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Ritsumeikan University
Kyoto City, Japan
(pop. 1.4 million)
Student Enrollment: 34,000
Language of instruction: Japanese, English
www.ritsumei.ac.jp/eng/international_programs/skp/index.shtml
Course Information
PROGRAM TYPE
Academic year or semester exchanges
ISEP-Exchange for US students; chance of placement is limited.
Summer program available.
Chance of Placement
ISEP-Exchange chance of placement is Limited.
Exchange space typically fills during the February placement round; students should apply for spring semester programs by February 1.
Courses
In Japanese: Colleges of Law, Social Sciences, International Relations, Policy Science, Letters, Economics, Business Administration, Science and Engineering, and Information Science and Engineering. Graduate Schools of Law, Sociology, International Relations, Policy Science, Letters, Image Arts and Science, Science for Human Services, Language Education and Information Science, Core Ethics and Frontier Sciences, and Economics, Business Administration, Science and Engineering, and Technology and Management.
Courses taught in English
Students attending Ritsumeikan University through ISEP will be enrolled in the Study in Kyoto Program as either an intensive language student or a Japan and World Perspectives student, depending on Japanese language ability.
All students attending through ISEP mayl participate in Japan and World Perspective courses taught in English. Courses cover a wide range of subjects from Asian-Pacific studies and economic development to contemporary Japanese courses.
The Study in Kyoto Program offers students with intermediate or higher Japanese skills to take a range of Japanese language courses.
All students may also enroll in the Introduction to Traditional Japanese Arts courses providing a unique hands-on opportunity to experience traditional culture. Traditional arts courses have in the past covered such topics as calligraphy, Japanese confectionary, shamisen, ceramics, the tea ceremony, and ikebana.
Additionally, a limited number of courses are offered each semester in English through the Faculties of International Relations, Letters, Law and Policy Science. These courses are announced each year at the end of March, just before the April semester begins. Students are provided with a course listing and syllabi of all the courses available to them and taught in English during the arrival orientation.
Special ISEP Application Instructions
Applicants must have a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA.
Language Notes
To be eligible to enroll in Study in Kyoto Program intensive language courses (12 hours/week), applicants must have completed at least four semesters of college-level Japanese language study, show a mastery of TE-form and plain form verbs, hiragana, and katakana, as well as possess knowledge of approximately 100 kanji characters and 800 words. ISEP students who do not meet the above Japanese language requirements will be enrolled in the Japan and World Perspectives track and will take introductory Japanese language courses twice a week. All students may enroll in courses taught in English.
Program Dates
Academic year: September to July; Semester 1: September to January; Semester 2: April to July.
Housing and Meals
Students are generally placed in single rooms with access to cooking, bathing, and laundry facilities. A stipend is provided for students to purchase meals on campus or at local restaurants, or to purchase ingredients to cook in the dormitory. Married or family housing is not available on campus; however, an equivalent stipend is provided along with some guidance in finding apartments locally.
Profile
Founded in 1869, Ritsumeikan University (RU) is one of the oldest and most prestigious private universities in Japan. RU accommodates approximately 34,000 undergraduate and graduate students, including over 700 international students, and is comprised of nine colleges, thirteen graduate schools, and a law school, as well as various research centers. Two main campuses, Kinugasa Campus located in northwestern Kyoto and surrounded by historic temples and shrines, and Biwako-Kusatsu Campus in Shiga Prefecture, which overlooks Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan, provide an excellent environment for studies of the humanities, social sciences, and advanced technology fields. ISEP students will be based at Ritsumeikan University's Kinugasa Campus in Kyoto. Among Japanese universities, RU is particularly distinguished by its enthusiastic student body, which in addition to a commitment to academics and research, is also highly active in community service and international volunteer projects as wells as athletics and extra-curricular activities. With support from its satellite offices in South Korea, Indonesia, China, and Canada and its vast global network of nearly 200 partner institutions worldwide, RU has emerged as a top destination for international students and a center for international research collaboration. Drawing on its founding spirit of Freedom and Innovation, Ritsumeikan University will continue to evolve as an international institution of higher learning.
Location
Ritsumeikan University's Kinugasa Campus in Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital, is located within walking distance of several UNESCO World Heritage Sites including the famous temples of Kinkakuji and Ryoanji. The city enjoys a harmonious blend of the ancient and the modern, and in addition to being a base of traditional industry, higher education, and tourism, Kyoto is also home to a number of cutting-edge high tech companies.
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