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Please note: Only students registered in the undergraduate College of the University of Chicago may apply to this consortially-sponsored program through Chicago. Students at one of the other KCJS universities should apply through their home institution. Students at non-KCJS institutions should contact the KCJS office at Columbia University (phone: 212-854-6333) to inquire about making an application.
General Description:
The University of Chicago Kyoto program provides students in the College with an opportunity to study for an academic year in the ancient capital of Japan. The headquarters for the program is the Kyoto Center for Japanese Studies (KCJS) , a facility operated by Columbia University on behalf of a consortium of fourteen American universities including the University of Chicago. The academic year is divided into two semesters in keeping with the academic calendar of most of the universities in the consortium. Japanese language study is central to the Kyoto program, and students will devote at least half their time both semesters to an intensive double-credit language course pitched at an advanced level. Beyond this, they take two courses per semester in Japanese culture, literature, art, history, or politics. In the spring semester they are given the option of substituting an independent study course for one of the non-language courses. Instruction in the non-language courses is in English or a combination of English and Japanese. At the end of the program KCJS personnel are happy to help program participants arrange summer internships as a means of rounding out their Japanese experience, although this is not an established part of the program and cannot therefore be guaranteed.
Housing:
As a participant in this program you will be housed either with a local family or in an apartment. The former option is by far the most popular.
Credits:
You will receive a full year's credit for your work in Kyoto, with course titles, units of credit, and grades appearing on your Chicago transcripts. Since the application of these credits toward specific requirements in a student's degree program is variable, you are expected to consult with your academic adviser and program chairman to determine the exact distribution of credits.
Registration and Tuition:
You remain registered at Chicago and pay regular tuition plus the study abroad administrative fee required of all participants in Chicago's overseas programs. You also pay, directly to Columbia, a program fee that covers housing and meals in Kyoto. (For precise figures click on the Study Abroad Program Fees.)
Financial Aid:
You retain your financial aid eligibility. However, two expenses, the study abroad administrative fee and the round-trip airfare, are not underwritten by College Financial Aid. On the other hand, since you cannot be expected to work part-time while in Kyoto, the self-help component of your financial aid package does not include a term-time employment factor.
Eligibility:
The Kyoto program is designed for students who are beyond their second year in the College. For most students the third year is the most appropriate time to participate in this program, though fourth-year students (and, rarely, second-year students) may participate as well. You are expected to have, by the beginning of the program, at least two years of Japanese in the College or to demonstrate by examination a comparable competence. (Your application will also be considered if you have one year of Japanese and an acceptable plan for attaining the second-year level with an intensive summer course.) You must also present an academic record that shows you to be a serious and resourceful student, who will make the most of this experience. Finally if you have addressed yourself conscientiously to general education requirements during your first two years in the College, you will likely be viewed as having the most to gain from a year of study in Kyoto.
Application:
Applications are available on the study abroad website. To apply to the Kyoto program, a student submits a general study abroad application electronically, then downloads the supplementary application specific to the program and submits it on paper, normally in mid-winter quarter of the previous academic year.
The application process includes a required conference with Mr. Fortner. Appointments can be made with Mr. Fortner by contacting the Dean of Students in the College at 773-702-8615.
A student accepting an offer of admission is expected to secure his or her place with a $500 non-refundable study abroad administrative fee and a deposit in an amount specified by the Kyoto Consortium. (To begin the application process, click on the Study Abroad General Application.)
Further Information:
If you would like to discuss the Kyoto program and the possibility of participating in it, please contact Lewis Fortner (Harper 213; 702-4858; fortner@uchicago.edu). For applicants to the Kyoto program an interview with Mr. Fortner is required
Statements contained on this site are subject to change without notice.
