up-to-date, or the updated list is only available in the original language but not in English.
2. The list is not for the type of institutions such as the one in question.
3. It had been a legitimate institution but then was abolished.
4. The institution in question is not recognized as a legitimate university.

Please refer to "Q: How can I confirm that a foreign institution from which an applicant has graduated is legitimate?" for legitimacy of the list of institutions.

For #4 above, it might be a case, such as in the US, where an institution is recognized by a local authority and not the federal government. Thus, it is important to practice due diligence in correctly identifying the body granting approval to the institution before searching for the official list of approved institutions managed by the said body.

There is also a possibility that the institution in question is a foreign branch of a university located outside the country you have looked at or an international university such as the United Nations University, which does not receive establishment approval from any countries.

If you cannot find a list of universities, one solution is to contact the national information centre (NIC) of the country in question.