Academic Partners in Japan

Please see below our list and short descriptions of NC State University Academic Partner Institutions in Japan (in no particular order). The Office of Global Engagement and its units play key roles in maintaining and growing these partnerships, as well as making new ones. Please contact us with any questions you may have about these institutions.

For more detailed information on the exchange programs offered between NC State and the following institutions, please contact the Study Abroad Office or refer to their Map Search website (click on “Asia” and then select “Japan”).

Navigate to: Hiroshima Shudo University I Kansai University I Kwansei Gakuin University I Nagoya University I Sophia University I Waseda University

Hiroshima Shudo University

Hiroshima Shudo University (“HSU”) is a private university located in the suburbs of the city of Hiroshima, Japan. HSU was founded in 1960 and now has seven faculties and four graduate schools. There are over 6,000 students studying at HSU, including 100-150 international students at any one time in an academic year. HSU has exchange partnerships with 31 universities in fourteen different countries and regions and welcomes students from our partners throughout the year to take its wide range of Japanese language classes for students whose first language is not Japanese. There are also English-medium courses offered on both traditional and modern Japanese culture, as well as European and international politics. With its close proximity to two World Heritage Sites, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Miyajima, HSU offers a unique opportunity for international students to improve their language skills, as well as enhancing their knowledge on a modern, accessible campus in an internationally renowned and historically significant city. HSU welcomes you from wherever you may be in the world.

Kansai University

Kansai University is one of Japan’s leading private universities, boasting over 130 years of history and over 400,000 graduates. As of 2018, the student body was approximately 30,000 students, including around 1,000 international students from 160 partner universities in 37 countries and regions, spread over 13 faculties, 13 graduate schools, and 3 professional graduate schools across six campuses located in Osaka. We offer a diverse range of learning opportunities for international students, including attending the university to seek an academic degree, as a foreign research student, on an exchange program with partner universities, and participating in the Japanese Language and Culture Program Preparatory Course (Bekka) for the purpose of preparing to study at an undergraduate or graduate school in Japan. Whether it is combined education with local students or specially designed courses for international students, Kansai University provides an exceptional learning environment.

Kwansei Gakuin University

KGU was originally founded in Kobe in 1889 by an American missionary, Rev. Walter Russel Lambuth, and will be celebrating its 130th anniversary in 2019. Kwansei Gakuin is a comprehensive and integrated private university based on Christian (Methodist) principles and was recently chosen by Japan’s Ministry of Education as one of the 37 Top Global Universities out of a total of approximately 800 in Japan. This title, as well as the necessary financial support in order to enable KGU to further its internationalization efforts, will be granted by the Ministry for a period of ten years. Kwansei Gakuin also has an excellent exchange program, the Contemporary Japan Program, which is attractive to incoming students from abroad and is also distinctive from other universities in Japan. Within this program, there are two main tracks: the Japanese Language Track, for students who wish to focus on their Japanese language studies, and the Modern Japan Track, for students who wish to learn about Japan and Asia via English-taught courses on a variety of subjects. The Modern Japan Track does not require any Japanese language skills.

Nagoya University

Nagoya University (“NU”) was first founded in 1871 as a temporary hospital and medical school. After undergoing several transitions, NU was established as an imperial university in 1939, and has grown to be one of the world’s top research universities. Throughout its history, NU has maintained a free and vibrant academic culture. Conducting research and education on all aspects of human beings, society, and nature, the University pursues its goal of contributing to the well-being and happiness of humankind. Nagoya University’s fundamental objective is to cultivate leaders with genuine courage and intellect. We call such leaders “Yuuki-aru Chishiki-jin”, that is individuals who are able to harness their courage, curiosity, and creativity to fully, yet responsibly, exploit their freedom with their educational and research endeavors. Its multi-disciplinary curriculum is designed to cultivate ethical leaders who are able to develop innovative solutions through inquiry and analysis, with strong communication and teamwork skills to be productive members of the global environment. Nagoya University welcomes highly motivated students who share this vision to apply to our programs.

Sophia University

Sophia University was founded by the Jesuits in 1913, with the mission to build bridges between Japan and the world. Sophia has been a pioneer of international education in Japan, attracting faculty and students from all over the world and has grown to be one of the foremost Japanese private universities, with a student body of 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students and a teaching staff of more than 1,000. Over 1,500 international students are studying at Sophia University from around the world. Sophia University has offered English-medium programs for more than 60 years. Students can study business and economics, science and technology, and environmental studies; all strengths of Japan, in English. Sophia University is centrally located in Tokyo, a political and economic hub that affords an invaluable opportunity to experience a unique culture in which traditional and modern elements intermingle.

Waseda University

Waseda University is known around the world as one of the top universities in Japan. It has produced seven prime ministers as of 2018, and its alumni are widely active in various fields; not only in Japan but also on the world stage. Furthermore, under the principle that its founder Shigenobu Okuma advocated: “Harmonization of Eastern and Western Cultures,” Waseda University has proactively opened its doors to international students since its founding. Currently, 7,156 international students have enrolled from 116 countries (as of the academic year 2016), which is the largest number among Japanese universities. Without a doubt, Waseda is the most internationalized university in Japan. Waseda University offers English-based programs in several schools. The School of International Liberal Studies (“SILS”) is one of them. SILS offers a unique environment where students from more than 50 countries around the world come together to study a range of subjects and exchange views with each other. The small-sized classes feature professors whose backgrounds are as varied as those of the students. By becoming a member of this international community, students gain the skills required to thrive in today’s multicultural world through working and interacting with one another.

To learn more about the exchange program in Waseda, visit the Waseda Student Exchange.