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Kyoto
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Kyoto
Kyoto offers ample opportunities to experience both classical and contemporary Japanese civilization.
Japan's capital from 794 to 1868, Kyoto's rich textures of
ancient and modern embody Japanese culture and spirit. The Associated Kyoto Program (AKP) is co-sponsored by several major American colleges and universities: Amherst, Bates, Bucknell, Carleton, Colby, Connecticut, Middlebury, Mount Holyoke, Oberlin, Pomona, Smith, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Whitman, and Williams. The program accepts approximately 45 students from the member institutions each year and utilizes facilities at Doshisha University.
Dates: Academic year: early September to late April. There are several extended breaks during the year.
Fields of Study: Japanese language, humanities, social sciences.
Eligibility: Required 9.0 GPA overall and in Japanese language courses. Minimum of one year of college-level Japanese at Pomona; some of the participants in the program have had two or more years of Japanese. At least one course on Japan, preferably in pre-modern Japanese history. Pomona recommends the following courses for the history requirement: History 60, plus one of the following: Art History 151 (Scripps); History 167 or 168; ALL 170, 171, or 174; Politics 161; or Religious Studies 103.
The Kyoto Program has an early application deadline;
applications are due in late January. The application process
also includes a one-hour interview with a visiting AKP representative.
Students must submit a copy of a valid passport at the
time of application.
Pomona applicants are part of a competitive national pool.
Applicants should possess the flexibility to adapt to a different culture, the social and emotional maturity necessary for living with a host family, as well as the intellectual sophistication and seriousness to benefit fully from the program.
Number of Students: Approximately 2–4. Pomona students are part of a national applicant pool. Total group approximately 45.
Academic Program: The academic year is divided into two semesters of 12 weeks each. Each semester all students take intensive Japanese language, which is taught at a number of different levels by Japanese instructors (2.0 Pomona course credits). In addition, each semester students select two classes from at least five available electives (1.0 Pomona course credit each).
The elective courses are taught in English by visiting American faculty members from AKP member institutions and scholars who reside in Kyoto. Specific courses vary from year to year in accordance with the availability of staff, but the choices usually include art history, economics, literature, history, politics, and religion. Students may make individual arrangements to take non-credit classes in Japanese traditional arts and crafts at their own expense. Participants are also encouraged to join undergraduate activities at Doshisha University.
Living Arrangements: Students live and take their meals in homes.
Students are responsible for paying the program deposit to
AKP directly and will be refunded directly, in yen, at the
start of the program.
Faculty Liaison: Peter Flueckiger
Internet Link:
www.associatedkyotoprogram.org
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Tokyo
Located in suburban Tokyo, International Christian University (ICU) is a distinguished liberal arts institution. ICU is committed to international cooperation, a priority reflected by the university’s large number of foreign students and faculty. Both Japanese and English are used regularly in the classroom and daily campus life. ICU’s superb Japanese language instruction offers Pomona students a special opportunity to do intensive Japanese work. In the classroom, language laboratory, and daily life, students will improve their language skills and develop confidence in intercultural communication.
Dates: Fall semester: early July to late November.
Fields of Study: Japanese language, Japanese history, area studies, culture, economics, literature.
Eligibility: Applicants must have junior class standing and have taken at least one year of college-level Japanese or the equivalent. 9.0 GPA required. Extensive ICU application
and a copy of a valid passport is required. Students
should not submit a Hokkaido homestay form at the time of
application; The OSA will contact students in May to
provide the homestay form. Because of lengthy visa
processes, students should have a passport valid for six
months beyond the end of the proposed semester abroad at
the time of application.
Number of Students: 6 maximum. Total university enrollment approximately 2,900.
Academic Program: The fall academic program at ICU is divided into two components: a summer session and the autumn term. The summer session consists of a six-week intensive language program (1.5 Pomona course credits). During the autumn term, students take 6.0
ICU quarter units of language instruction at levels
J1-J6(1.0 Pomona course credit). Students may not enroll
in the intensive Japanese program. Students testing into
Advanced Japanese 1 should enroll in three courses:
Reading, Writing, and Speaking. In Advanced Japanese 2
students take three courses: Aural and Oral, Reading and
Discussion, and Writing and Presentation.
Students also take three electives from the Japan Studies Program (courses taught in English), totaling 9.0 quarter units (0.5 Pomona course credit each). Students earn an overall total of 4.0 Pomona course credits. Electives include history, culture, literature, and economics
and a list of previous courses is available in the OSA.
Students should note that ICU awards only whole letter
grades.
In between the summer session and the fall term students
participate in the two-week Hokkaido Homestay Program
organized through the Hokkaido International Foundation.
Living Arrangements: During the summer session,
students stay in one of the ICU dormitories. During the
autumn term students may choose between a homestay
placement with a Japanese family or an off-campus student
residence. Pomona provides a meal and fall term housing allowance.
Faculty Liaison: Sam Yamashita
Internet Link:
www.icu.ac.jp
http://subsite.icu.ac.jp/ieeo/exchange_invitee/
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