Chiba Institute of Technology (CIT) Guide for International Students: Admissions, Tuition, Robotics & Campus Life

If you’re looking for a practical, tech-forward university in the Greater Tokyo area—with strong robotics, space exploration, and classic engineering—Chiba Institute of Technology (CIT), also called “Chiba Tech,” deserves a spot on your shortlist. Founded in 1942 and located in Narashino (Chiba Prefecture), CIT blends hands‑on learning with active research centers and close ties to industry. Below you’ll find quick facts, a short founding story, the labs and programs that make CIT stand out (hello, rescue robots and planetary missions), campus life pointers for international students, climate and living‑cost snapshots in ¥, study‑abroad links, and career outlooks.

Quick Facts: Chiba Institute of Technology

Use this at‑a‑glance table to orient yourself. Sources linked at the bottom.

Type	Private university (technology‑focused)
Total Students	≈ 9,992 (THE 2025)
Campuses (Main)	Tsudanuma (main), Shin‑Narashino, Tokyo Skytree Town® Campus
Faculties/Schools	Engineering; Creative Engineering; Advanced Engineering; Innovative Information Science; Innovative Management Science; plus Graduate Schools
Studiengebühren	Master’s programs often listed around ¥840,000 / year on program directories; undergraduate fees vary by department (confirm on CIT admissions).
Gender Ratio	15% Female : 85% Male (THE 2025)
International‑Student %	≈ 2% (THE 2025)
Students per Staff	≈ 24.4 (THE 2025)

Sources: CIT Campuses, CIT English Top (faculties), THE: Chiba Institute of Technology — Key Student Statistics, Mastersportal (typical master’s fee).

Campus Maps

Tsudanuma Campus (Narashino, Chiba)

Address: 2-17-1 Tsudanuma, Narashino, Chiba 275-0016, Japan

Shin-Narashino Campus (Narashino, Chiba)

Address: 2-1-1 Shibazono, Narashino, Chiba 275-0023, Japan

Tokyo Skytree Town® Campus (Sumida, Tokyo)

Address: 8F TOKYO SKYTREE TOWN®, 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tokyo 131-0045, Japan

Mission, History & Founding Story

Chiba Institute of Technology (CIT) began in 1942, in the heart of wartime Japan, as a dedicated institute of technology that would go on to anchor engineering education in the Kanto region. After moving to Chiba Prefecture following the war, CIT eventually grew into a modern “Chiba Tech” with multiple faculties, an applied research culture, and strong industry links. Today, the university’s mission is carried out through hands‑on engineering and computing programs and by research centers that translate fundamental work into real‑world solutions—especially in robotics and planetary science. You’ll feel that application‑focused spirit across classrooms, labs, and public‑facing spaces like the Tokyo Skytree Town® Campus.

CIT is organized into distinct faculties, including Engineering, Creative Engineering, Advanced Engineering, Innovative Information Science, and Innovative Management Science, plus graduate schools that let you continue from master’s to doctoral levels. The English site provides clear faculty and department lists—useful when you’re mapping prerequisites or contacting professors about labs and supervision. See the faculty overview on the official page here: CIT English Top.

Location‑wise, CIT’s main base is the Tsudanuma Campus in Narashino (suburban Chiba, with quick rail access to central Tokyo), backed by the Shin‑Narashino Campus and a unique third site inside Tokyo Skytree Town®—a showcase and outreach hub where visitors can experience CIT tech, from robotics demos to space‑science theaters. The official campus page lists each site and provides an access map: Campuses.

While many Japanese universities emphasize tradition, CIT’s personality is decidedly practical and industry‑facing. That shows up in its research centers: the Future Robotics Technology Center (fuRo) und die Planetary Exploration Research Center (PERC), among others. fuRo’s mission—“create the technology of the future” and train the next generation of roboticists—appears across its English site and project pages (fuRo Top). PERC documents its participation in major missions such as DESTINY+, MMX, BepiColombound Hayabusa2 on its English homepage (PERC), offering a sense of how teaching and research intersect at CIT’s undergraduate and graduate levels.

Finally, a word on the school’s public face: the Tokyo Skytree Town® Campus doubles as a community gateway to CIT research (robotics exhibits, a 300‑inch 3D space theater, and more), making technical work accessible to the public while inspiring future engineers. See the Skytree campus site here: CIT Tokyo Skytree Town® Campus. For a summarized, printable overview—including departments and international exchange snapshots—refer to the university’s English brochure (2023): University Brochure (PDF).

Key Strengths & Unique Features

Future Robotics Technology Center (fuRo): From Disaster Robots to Personal Mobility

If there’s one calling card for CIT, it’s robotics. fuRo’s English site outlines its mission to “create the technology of the future” and train young researchers while collaborating across faculties (fuRo – About). The center developed the Quince rescue robot—deployed during Fukushima Daiichi cleanup—documented on fuRo’s project page and covered by English‑language media (Quince (fuRo); Nippon.com article). More recently, fuRo’s CanguRo mobility platform earned international design recognition (iF Design Award and A’ Design Award), signaling strength in practical engineering and human‑machine design (fuRo Top; iF Design profile).

Planetary Exploration Research Center (PERC): Space Missions You’ll Actually Study

PERC participates in real missions—DESTINY+ (interplanetary dust and Phaethon flyby), MMX (Martian moons exploration), BepiColombo (Mercury), and Hayabusa2 (asteroid sample return). The center’s English page lists these efforts and emphasizes collaboration with JAXA, NASA, and ESA (PERC). For undergrads, that translates into coursework informed by mission data and opportunities to connect senior projects with faculty research.

Tokyo Skytree Town® Campus: Public Tech, Big Screens, and Outreach

CIT’s Skytree Campus brings labs to the public with immersive exhibits—like a 300‑inch 3D theater—plus fuRo and PERC displays, according to the university’s English brochure (pp. 6–7) (University Brochure (PDF)). It’s also a great place to show friends and family what you’re studying without dragging them into a clean room.

Interdisciplinary Faculties & Flagship Programs

CIT’s “flagship” identity sits at the intersection of classic engineering and advanced, applied fields. Departments span mechanical, electrical, materials, architecture, civil/environmental, information and communication systems, computer science, cognitive & information sciences, and management science tied to digital transformation. You can browse these under the English faculty listings (CIT English Top).

Advanced Robotics (Faculty of Advanced Engineering)

The Department of Advanced Robotics emphasizes mechanical, electrical, and information engineering competencies, with early robot‑building experiences and project‑based learning. See the English brochure’s faculty pages for a concise summary (pp. 18–19): University Brochure (PDF).

Information & Computer Science (Faculty of Innovative Information Science)

Undergraduate departments include Computer Science, Cognitive & Information Sciences, and Applied Informatics, feeding into graduate programs in information and computer science. Department listings appear on the English top page: CIT English Top.

Engineering, Creative Engineering & Architecture

From mechanical and electrical to applied chemistry and architecture, you can pursue both established and creative tracks (e.g., Department of Design; Civil & Environmental). The Faculty of Creative Engineering und Faculty of Engineering give you solid foundations plus design and build culture—well documented in the English brochure (pp. 18–19, 22–23): University Brochure (PDF).

Student Life for Internationals

Clubs & Circles. Japanese universities call many student groups “circles.” At CIT, training centers in Onjuku (Chiba coast) and Karuizawa (Nagano) are explicitly available for seminars and club camps, which hints at a healthy extracurricular culture (see “Affiliated Facilities”): Affiliated Facilities. The English university brochure also references a dedicated Student Club Building (PDF). These facilities make it easier for clubs—sports, robotics, design, cultural—to plan retreats and projects.

Support offices. CIT’s English “Student Services” page is brief, but it points you to on‑campus structures and calendars (Student Services). For visa, housing and life admin, official national resources are also reliable: Study in Japan — Living Costs und Study in Japan — Accommodation.

Language exchange & buddies. While a formal “buddy program” isn’t described on the English site, CIT’s international exchange framework includes short language‑study programs (2–4 weeks) and goodwill exchanges that create organic peer networks with partner universities (see “Global”): Global — Exchange Partners & Program Types.

Partner Institutions & Exchange Options (Outbound Focus)

CIT lists exchange partners across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia. Examples include Penn State (College of Engineering), University of Colorado Boulder, Tennessee Tech, University of Guam, University of Toronto (Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering), Université de Technologie de Compiègne (France), KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden), Harbin Institute of Technology and Jilin University (China), National Taipei University of Technology and NTU (Taiwan), Vietnam National University partners, and Institut Teknologi Bandung (Indonesia). See the partner table and program types (“foreign exchange,” “goodwill,” “language study”) on the official page: Global — Exchange Agreement Partners. A summarized snapshot (42 universities in 19 countries/regions as of Mar 1, 2023) also appears in the English brochure, pp. 30–31: University Brochure (PDF).

Local Climate & Lifestyle (Chiba / Narashino Area)

Weather patterns (recent‑years profile): Chiba has warm, humid summers and mild winters compared with northern Japan. Based on long‑run daily averages, August is typically the hottest month—about 29 °C (high) / 24 °C (low)—and January the coolest—about 10 °C (high) / 2 °C (low). Expect a rainy season in early summer and occasional typhoons in late summer/early fall. For clear visuals and month‑by‑month graphs, see WeatherSpark’s Chiba overview: Chiba — Average Weather and the Japan Meteorological Agency’s climate data portal: JMA Climate Normals (1991–2020).

Cost of living (¥): National guidance from official Study in Japan resources puts estimated monthly living costs for international students around the ¥90,000–¥110,000 range, depending on region and lifestyle. The U.S. Embassy’s Study in Japan guide (2023) shows an average for Kanto (Tokyo area, which includes Chiba) around ¥103,000 / month excluding tuition; see page tables for region‑by‑region comparison: Study in Japan: A Guide for U.S. Students (2023). Housing varies widely: national average rents for students are ~¥41,000/month, while Tokyo levels average ~¥57,000/month according to the official site: Living Costs — Study in Japan. If you’ll commute or seek private apartments near popular stations, budget upward.

International Student Statistics

Times Higher Education (World University Rankings 2025) reports ≈9,992 students at CIT, a student‑to‑staff ratio ≈24.4, ≈2% international students, and a 15% F : 85% M gender ratio. See the current stats here: THE — Chiba Institute of Technology. For institutional snapshots and some legacy figures, the university’s “Facts & Figures” page offers downloadable PDFs (employment data, enrollment, etc.): Facts & Figures (CIT).

Career & Graduate Prospects

CIT’s applied focus tends to translate into strong employment outcomes in engineering‑heavy sectors (automotive, electronics, construction/architecture, IT, and robotics). You can see CIT’s long‑running collaboration culture in fuRo’s company projects (e.g., Panasonic’s RULO vacuum development and disaster‑response robotics) highlighted in the university’s English brochure (pp. 6–7): University Brochure (PDF). Because placement rates and employer lists can change year‑to‑year, check CIT’s “Facts & Figures” download area for employment data PDFs, and use your target department’s page to identify labs with the industry links you care about: Facts & Figures (CIT).

Why Shortlist CIT?

If your interests track robotics, space/planetary science, or solid, studio‑style engineering and design, CIT’s package is compelling: a main campus just outside Tokyo, a public‑facing tech hub at Skytree, serious research centers (fuRo and PERC), and a faculty line‑up that covers everything from classic mechanical and electrical to data‑centric computing and management science. Balance that with realistic living‑cost planning (¥), year‑round weather you can prep for, and exchange pathways to the U.S., Europe, and Asia—and you’ve got a focused, high‑impact study plan.

Useful Links (Official & English)

• CIT English Top (faculties, news): https://chibatech.jp/english/
• Campuses & Access Map: CIT Campuses
• Global (Exchange Partners): Exchange Agreement Partners
• Research Centers — PERC: PERC; fuRo: fuRo Top / Quince
• Tokyo Skytree Town® Campus: CIT Skytree Campus (EN)
• Facts & Figures (downloads): CIT Facts & Figures
• Student Services: CIT Student Services
• Weather (Chiba): WeatherSpark / JMA: Climate Normals
• Living Costs (¥): Study in Japan — Living Costs / U.S. Embassy Guide (2023)
• Student stats (independent): THE — Key Student Statistics