After entering UTokyo, people who want to experience international exchanges or study abroad are sometimes confused by the flood of information.
Information about various international programs and study abroad programs at UTokyo are often posted on websites of different faculties or institutions that are responsible for the specific program. It is difficult for students to see a succinct list of the programs and compare them.
Therefore, UT-BASE creates this article to systematically compile information on international programs on campus.
Language / international exchange
Curriculum
【GLP(lecture)】
◎ Overview:
● All classes are conducted in English
● Four facets that make up the program
・ [GEfIL Practical Research PHASE1 ・ PHASE2 (2 credits + 2 credits)]
Group work in an interdisciplinary / international team, active learning in English, interaction with international entrepreneurs and professionals, acquisition and practice of interdisciplinary research and presentation skills
・ [Global Leader Lecture (2 credits)]
Lectures by entrepreneurs and international experts, who are active on the front lines of the world
・ [GEfIL Overseas Program]
Participation in overseas program twice, with scholarships from supporting companies
・ [GEfIL common class subjects]
Class subjects that deepen the theme of practical research
● An official certificate will be granted from UTokyo after completing the program
◎ Target students: Undergraduate students
◎ Implementation period: from the autumn of 2nd year to the summer of 4th year (for PEAK students)
◎ Cost: Free (excluding study abroad expenses)
◎ Official website: https://www.glp.u-tokyo.ac.jp/glp/overview/
【UTokyo GUC (lecture)】
◎ Overview:
UTokyo Global Unit Courses (UTokyo GUC) is a short-term program for students around the world to gain what it is like to study at UTokyo. UTokyo students are also welcome to apply for the program.
Under this program, students can take lessons offered by UTokyo in English, and those who complete the program will be granted a "Global Unit" issued by the Global Campus Promotion Headquarters.
- What is a global unit?
・ Can be used as an activity of the international comprehensive ability certification system
・ 1 unit: 1 time 90 minutes x 10 times = 15 hours, 0.5 unit 1 time 90 minutes x 5 times = 7.5 hours
・ Issuance of certificate of completion (there is no regular credit issued by the faculty to which you belong)
◎ Target audience: Undergraduate students (graduate students are also welcomed for application)
◎ Implementation period: Mid-June to August
◎ Cost: JPY 50,000 per Unit / JPY 25,000 per 0.5 Unit
◎ Official website: https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/prospective-students/guc.html
Certification system / Event
【Go Global Gateway(International Comprehensive Ability Certification System)】
◎ Overview:
You will be awarded a certificate if you can reflect on the learning and experience necessary for acquiring international comprehensive ability, and carry them out. This is to certify that you have acquired the basic international comprehensive ability. To receive the certificate, it is necessary to register for this system and create a portfolio of activities in four fields on the dedicated website. In addition, it holds and introduces various international events such as lectures by UN staff, and provides free opportunities for online English conversation.
◎ Implementation period: Various events are held throughout the year.
◎ Target audience: Undergraduate students
◎ Cost: Certification is free. Many of the programs are also free.
◎ Official site: https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/adm/go-gateway/ja/index.html
【GS (Global Studies)】
◎ Overview:
At the Cross-disciplinary Program Global Studies, you can get an opportunity to study with exchange students from all over the world, especially students in the Global Studies in Asia Program (GSA, which is a sister program of GS), participate in various events, and plan events together. Examples of past events include a global career roundtable discussion by graduates of the College of Liberal Arts and a book review battle "Mini Bibliobattle" with international students.
◎ Target audience: In general, only students in the senior division of the Faculty of Liberal Arts can register and complete the program. However, students of UTokyo can participate in various related activities regardless of grade or affiliation.
◎ Cost: No registration fee.
◎ Official website: https://www.globalkomaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/international/learning/gs.html
[International Exchange in Komaba]
(Reference: https://note.com/ut_base/n/nf970ba992003)
<TGIF>
◎ Overview:
A student organization run mainly by Japanese students, international students, and PEAK students from UTokyo. "GI (Global Interaction) Lunch" is where you can enjoy lunch while interacting with international students and PEAK students in English. They distribute blue leaflets in front of the library every week on a fixed date, and host seasonal Halloween parties, Christmas parties, welcome trips, etc. Students outside the organization are free to participate in these activities. Currently, it continues activities online.
◎ Official site: http://tgifutokyo.web.fc2.com/j_index.html
<Globalization Office>
◎ Overview:
A school department that carries out activities to support students with various backgrounds in Komaba. It is located on the B1 floor of 21 KOMCEE West. Staff and student tutors who experience learning in international environments are always on site. This office holds events such as seminars, lectures, workshops, and field trips where students can interact and learn from each other.
◎ Open days: Monday-Friday
◎ Opening hours: 10: 00-17: 00
◎ Official website: https://www.globalkomaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/international_offices/globalization_office.html
On-site experience
【Experience activities】
◎ Overview:
Approximately 100 programs are held both in Japan and overseas. They include volunteering, international exchange experience, work experience, agriculture, forestry and fishery industry/regional experience, on-campus laboratory experience.
◎ Target audience: Undergraduate and graduate students
◎ Implementation period: Varies depending on each program.
◎ Cost: Varies depending on each program.
◎ Official website: https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ja/students/special-activities/h20.html
【Global praxis】
◎ Overview:
Courses offered by College of Liberal Arts for students to experience the environment of different languages and cultures, international exchange, and cultivate a global perspective.
There are various activities n this program such as…
・ Joint program with overseas educational institutions
・ Short-term overseas courses including joint tours and practical training with local students
・ Joint domestic courses with overseas students
The results obtained from such opportunities are acknowledged as credits.
◎ Target students: Undergraduate students ( In junior division they are listed under"global praxis", but in senior division they are listed as "senior global praxis")
◎ Implementation period: 7 to 14 days, usually held from August to September or February to March.
◎ Cost: Varies depending on each program. Also, the university sometimes subsidizes students who participate in certain programs.
◎ Official website: https://www.globalkomaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/outbound/study_abroad_programs/globalpraxis/
【FLY】
◎ Overview:
A program for self-education in which undergraduate students take a gap year and participate in long-term social activities such as volunteering outside the university, work experience, and international exchange activities immediately after enrollment. The university does not provide any plan, instead students plan their activities based on their own ideas.
◎ Target students Undergraduate students immediately after enrollment
◎ Implementation period: 1 year
◎ Cost: Depends on the program designed by the student.
◎ Official site: https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ja/students/special-activities/
◎ UT-BASE FLY program introduction article: https://ut-base.info/articles/28
◎ Recommended for these types of people:
・ People with independence
・ People with plans / People with experience of completing plans
・ People who do not know much about what they want to do at university
・ People who have a clear idea of what they want to do
Opportunities to support international students at the UTokyo
【Language exchange program】
◎ Overview:
After registering for the program, you can post your own information on the online bulletin board, and if you find an international student on campus you want to interact with, you can match with them by email, etc., and communicate in each other's mother tongue. Please refer to https://drive.google.com/file/d/1725U_8QsYoCCNzbQUEzHM9et6yqWw5Am/view (* ECCS cloud mail only) for the specific information on the exchange.
◎ Target students: Students and postdoctoral researchers belonging to UTokyo
◎ Implementation period: Registration is open in each semester.
◎ Official website: https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/adm/inbound/ja/life-interact-ac-le.html
【International Student Tutor (GS)】
◎ Overview:
International Student Tutor (GS Tutor) offers individual learning support and living support for international students (about 1 or 2 hours a week on average). Tutor students UTokyo will make a one-on-one pair with international students in the first year of the undergraduate program, in order to support their studies and research. Tutor students will also be paid a prescribed fee.
◎ Target audience: Undergraduate and graduate students
◎ Implementation period: One year (from April to March)
◎ Official website (recruitment materials for 2022): https://www.globalkomaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/news/20220201-01.html * Recruitment for 2022 is open now and the deadline is May 11th!
【FACE Program (under the administration of the International Student Support Office)】
◎ Overview:
A face-to-face program for international students studying at UTokyo to interact one-on-one with Japanese volunteers through Japanese and deepen mutual understanding. The FACE office of the International Student Support Office will make one-on-one "pairings" between international students and volunteers and contact them to decide the initial "meet-up" date. After that, the first "meet-up" will be held at the International Student Support Office. Then, considering the wishes and circumstances of each person, the FACE office will continue with further activities.
◎ Target students: International students in UTokyo
◎ Implementation period: The normal registration date is Monday.
◎ Official site: https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/adm/inbound/ja/life-interact-ac-facev.html
Study abroad (for all students)
University-wide Student Exchange Program (USTEP)
◎ Overview:
A study abroad program in which students from UTokyo and UTokyo's partner universities (overseas universities with which UTokyo has signed a student exchange agreement) exchange for one semester to one year. Instead of accepting students from partner universities without collecting tuition fees, if students at the UTokyo pay the tuition fees to the UTokyo, they can take classes and receive research guidance at the partner universities without paying the tuition fees at the study abroad destination.
◎ Target students: Students from any faculty or graduate school can apply as long as they meet the requirements.
◎ Requirements: Language requirements and faculties to which you belong are often specified by partner schools. It is recommended to read the fact sheet that presents the conditions the accepted students and confirm the requirements.
◎ Selection: It is necessary to pass the internal selection and the selection at the partner school.
◎ Implementation period:
One semester or one year is a common study abroad period. If you wish to study abroad for one year, in principle, it will be one year from the fall semester, but for universities where the spring semester is the first semester of academic background, you can study abroad for one year from the start of the spring semester.
◎ Cost: If you pay the tuition fee to UTokyo, you do not need to pay it to the university you are going to study at. Travel expenses and living expenses are in principle covered by yourself, but you can apply for a scholarship specific to the program, which covers about 50,000 to 100,000 yen a month. Another option is to apply for a private study abroad scholarship.
◎ Official site: https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/adm/go-global/ja/program-list-USTEP.html
◎ List of partner schools: https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/adm/go-global/ja/program-list-USTEP-list.html
University-wide Short-term Study Abroad Programs
◎ Overview:
They are divided into three categories: short-term programs (summer / winter program) conducted by universities overseas, programs in collaboration with partner universities that don’t require additional tuition fees, and programs planned for UTokyo students by the Global Campus Promotion Headquarters. There are various components such as lectures, fieldwork, group work and exchanges with local students, language learning, and cultural experiences.
・ Summer program & Winter program: Some are implemented by faculty members of UTokyo in collaboration with partner universities, and some request partner universities to customize the program for students of UTokyo.
・ Other programs: Programs implemented by UTokyo's affiliated university federations and universities and institutions in Japan and overseas, with participation vacancies for UTokyo students.
◎ Target students: Undergraduate and graduate students
◎ Implementation period: Many are held during summer and spring vacation.
◎ Selection: Yes
◎ Cost: Varies depending on each program. Scholarships will be provided, but some fees will be at your own expense
.◎ Official website: https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/adm/go-global/ja/program-list-short.html
Other study abroad programs from 1 semester to 1 year
UC Dispatch Program
◎ Overview:
A study abroad program that dispatches students from UTokyo for one semester to one year in cooperation with two schools, the University of California, Berkeley and Davis.
◎ Target students: Undergraduate and graduate students
◎ Implementation schedule (in past years
・ Application: Early March-April
・ Notification of selection results: during April
UC Berkeley:
Fall Semester: August-December
Spring Semester: January-May
UC Davis:
Fall Quarter: September-December
Winter Quarter: January-March
Spring Quarter: March-June
Lingnan University Dispatch Program
It will not be implemented in 2021.
Other overseas programs
There should be an overseas internship program every year, but there is no information for 2022 at this moment.
Offices related to international exchange
◎ Introduction page of offices related to international exchange in Komaba: https://www.globalkomaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/international_offices/
◎ Summary of Web page links for each office
・ International Exchange Center: https://www.globalkomaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/international_offices/message.html
・ Globalization Office: https://www.globalkomaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/international_offices/globalization_office/
・ International Student Counseling Room: https://www.globalkomaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/international_offices/advisory_room.html
・ International Research Cooperation Office: https://www.globalkomaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/international_offices/cooperation.html
・ International Exchange Support Team: https://www.globalkomaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/international_offices/section.html
・ Center for Global Education (Komaba Branch): https://www.globalkomaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/international_offices/komaba_office.html