F&M in Japan

Since 1982 Franklin & Marshall College has been sending students to Tohoku Gakuin University (TGU) for their Japanese Studies Program for foreign students. The program is a six-week course from late May through June, which is intended to provide the students with an introduction to Japanese langauge, history, art, culture and society, economics and science, for the purpose of developing an understanding of contemporary Japan.

 

Curriculum

• Pre-departure orientation at Franklin & Marshall
• Three weeks of Japanese language instruction and a lecture series: “Tradition and Innovation in Japan,” conducted in English at TGU
• Homestays with Japanese families during those three weeks
• Visit to a Zen Buddhist temple for instruction in meditation, calligraphy and a tea ceremony
• Weekend in a Japanese-style hotel in the mountains with hotspring baths
• Two weeks travel to Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Himeji Castle, Hiroshima Peace Museum and Miyajima
• Equivalent to one Franklin & Marshall course credit (ASN210)

 

Cost

The program fee for 2010 is approximately $6,500.  This includes all expenses of the program, including tuition, all living expenses while in Sendai, hotel stays, meal allowance and admission to sites during the travel portion of the program, round-trip airfare to Japan and a seven-day Japan Railway Pass.

Franklin & Marshall actively seeks sources of financial aid to help students meet the cost of the program and will make this aid available to qualified students.

 

Application Procedure

You must have a GPA of 2.5 to be eligible for participation.  Applications are due on February 15.  To apply, submit your academic transcript, two faculty recommendations and a personal essay to the faculty leader.  All candidates will be interviewed.  The admissions committee looks for enthusiasm, emotional stability, flexibility in personal habits that you will need to do a homestay in Japan and sound reasons for wanting to go.

For those accepted to the program, a deposit of $1,000 is due on March 15.

For more information, contact Professor Curtis Bentzel.