Study Abroad - Programs - Exchanges
Japan: Soka University Exchange Program
Norton/Ikeda Scholarship
Applications will be due in November, 2008.
Program Overview
Spend a full year (fall and then spring semester) studying in Japan through a partnership/exchange between the University of Delaware and Soka University. Two deserving student participants each year will receive generous scholarships covering full tuition and housing for this exchange. Students will be expected to pay for their own airfare and miscellaneous living expenses.
At beautiful Soka University, located in Hachioji City, a suburb of Tokyo and home to many colleges and universities, students will engage in intensive Japanese language study, and live with other international and Japanese students in dormitories within walking distance of campus. Students will also be able to take advantage of the many student clubs and teams available on campus. Students will have the opportunity to take a course or courses their second semester in a subject other than Japanese, depending on their level of preparation.
General Info/ Student Life
Soka University is located in Hachioji, a suburb of Tokyo and major university community, and founded on the principles of humanistic education. Standing among the verdant forests of the Tama foothills, the spacious, 810,000-square meter campus represents an ideal environment for scholarship and for the fostering of genuinely capable, contributive individuals.
Soka University was launched, with four departments in three faculties—the faculties of Economics, Law and Letters (housing the departments of English Literature and Sociology). Since then, Soka University has made remarkable development in every area including the creation of the Institute of the Japanese Language, offering Japanese language instruction for international students.
Currently, Soka University's international exchange program is one of the most vigorous in Japan. The university has established exchange agreements with 105 universities in 44 countries and regions of the world as of April 2009.
More than 50,000 students have graduated from Soka University since its founding and are now making their own contributions to Japanese and international society. The present student enrollment in the university is over 8,000.
Language : English and Japanese
Calendar : Fall semester runs from early September through January with a winter break in December. Spring semester starts in April and ends in July. The deadline for applying to study at Soka for the upcoming academic year is November 7th .
Visas and Passports: All international students enrolled at Japanese universities are required to obtain a student visa for the duration of their stay in Japan . A Student Visa application can only be completed once students have received their Certificate of Enrollment from Soka University.
Transportation : There is a public transport network available, primarily rail service, through Hachioji. Many facilities on the University campus are within walking distance of each other.
Housing : On- campus housing is available and encouraged. Please note that Soka University expects exchange students interested in staying on campus abide by the rules for comfortable communal living (for specific details, refer to Soka homepage).
Course: Courses are offered through two units: the Institute of Japanese Language (intensive Japanese instruction) and the Japan-Asia Studies program (mostly English instruction). Students are expected to take a combination of both types of classes. Participants will also take a placement test upon arrival at Soka University to determine their level of Japanese proficiency for placement in Japanese courses. Course levels in Japanese language range from elementary to advanced. It is the student's responsibility to secure the necessary UD transfer credit permissions upon return.
Costs: Tuition and room and board costs are covered by the scholarship; no fees are paid to UD.
Requirements
The deadline for applying to study at Soka for the upcoming calendar year (spring and fall semesters) is November 7 .
If you would like to apply, please submit the following on or before November 7:
- the online application form found under “Apply Now” in the menu to the left, and
- two recommendations from UD professors, ONE of which should be from a Japanese language instructor (After you have submitted an application, ask your recommenders to complete the recommendation form found under “Information for Recommenders" in the menu to the left.)
Eligible students must be UD undergraduates who will have completed JAPN 107 by no later than fall semester of the current year.
Contact
Dr. Mark Miller
Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures
30 East Main Street, 327 Jastak-Burgess Hall
Newark DE 19716
(302) 831-0653
markm@udel.edu
Marion Bernard-Amos
Asst. Director, Center for International Studies
FLLT Study Abroad Programs
Room 101, Elliott Hall, 26 East Main Street
Newark DE 19716
Newark DE 19716
mba@udel.edu
