Program Provider: Waseda University

Program Site: Waseda University is located in central Tokyo in the Shinjuku district, famed for its skyscrapers, shopping, love hotels, and the world’s busiest train station.

Duration: Year only. Program runs from mid-September to late July (with a break from mid-February to late March).

Description: Waseda University is one of Japan's best universities with approximately 47,000 undergraduate students. The one-year study abroad program is based in Waseda's School of International Liberal Studies (SILS), a four-year liberal arts college where all classes are conducted in English.  At SILS, study abroad students take classes alongside Japanese students. Waseda is known for its liberal climate symbolized by its motto Independence of Learning.

The SILS is Waseda’s most elite division with only 2400 students. One third of its very multicultural student body comes from outside Japan, mostly from other Asian countries. The goal of the one-year study abroad program is for students to gain a better understanding of Japan through widely-varied perspectives such as politics, art, education, and industry.

Academics: The program combines Japanese language courses with English-taught lecture courses on the history, literature, arts, politics and economics of Japan and East Asia. The intensive Japanese language courses, offered at 8 levels of proficiency, assist students in the development of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.

Students take 6 to 7 units of Japanese each semester.

Sample area studies courses:
-    Japan and the Korean Peninsula
-    Cultural Anthropology of Japan
-    Modern Japanese Fiction in Translation
-    Manga and Anime as Expressions of Japanese Society
-    Law and Society in Japan
-    Classical Japanese Poetry
-    Japan's Foreign Policy
-    The Japanese Economy and Industry
   
Course load and Credit: Students take 4-5 courses each semester and can earn up to 32 units for the academic year.

Accommodations: Students live with Japanese host families in the Tokyo area. All meals are included except for lunches. Students may also choose to live in Waseda’s International Students’ dormitory.  The dormitory has a full kitchen and students prepare their own meals.

Activities and Other Program Features: Outside of the classroom, students can participate in a myriad of student clubs and activities and enjoy all that the metropolis of Tokyo has to offer.

Eligibility: Minimum 3.0 GPA and two semesters of college-level Japanese or the equivalent.

Estimated Year Cost:
Tuition................................$20,858
Additional Expenses*............$37,552
Total...................................$58,410

Cost Updated: 5/7/12
Text Updated: 7/20/11


*Additional expenses include estimated costs for airfare, room and board, books and supplies, health insurance, and personal expenses (which can vary greatly from student to student). USC financial aid, scholarships, and tuition remission may be applied to program costs. Please visit the Office of Overseas Studies for more detailed cost information.

Links:
Waseda University SILS
Waseda University Center for International Education (information for visiting students)
Waseda Syllabus Search