Exchange places at Japanese universities
All students of the Faculty of East Asian Studies who are expected to have successfully completed the intermediate level of Japanese by the start of their stay abroad can apply for an exchange place at one of our Japanese partner universities. The application process begins approximately one year before the stay abroad with a general information event in the first weeks of the winter semester.
The application deadline for exchange places at the universities of Osaka and Tsukuba is December 1. Applications for these two universities are submitted via the International Office of Ruhr University. Students with a grade point average of at least 2.0 for Osaka and at least 2.2 for Tsukuba can apply. Selection is based on the application documents submitted.
The application deadline for the exchange places, which are allocated internally in the Faculty of East Asian Studies, is December 15. Selection interviews take place at the beginning of February of the following year. Successful applicants then begin the official application process at the Japanese partner university. This is a formality, but involves a considerable amount of work for the applicants. Departure to Japan usually takes place in September for the start of the winter semester.
Application documents for the faculty-internal exchange:
Please indicate two universities of your choice and explain in your letter of motivation why these universities seem particularly suitable for your needs. Due to the orientation of the partner institutions, WPOA students CANNOT apply to Kyūshū and Okayama Universities. The exchange agreements with Nihon University and Kwansei Gakuin University only cover B.A. programs, so M.A. students CANNOT apply for these.
The application must include:
All documents must be sent in a single PDF file to anke.scherer@rub.de by the respective application deadline.
Funding:
As part of the faculty-internal exchange, we can only provide study places (for which our exchange students do not have to pay the otherwise very high Japanese tuition fees). Otherwise, exchange students must finance their stay in Japan (travel, rent, food, transportation, etc.) themselves.
If you are successful with your written application and are invited to the selection interview, you must therefore obtain the proof of funding of at least 8000 euros (4000 euros for a one-semester stay, we reserve the right to make changes depending on exchange rate fluctuations) required for the visa application by the time of the selection interview and present it at the interview.
We also recommend that you apply for Bafög abroad (even if you do not receive Bafög at home!) and for scholarships (e.g. DAAD or PROMOS).
The Fukushima University (Fukushima Daigaku) in the city of Fukushima was founded in 1949 and has around 4500 students. The partnership between Fukushima Daigaku and Ruhr University Bochum has existed since 2009. The exchange includes places for two students each from Japan and Germany to study at the partner university for one year.
Keiō University (Keiō Daigaku) in Tōkyō is one of the most renowned private universities in Japan. There has been a graduate exchange agreement with the Faculty of Economics at Keiō University since 1998. Under this agreement, one or two Master's students or doctoral candidates from Bochum can study at Keiō University each year. The subject areas are not limited to economics, but include economic history and Japanese history in general. The MA candidates and doctoral candidates who come to the Ruhr University from Keiō Daigaku are also mainly dedicated to their own research projects.
Kyūshū University (Kyūshū Daigaku, Kyūfai for short) in Fukuoka is one of Japan's strongest research universities and is part of the Japanese equivalent of the German Excellence Initiative, the "Global 30" program, in which 13 Japanese universities have been accepted. The university was founded in 1911 as one of the former Imperial Universities. In March 2012, an exchange agreement was signed between the Faculties of History and East Asian Studies at Ruhr University Bochum and the Faculty of Humanities at Kyūshū University. The exchange includes places for two students with very good academic performance, preferably from the MA program.
The private university Kwansei Gakuin (Kwansei University) is located in Nishinomiya (Hyōgo Prefecture) near Ōsaka. Since 2010, the Department of Japanese Language and Literature has had an exchange agreement with Kwansei University for two study places for BA students. The study visit is characterized by the «East Asia Studies» program specially designed for foreign students. This offers students the opportunity to attend various intercultural events in English and Japanese as well as an intensive language course at various levels.
The partnership agreement between the Faculty of East Asian Studies and the Faculty of Humanities at Niigata University (Niigata Daigaku) in the city of Niigata has been in place since September 2012. As part of the program, three Bochum students (BA and MA) are sent to Niigata for one or two semesters each year, where they attend a language course as well as subject-specific events and courses at the Faculty of Humanities.
Nihon University (Nihon Daigaku, Nichidai for short) in Tõkyõ was founded in 1889 by the then Japanese Minister of Justice Yamada Akiyoshi (1844-1892) and is now the largest university in Japan with around 70,000 students. The student exchange agreement between the Faculties of East Asian Studies and Economics at Ruhr University Bochum and the Faculty of Economics at Nichidai was signed in 1998. Since 1999, three students from both faculties have been regularly sent to Nichidai.
Mie University (Mie Daigaku) is located in Tsu, the capital of Mie Prefecture. Among other things, this area is well known for being the alleged birthplace of Ninjutsu and one of the oldest Shinto shrines. Thanks to the agreement signed in March 2011, three students from Ruhr University can study at Mie University every year. The exchange students from Bochum can begin their stay in Japan in either the winter or summer semester and attend courses of their choice for up to two semesters.
Okayama University (Okayama Daigaku) was founded in its current form in 1949 and dates back to a medical school that was founded in 1870. Okayama Daigaku is a state university with around 14,000 students in the city of Okayama. There has been a partnership between the Faculty of Letters at Okayama Daigaku and the Faculty of East Asian Studies at Ruhr University Bochum since 2011. Every year, three students from Bochum can attend courses offered by the Faculty of Letters or other faculties, e.g. on Japanese history, in addition to Japanese courses.
There is a university-wide student exchange agreement with Ōsaka University (Ōsaka Daigaku). Therefore, the entire information and application process is handled by the International Office at Ruhr University Bochum. Five exchange places are available each year for Ruhr University Bochum students from all disciplines; admission to Ōsaka University is only possible with a grade point average of 2.0 or better.
There is a university-wide student exchange agreement with the University of Tsukuba (Tsukuba Daigaku ). Therefore, the entire information and application process is handled by the International Office at Ruhr University Bochum. Five exchange places are available each year for Ruhr University Bochum students from all disciplines; admission to the University of Tsukuba is only possible with a grade point average of 2.2 or better.
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Last update: Sep 30, 2024
