Application Guidelines

1. Eligibility for entry

All full-time undergraduate students and master’s degree students enrolled in the School of Political Science and Economics, the Graduate School of Political Science, or the Graduate School of Economics of Waseda University are eligible.
Entries will be divided into two categories: the “Graduate student category” and the “Undergraduate student category.” They will be further divided into two subcategories: “Theoretical Analysis and Statistical/Quantitative Analysis” and “History, Philosophy, and Other.” Please be sure to indicate the appropriate category when applying.

2. Expected essays and their topics

Entries must be related to Political Science, Economics, Global Political Economy, or Journalism and should be outstanding in conception and analysis. An excellent conception refers to the discovery and use of new data in an attempt to change the image and revise commonly held beliefs. Ideally, the structure of the essay should also include: 1) a review of previous research, 2) the theory you wish to argue for its validity, 3) logical reasoning, and 4) citations and references.
Please note, however, that new essays based on previous winners of the Waseda Society of Political Science and Economics Essay Competition (Most outstanding essays, outstanding essays, and honorable mentions) will not be accepted.

3. Entrants

Individuals or groups such as those from seminars may enter. However, only group members who fulfill the abovementioned criteria are eligible to apply. In the case of a group, administrative contact will be made only to the representative.

4. Period and place of essay submission

Period: January 7, 2026 (Wed) – January 8, 2026 (Thu), 17:00 (JST)
Place: Submit via Moodle to “The Waseda Society of Political Science and Economics Essay Competition (早稻田大學政治經濟學會論文コンクール).”
Note: Resubmission is not acceptable, so please check carefully before submission.

5. Essay details

(1) Entries (main text) should be 10,000 to 30,000 Japanese characters in length or 3,250 to 9,750 English words, 8 to 25 A4 pages, and 1,200 characters (or about 400 words in English) per page.
i. Charts are counted as part of the total characters/words (a chart is taken to be equivalent to 500 Japanese characters or 175 English words).
ii. No particular font is specified.
iii. Charts should not exceed 30% of the whole essay.
iv. Please note that if the character/word limit is substantially exceeded, the essay will be deemed ineligible.
v. Pages should be numbered in the middle at the bottom.
(2) Prepare a summary of approximately 1,200 characters (or about 400 words in English) on a single A4 page and submit it with your essay.
(3) Web entry form ( https://forms.office.com/r/LHbccuyX1H ) must be submitted as well during the application period. All fields must be completed, including the name of the faculty member who made the recommendation for your essay competition entry, and the names of five (5) faculty members whom you would like to have review your paper. Please note that if a form is not submitted, it will not be considered for review.
(4) Summary and main text of the essay must be submitted in data format (PDF) (non-returnable).

1) Submit the following two files (PDF) via Moodle to “The Waseda Society of Political Science and Economics Essay Competition (早稻田大學政治經濟學會論文コンクール).”
i. Summary on a single A4 page
ii. Main text
2) Each filename of the data must include the title of the essay, the name of the author/representative, and the contents of the file.
i. 2025_******_●●●●_summary.pdf
ii. 2025_******_●●●●_maintext.pdf
Please ensure that the total size of the two files does not exceed 50MB.

6. Selection of outstanding essays, their publication, and awards for authors

(1) One or two “Most outstanding essays (最優秀賞)” and several “outstanding essays (優秀賞)” will be selected for each of the categories.
i. To the recipient(s) of the most outstanding essay award (最優秀賞受賞者), the prize money is 100,000 yen
ii. To the recipient(s) of the outstanding essay award (優秀賞受賞者), the prize money is 50,000 yen
(2) Summaries and full essays will be published in a collection. In addition to a paper edition, the collection will be published online on the Society’s website ( https://wspse.w.waseda.jp/en/publications/essay_comp/ ) and registered in the Waseda University Repository ( https://waseda.repo.nii.ac.jp ).
By submitting an essay, you are deemed to have agreed to the aforementioned. However, you may decline to have your essay published electronically or registered in the Waseda University Repository by stating such a preference at the time of application.
(3) The winning essays will be published in the "Collection of Outstanding Essays," but the copyright of the essays published in the Collection will belong to the authors, and the Society will not ask for the transfer of the copyright.
(4) Publication in the Collection does not preclude submission to academic journals or contribution to academic books.
(5) The awards ceremony will be held during the graduation party on the day of the graduation ceremony (March 25, 2026) and/or at the beginning of the Welcome Symposium for New Students (early April, 2026,) but is subject to change.

7. Notes on essay submission

(1) Applicants must be supervised and recommended by one faculty member of the Faculty of Political Science and Economics.
(2) Any author-identifiable information, such as names, institutional affiliations, and acknowledgments must not be included in the summary and/or main text of the essay.
(3) All references must be listed at the end of the essay. The list should show which references are cited or referred to and where they can be found. Be sure to include the name, year of publication, publisher, and page number of works cited or referred to (e.g., Okuma, Azusa. Introduction to Political Economy, Waseda Shobo, 20XX, p.xx.).
(4) Add footnotes if necessary.
For further information on the format of references and footnotes, please refer to the Waseda Journal of Political Science and Economics (早稻田政治經濟學雜誌) or similar publications.
Please ensure that the total number of pages of the essay does not exceed 30 when combined with the main text, even though the characters/words in the summary, footnotes, and references are not counted.
(5) Data fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism of others’ works are strictly prohibited.
(6) An essay of which a substantial part has already been published elsewhere by the same author cannot be accepted.
(7) If you wish to use your own term papers and/or other works of yours as the basis for the essay you submit, please obtain approval from your academic advisor prior to submission.
(8) If you would like to refer to outstanding essays from previous years’ competitions, they may be viewed in the Lee Kun-Hee Commemorative Library (FPSE Student Library) on Floor B1 of Building 3 or in the central library. The collection for the AY 2020 competition and thereafter is available on the School of Political Science and Economics website and is also registered in the Waseda University Repository.
Society’s website: https://wspse.w.waseda.jp/en/publications/essay_comp/
Waseda University Repository: https://waseda.repo.nii.ac.jp
(9) In writing an essay, applicants must read at least one of the following introductory books or similar literature listed for each entry category for which they are applying.
[For applicants to the category of “Theoretical Analysis and Statistical/Quantitative Analysis”]
1) William, Thomson. A Guide for the Young Economist, MIT Press, 2011
2) Ethan, Bueno de Mesquita. Political Economy for Public Policy, Princeton University Press, 2016
[For applicants to the category of “History, Philosophy, and Other”]
1) Simon, Gunn, and Lucy, Faire, eds. Research Methods for History, Edinburgh University Press, 2016

8. For inquiries

School of Political Science and Economics Office (General Affairs Section)
[email protected]
03-3202-8353 (weekdays only)

guideline for applicants (PDF)