Study Abroad in Japan

Japanese majors are strongly encouraged to spend their junior year at the Associated Kyoto Program or another approved year-long study-abroad program in Japan. East Asian studies majors and Japanese minors are also encouraged to spend at least one semester at an approved program in Japan. Approved programs in Japan offer a combination of intensive Japanese courses and courses about Japanese culture and society taught in English, and a maximum of 2 credits in language courses and culture courses each may be applied to majors and minors in Japanese and East Asian Studies from one semester of studying abroad. Talk to a Japanese language faculty member about your specific case.

Initial Considerations
  1. Students considering a study abroad in Japan should consult with a Japanese language faculty member.
  2. All sophomores who are planning to study abroad should attend an information session by Center for Global Education in early Fall semester. See this page for details.
  3. Japanese program provides an information session in the Fall semester for students who are interested in studying in Japan.
  4. All sophomores who intend to study abroad in the junior year must submit an application form in early Winter. They need to have a major declared by early January, so the major advisor can sign off the application.
  5. Some programs have early deadline, as early as January, for Year, Fall, and Spring programs. Rolling admission means that you should apply early before the program is full (don’t wait for the dealine).

 

Junior Year Abroad (JYA) & Junior Semester Abroad (JSA)

There are five approved programs for Junior Year Abroad (JYA) and Junior Semester Abroad (JSA). Refer to Off-Campus Study Opportunities: Japan, where you can read program evaluations written by Bates students who participated (Log in required). Also see here for the list of students who participated in past years. Two programs in Japan have a Spring semester (March – late July) later than Bates schedule, aligning with Japanese university’s calendar.

  • AKP (Associated Kyoto Program) at Doshisha University, Kyoto
    Japanese Language Program Blog
    Year (September – April), Fall (September – December), Spring (January – April)
  • Waseda University, Tokyo, through Earlham College
    Year (September – July) or Spring (March – July). Application deadline is the beginning of January, even for Spring-only applicants. Fall-only option does not work with the college’s calendar. Year students will have Cultural Internship between the two semesters.
  • Nanzan University, Nagoya, through IES
    Year (September – May), Fall (September – December), Spring (January – May)
  • Kansai Gaidai University, Hirakata (Osaka), Japan
    Year (September – May), Fall (September – December), Spring (January – May)
  • Kanda University, Tokyo, through IES
    Year (September – July), Fall (September – December), Spring (March – July)
Bates Fall Semester in Japan was last offered in 2007

 

Summer Programs

Students have participated in summer programs in Japan and in the U.S. in the past. Some programs popular among Bate students include Princeton in Ishikawa (PII), Hokkaido International Foundation (HIF), Middlebury Language Schools. KCJS (Kyoto Consortium of Japanese Studies) also offers a summer program. Application is typically due at the beginning of the Winter semester.

Most summer programs are self-funded (with the exception of Critical Language Scholarship Program with application deadline in October; and Kathryn Davis Fellowships for Peace to study at Middlebury Language Schools with application deadline in December.

See here for the list of students who participated in past years. This list of summer programs may be helpful. Students who wish to have a summer program credit counted towards a major/minor requirement should discuss the program choice with Japanese language faculty before they apply for a program.

Scholarships