Aoyama Gakuin University (Agu)

AOYAMA GAKUIN UNIVERSITY (AGU) STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM ~Guide for Exchange Partner Institutions~

-December 2011-

1. ACADEMIC YEAR Aoyama Gakuin University has two semesters, and the following is a typical academic year: <1st Semester> 1st week of April Orientation week for exchange students 2nd week of April~ 1st Semester classes begin 3rd week of July 1st Semester classes end, Exam period begins 1st week of August 1st Semester Ends 2nd week of August~ Summer Break <2nd Semester> 3rd week of Sep Orientation week for exchange students Last week of Sep 2nd Semester classes begin Dec 23~1st week of Jan Winter Break 2nd week of Jan Classes resume 3rd week of Jan 2nd Semester classes end Last week of Jan~1st week of Feb Final Exam period

2. PERIOD OF EXCHANGE STUDY At Aoyama Gakuin University, exchange students can start their study either from the 1 st Semester or the 2nd Semester, for one semester only or for one academic year. However, students should remember that many exchange students start their study from the 1st Semester, since the number of courses available at the beginning of 2nd Semester is limited (please read 5.ACADEMIC INFORMATION for more information about course availability).

3. ELIGIBILITY Applicants for AGU exchange program should: (1) be a student at one of AGU partner institutions; (2) have a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.5 or above (4.0 scale); (3) have the Japanese language ability equivalent to Level 4 (or N5) Japanese Language Proficiency Test (please read 4. APPLICATION for more details). Note: Applicants with Japanese citizenship can also be accepted as exchange students. Those who have both Japanese and foreign citizenships should apply as a Japanese citizen.

4. APPLICATION (1) Application Deadline 1st Semester (April) --- November 15 every year 2nd Semester (September) --- April 30 every year

(2) Application Documents

2 Available Online: http://web.iec.aoyama.ac.jp/english/exchange/materials.html

(3) Japanese Language Proficiency Requirement Although AGU offers some courses taught in English, the majority of courses (including Japanese language classes) are taught in Japanese. Exchange students must have the Japanese language ability equivalent to Level N5 (Level 4 in old version) Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT; standardized language exam conducted by Japan Educational Exchanges and Services). According to Japan Educational Exchanges and Services, N5 (level 4) student “has mastered the basic elements of grammar, knows around 100 Kanji and 800 words, and has the ability to engage in simple conversation and to read and write short, simple sentences. This level is normally reached after studying Japanese for around 150 hours and after completion of the first half of an elementary course”.

(4) Selecting the Academic Department Although exchange students can take courses from any department (please read the next section for more details), they need to belong to one of 8 academic departments at Aoyama Gakuin University, and the student`s department will be shown on the final transcript. Students should select a department based on their field of study or on the courses they intend to take the most from.

5. ACADEMIC INFORMATION (1) Courses Available for Exchange Students Exchange students are allowed to enroll in most courses (except some restricted courses) from any department, regardless of the department they belong to. They are usually enrolled in required courses for exchange students (see the next section) along with some regular academic courses, studying with Japanese students. Many courses at AGU start in April and continue through the academic year (year-long courses). If a student is studying for Spring semester only or starting his/her study in Fall, he/she will NOT be awarded credits for the year-long courses. Majority of courses related to Japanese literature, History, and English literature are year- long. There are a number of one semester courses offered each semester, including Japanese language courses for exchange students. Course listings for the 1st (spring) Semester becomes available in March, and the list of one semester courses starting in the 2nd (fall) Semester is available around June each year. Please note that the course offerings are similar every year, and the course information from the previous academic year would give the applicants fairly good ideas of what courses would be offered in the coming year.

(2) Required Courses for Exchange Students Exchange Students are required to enroll in four Japanese language courses designed for exchange students (except for Science major students – science courses are offered in Sagamihara campus, and Japanese language courses are in Aoyama campus). Each course is taught by a different instructor, and each of them meet once a week (total four times a week, each one for 1.5 hours). Students will be divided into 6 Levels (pre-intermediate to advanced), according to the result of a placement test conducted during orientation week. Although some instructors understand English, all classes will be conducted in Japanese. In addition, “Japanese Culture and

3 Society” (“Nihon Jijo”) is offered (once a week). Students will be divided into 6 Levels for this course as well (corresponds with 6 Levels of Japanese language course). Although the main purpose of this course is a study of Japanese language, many aspects of Japanese culture and customs will be discussed in this course. In addition to the Japanese language courses, exchange students are encouraged to take a Japanology course every semester (once a week). “Japanology A”, which is offered in the 1st semester, is taught by 3 instructors, each covering topics on Japanese economy, education, science, language, etc. “Japanology B”, offered in the 2nd semester, will cover various traditional arts in Japan (e.g. tea ceremony, flower art, calligraphy) by bringing in a number of guest speakers who specializes in those arts. Although some (occasional) English translation is provided, Japanology is taught mainly in Japanese.

(3) Japanese Class Level Placement When students continue their study through the following semester, they may or may not move up the Japanese class level. There are rules and regulations in regard to the level placement of Japanese language classes. Students will take only one placement test at the beginning, and they will move up one level in their second semester unless they fail one or more of 4 courses they are supposed to take. If the student is in either Level 1 or Level 2 and fail even one, they MUST repeat the same level the following semester. For example, if a student passed Japanese IA, IB, and IC but failed ID, he/she must repeat all of them – IA, IB, IC and ID. If the student is in Level 3 or higher and fail one or more courses, they will repeat only the ones they failed. For example, if a student fail in 3D, he/she will take 4A, 4B, 4C and 3D in the following semester.

(4) Exemption of Required Courses Although Japanese language courses and Japanese Culture & Society course are required courses, students may be allowed not to take those courses for the following reasons: - the student needs to take other course(s) as a requirement at the home university, and it conflicts with the timetable for the required courses at AGU. - the student is a science major, and is taking most of his/her courses at Sagamihara campus, which makes it difficult to take required courses at Aoyama campus - the credits for the required courses cannot be transferred to the home university - the student is a graduate student, and he/she needs to focus on his/her academic research - other reasons approved by the International Exchange Center (5) Courses Instructed in English Some of the regular academic courses are instructed in English. They are open for both regular Japanese students and international students. For a full list of courses in English, please contact the exchange program coordinator. Moreover, some of the courses instructed in Japanese use reading materials in English, and/or allow students to write assignment papers in English.

(6) Required Course Load and Sample Course Lists Exchange students are required to enroll in at least 28 credits /year (14 credits / semester). Japanese language courses total 12 credits / year (6 per semester). Therefore, exchange students need to enroll in at least 20 more

4 credits / year (10 per semester) in addition to these required courses. A Year-long course is usually worth 4 credits, and semester-long 2 credits. Following are sample course lists of English-speaking exchange students:

Sample 1 (Student in Pre-intermediate Japanese level) <1st Semester> Course Title Number of Credits Course Length Japanese IA 1 1 semester Japanese IB 1 1 semester Japanese IC 1 1 semester Japanese ID 1 1 semester Japanese Culture & Society I 2 1 semester Japanology A 2 1 semester International Management I (English) 2 1 semester Seminar by Prof. Evanoff* (English) 8 Year-long *International Dialogue on Environmental Issue Calligraphy (Japanese) 4 Year-long

<2nd Semester> Japanese IIA 1 1 semester Japanese IIB 1 1 semester Japanese IIC 1 1 semester Japanese IID 1 1 semester Japanese Culture & Society II 2 1 semester Japanology B 2 1 semester Calligraphy (Japanese) N/A Year-long Japanese Law and Society B (Japanese) 2 1 semester Total Credits: 32

Sample 2 (Student in Intermediate Japanese level) <1st Semester> Course Title Number of Credits Course Length Japanese IIA 1 1 semester Japanese IIB 1 1 semester Japanese IIC 1 1 semester Japanese IID 1 1 semester Japanese Culture & Society II 2 1 semester Japanology A 2 1 semester

5 International Organizations I (English) 2 1 semester Translation and Culture (Japanese) 2 1 semester *Lecture is in Japanese, but reading materials are in English

Seminar on Communication (Japanese) 4 Year-long *Lecture is in Japanese, but assignments can be written in English

<2nd Semester> Japanese IIIA 1 1 semester Japanese IIIB 1 1 semester Japanese IIIC 1 1 semester Japanese IIID 1 1 semester Japanese Culture & Society III 2 1 semester Japanology B 2 1 semester Seminar on Communication (Japanese) N/A Year-long *Lecture is in Japanese, but assignments can be written in English

Japanese Policy on International Cultural Exchange(Japanese) 2 1 semester *Lecture is in Japanese, but paper assignments can be written in English

International Organizations II (English) 2 1 semester Music and Culture (Japanese) 2 1 semester *Lecture is in Japanese, but paper assignments can be written in English

Total Credits: 30

(7) Seminar The “Seminar”, as the word is used in Japanese universities today, has its roots in the European tutorial system. It is customarily pronounced “ze-mi” in the German way, and consists of a relatively small number of students, typically 10 to 15, who study or conduct research under the guidance of an instructor. The seminar courses are similar to independent study courses offered at North American universities. Most seminar instructors hold summer and spring study camps for 3 or 4 days each outside the campus. Seminar courses are much heavier in workload than regular courses, and most students spend 2 to 5 times as many hours each week on preparation for their seminars. Some of the professors of seminars in the Department of English Literature and the School of International Politics and Economics are English speakers (although lectures and discussions might be conducted in Japanese). Many exchange students found the seminar as an ideal environment to improve their language skills as well as making Japanese friends. Please note, however, that enrolling in Seminar courses need special permission.

(8) Number of Class as per Week Majority of courses have the class lecture once a week only (1.5 hours). Foreign language courses (except Japanese language course) and the seminars (see the previous section for details) usually have classes twice a week.

6 (9) Selecting and Registering for Courses Exchange students do not need to register for courses prior to their departure. There will be a Course Registration Orientation during the orientation week, and the students select and register courses with the help of Japanese student volunteers and IEC staff, after the orientation. However, students are free to take a look at course offerings on the course search system online (http://aogaku-syllabus.jp/). When using the system, students should remember that 1st semester means Spring semester, and 2nd semester means Fall semester.

(10)Grading System Students are evaluated on the basis of the student’s performance in examinations --- written test, thesis, term- paper, presentation and/or others. The highest possible score is 100 points. Scores of 60 and above are passing and scores of 59 and below are failing. A letter grade is given based on the following criteria.

Score 100－90 89－80 79－70 69－60 59 or below Absence Official transcript AA A B C not indicated Report to student XX X

6. PRIOR TO DEPARTURE (1) Pre Departure Time Line <1st Semester Admission> Mid Nov Exchange Application & Dormitory Application Deadline Late Dec Confirmation of the student’s admission is sent to partner institution Late Jan Deadline for Airport-Dormitory Shuttle Bus Service sign up Feb Certificate of Eligibility is issued Late March ~ beginning of April Students arrive at Tokyo <2nd Semester Admission> End of Apr. Exchange Application & Dormitory Application Deadline Late May Confirmation of the student’s admission is sent to partner institution Mid-End of July Deadline for Airport-Dormitory Shuttle Bus Service sign up Early August Certificate of Eligibility is issued Mid September Students arrive at Tokyo

(2) Immigration Procedure All exchange students (except for those who have a Japanese passport) need a Student Visa, in order to study at Japanese Universities. The Japanese University that accepts the student will usually apply for an immigration paper called the Certificate of Eligibility, on behalf of the student. This official paper issued by the immigration bureau of Japan is a certificate to prove that the student is eligible to receive a student visa. As soon as the certificate is issued, AGU will send it to the international office at the student’s home institution. An exchange coordinator at the home institution or the student him/herself should bring the certificate to a local Japanese

7 consulate or embassy and apply for the student visa. Please note that a student with Japanese citizenship does not need to go through any immigration procedure, before or after their arrival (the student does need a Japanese passport issued).

(3) Health Insurance Foreign residents are eligible to enroll in the National Health Insurance, just like any Japanese citizens. All exchange students are required to enroll in the National Health Insurance, after their arrival. It will cover 70% of the medical charge (except for some cost not covered by this system; e.g. acupuncture, cosmetic surgery, etc), and the student is required to pay for the rest (30%). Some exchange students buy an overseas traveler ’s insurance in their home country as well, but it is not required by AGU. The monthly fee for the National Health Insurance varies depends on the area in which the student lives (average 1500yen /mon).

(4) Accommodation Many exchange students live in student dormitories. Most of them will be placed in private dormitories located approx. 50min commute from the campus. Student dormitories have some rules including curfew, and students who are not comfortable with those rules choose to find apartments or share houses on their own. Apartments usually require a Japanese guarantor, and our office will sign the contract as a guarantor. In this case however, the student is required to pay for the JEES Renter’s Insurance program (4500yen for a year). In Tokyo, there are also many guest houses (furnished houses shared by Japanese or foreign residents). Guest houses do not require expensive key money or guarantor as apartments do, and they are easy to move in and out. If the student wishes to do homestay, there is a homestay agency that they can contact (JTB Homestay Japan). Students should contact this agency individually. Please note that homestay tends to be more expensive than living in dormitories or guest houses. For more information about dormitory, share (guest) houses and homestay, please refer to our Housing Information handbook, available online: http://web.iec.aoyama.ac.jp/english/exchange/housing.html

7. ARRIVING IN TOKYO (1) Arrival Date Most students who will move into the dormitory arrive on the day of our Airport-Dormitory Shuttle Bus Service, which is around 2-3 days before the start of the orientation week. Students are free to arrive before this date, but students who are moving into a student dormitory should make sure that the dormitory check-in is possible on that day (some dorms are not open for check-in until a few days before the orientation week). Also, students need to make sure that they receive the Certificate of Eligibility and obtain their student visa before their departure. They should not, therefore, arrange their plane ticket to arrive too early. If a student has a special reason to arrive before they receive the Certificate of Eligibility, they should consult the International Exchange Center at AGU.

8 (2) Orientation Week Orientation sessions for exchange students will cover the following topics: -Alien Registration Procedure -National Health Insurance -Immigration Procedure for traveling outside Japan during the exchange study period -AGU International Exchange Foundation Scholarship -Part-time Work -Course Registration -Earthquakes

During the Orientation Week, there are also various events such as: -Japanese Language Placement Test -Day Trip -Meeting tutors (student volunteers) and Campus Tour -Welcome Luncheon

(3) Support for Exchange Students (a) The International Exchange Center (IEC) The student exchange program at AGU is mainly handled by the International Exchange Center. Most IEC staff are bilingual (Japanese and English) with cross-cultural experiences. IEC staff will conduct various orientation sessions upon the students’ arrival and be in contact with the exchange students throughout their study period, providing the support and the information they need. (b) Exchange Student Advisors Every year, two or three faculty members (one of them is English-speaking) are appointed as the exchange student advisors to provide advices on academic and personal matters. (c) Tutor (Student Volunteers) Japanese student (or regular international student) will be assigned to every 2 – 3 exchange students, to provide peer support throughout the year (at some universities, they are called buddies). They are highly motivated students who volunteered to help international students. At AGU, student interest for becoming a tutor is very high (more than 100 applicants for about 30 positions), and many of the tutors remain in contact with the exchange students after they go back to their home countries.

(4) Social and Cultural Events IEC will organize various social and cultural events for international students throughout the academic year. In 2010, we had the following events: -Monthly International Coffee Meetings (social gatherings where international students and Japanese students meet and chat over coffee, play games, etc. On average, 100 students attend in each meeting.) -Field Trips (April 2010: Japanese Fan making and strawberry harvesting in Chiba, Nov 2010: Udon noodle

9 making, River rafting and grape vineyard visit in Saitama) -Japanese Traditional Candy Art Lesson -Japanese Traditional Dance Workshop -Watching Kabuki and Sumo -Farewell Party

(5) Money Matters (a) Living in Tokyo Tokyo is considered to be one of the most expensive cities to live in. However, there are many discount stores (e.g. 100 yen shops, similar to dollar stores) and reasonable restaurants. Shibuya, the area where AGU is located, has a large shopping district for young people, and the students can find a number of shops with reasonable prices within a walking distance. The following list shows the average prices for various items: Lunch (on campus cafeteria) \230─\480 Lunch (restaurants) \700─\1,000 Fast food burger combo \400─\600 Pizza (25cm) \1,600─\2,500 Dinner (restaurants) \1,000─\2,000 Coffee (Medium Size) \300─\360 Mobile phone (student rate) \2,100─\6,300/month Movie (student rate) \1,500 Magazine \200─\420 Public Bus fare \200 Taxi \710+ *Prices given are on average (b) Scholarships AGU offers the full-year JASSO scholarships (80,000yen per month) to some of the partner institutions. However, the number of the spots available is limited, and a priority is given to partners with larger number of students being exchanged. In recent years, JASSO started offering 3-month limited scholarships around November. For this scholarship, exchange students can apply for it regardless of which partner university they are from. Number of scholarship spots available varies every year, and the recipients receive the scholarship money for the months of January, February and March only. AGU has its own scholarship for international students, called AGU International Exchange Foundation Scholarship (100,000yen/year). Exchange students can apply to this scholarship, a few months after their arrival. There will be an interview (conducted in Japanese) as a part of selection process, which is usually very competitive. Please note that all the above scholarships are not available for students who hold Japanese citizenship.

(c) Part-Time Work

10 Exchange students can work part-time (maximum 28 hours a week) on or off campus, with a proper work permit. The work permit can be obtained at the Immigration Bureau (students must attend the orientation session on part-time work first). About 60% of exchange students have part-time jobs --- on-campus bookstore, language schools, café and restaurants, etc.

8. AOYAMA GAKUIN CHAT ROOM Aoyama Gakuin Chat Room is an international lounge where international students and Japanese students can communicate each other in foreign languages. Currently, the Chat Room has English sessions, Chinese sessions, Korean sessions and Japanese sessions available.

English, Chinese, Korean Sessions In English sessions, English-speaking exchange students can work as “Chat Leaders” who facilitates local students practice their English speaking skills. Chat Leaders will be paid some remuneration for each session (in 2011, 900yen for 40 min. session). For students who are interested in working at Chat Room, an information session will be held during the arrival orientation week.

Japanese Sessions In Japanese sessions, exchange students can practice their Japanese speaking skills with Japanese Chat Leaders. In each session, there are 3 levels – Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. Participating in these sessions is free of charge. Please note that the students will not receive any academic credits from attending these sessions.

F requently A sked Q uestions Q: Since AGU offer Japanese language classes and have some English courses, can we send students who have not studied Japanese language? A: No. The Japanese language classes we offer starts from pre-intermediate level, and are taught in Japanese, so the student needs to be able to understand simple Japanese lecture, to have reading and writing ability equivalent to N5 JLPT (see P2), to survive the lowest level of Japanese language class.

Q: My student is a science major. Since Japanese language courses are at Aoyama campus and science courses are at Sagamihara campus, does he need to study at both campuses? A: Aoyama campus and Sagamihara campus are approx. 1.5 hours apart. It is often difficult to schedule a timetable that allows the student enough time to commute back and forth between two campuses. Science students are therefore free to choose whether he/she is to mostly take science courses at Sagamihara and not taking Japanese language courses, or the other way around. Some science students in the past took courses at Aoyama campus for the first semester, and then took science courses at Sagamihara campus for the following semester.

Q: When do the students receive the official final transcript? A: For the students who end their exchange study at the end of Fall semester, the transcript will be sent to them

11 in late March. For the ones who end their study at the end of Spring semester, they will receive the transcript in late September. Students will receive the transcript in Japanese and in English (1 copy each), and their home universities receive 1 copy of English transcript.

Q: What happens if my student needs to take certain academic courses and their time schedules conflict with required Japanese language courses? A: If the student needs to take those academic courses as a requirement of his/her home university, that should be considered as the higher priority. The student should consult the International Exchange Center and submit a form called Request For Exemption of Required Courses.

Q: My student was placed in Level 1 (the lowest level) Japanese language classes, but he has already completed a few years of Japanese at our university. Can this be a mistake? A: Our Japanese language classes start from intermediate level (there is no beginner level). Most students placed in Level 4 to 6 are from Asian countries where people are familiar with Chinese characters. Majority of students in Level 5 and 6 have already passed N1 level of Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT).

Q: The academic year at Aoyama starts in April, but we are sending students in September, which is the second semester at Aoyama. Would our students have sufficient selections of courses to choose from? A: It depends on the students` field of study. The International Politics, Economics & Communication has a good selection of Fall semester courses. All courses in Japanese literature and History departments are year- long, meaning that the courses start in April and continue for one academic year (students who start in September CANNOT take year-long courses). All the other departments have average 20 to 30 Fall courses available. If the student must take courses from specific subject areas, please make sure that courses of the subject areas are offered (Please see http://aogaku-syllabus.jp/).

Q: My students cannot decide whether they want to study in Japan for one semester or for one academic year. Can they apply for one semester for now, and then extend for another semester after they live in Japan for a while? A: As long as the student number exchanged between our universities is balanced, that should not be a problem. There is a formal approval process for the extension however, and the student should speak with the International Exchange Center staff within two months after the start of each semester. If the student number exchanged is out of balance (meaning that we receive more students than we send out), it may not be possible. Please contact the coordinator at the International Exchange Center.

12 CONTACT INFORMATION

AOYAMA GAKUIN UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE CENTER 4-4-25 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8366 JAPAN TEL: +81-3-3409-8156 FAX: +81-3-3409-7923 Email: [email protected] http://web.iec.aoyama.ac.jp

EXCHANGE PROGRAM COORDINATORS

Inbound Exchange (Overseas to Japan)

Aya Nagasaku (Ms.) [email protected]

Outbound Exchange (Japan to Overseas): North America & Oceania

Kyoko Futakawa (Ms.) [email protected]

13 Outbound Exchange (Japan to Overseas): Asia

Erica Watanabe (Ms.) [email protected]

Outbound Exchange (Japan to Overseas): Europe and other countries

Naoko Matsuki (Ms.) [email protected]