University of Delaware Institute for Global Studies
Fall 2024: Akita, Japan

Program Dates September 02, 2024 - December 20, 2024
This program is closed.

Program Overview This program is highly competitive and will accept only a limited number of applicants. Interview appointments and acceptance decisions are at the discretion of the faculty director.

Fall Semester classes begin 9/2/2024
Fall Semester classes end 12/20/2024

Please review the CGPS COVID-19 Updates page before applying to a study abroad program for information about COVID-19 related travel requirements and policies for UD study abroad.

All applicants must have a valid passport by the program’s application deadline. Your passport’s expiration date must be more than six months after the program ends. If you do not have a current passport, apply through the U.S. State Department. It takes an average of 8-11 weeks (2-3 months) to process a passport.

Traveling and studying abroad during a global pandemic poses new challenges and requires accepting a higher level of uncertainty than in the past. Students who choose to study abroad at this time must be prepared to adapt to the evolving situation and must take responsibility to act in accordance with the rules, regulations, and recommendations of UD, their program leadership, and legal authorities of their home and host country. Due to the rapidly changing and unpredictable global and local response to COVID-19, these rules, regulations and recommendations are subject to change at any time.

The University will continue to monitor the ongoing situation with COVID-19 (coronavirus) as we approach the departure date for this program. Please reach out to your program coordinator or faculty director with questions and continue to monitor the UD coronavirus webpage for updates. If UD decides to cancel a study abroad program, we will communicate directly with affected students.

Akita International University is a small public liberal arts college located in the historic city of Akita in Japan’s northwest, about a 4-hour bullet train ride from Tokyo. With the Sea of Japan to the west and mountains to the east, Akita is known for its natural beauty and hot springs. Akita city hosts several famous festivals throughout the year, and Akita Kanto Festival is one of the three major festivals in the Tohoku region.

Akita International University (AIU) is one of the very few universities in Japan where all of the content courses are taught in English. Its unique and highly specialized curricula of Global Business, Global Studies, and intensive Japanese language instruction attract students from around the world. Upon arrival students will take a Japanese placement exam which will determine the level of Japanese courses in which they are permitted to enroll.

International students are housed together with Japanese students in the on-campus dormitories, most likely in the Global Village Apartments. All first-year students are required to live on campus, which is a rarity in Japan, thereby providing many opportunities for interaction with native speakers. The AIU library is open 24 hours every day, and there is public transportation to the city center and to a large American-style shopping plaza.

Housing:
Students will live in shared on-campus dormitory housing with heat and air conditioning. All students are required to stay in program sponsored housing, independent housing arrangements are not allowed by UD or the program partners.

Experiential Learning
This program includes community service opportunities as offered through AIU. The university provides extensive off-campus activities, including community outreach opportunities, field trips, service-oriented clubs, and a home visit program, all designed to facilitate intercultural understanding and respect through true cultural and linguistic immersion experiences.

The Program Fee includes housing, dining hall meals for the first 2 weeks, international health insurance, activities fee, transportation to AIU upon arrival, as well as full access to all AIU facilities and services. After acceptance students will receive instructions from AIU regarding how to take advantage of AIU's pick-up service from the Akita airport or train station on the program's starting date.

The Program Fee does NOT include airfare, meal plan, visa expenses, return trip to airport. Students will need to budget for meals, cell phone, books and supplies, and other personal expenses. The program officially begins when students arrive in Akita.

ACCESSIBILITY: Students with disabilities are welcomed and encouraged to study abroad, but should be aware that accessibility and accommodation in some program locations may differ from the United States. Transit systems and legacy building construction practices may not meet U.S. accessibility standards, and alternative access to public transportation, buildings, or public sites cannot be guaranteed. Review these questions with the Office of Disability Support Services to determine whether this program can meet your accommodation needs

Courses: Students must enroll in all credit-bearing courses for a grade. Only the UNIV (zero credit) course may be taken pass/fail. Audit registration is not permitted on UD Travel Study. Please refer to the University Catalog to verify requirements and prerequisites. All students must enroll in at least 12 credits, as well as the 0-credit UNIV course. Note: Courses listed below are currently under review. All students will work with the faculty director to finalize their UD approved schedule.

Course instruction is in English, except for JAPN courses. All students take two 3-credit JAPN courses as per the course equivalency chart at the bottom of this page, and based on their performance on the placement exam. Students also take 6-12 additional credits of their choice in Japanese or English, depending on their level of Japanese and performance on the AIU placement exam. Maximum credit enrollment is 18.

Note that course offerings are subject to change, as the host institution may make changes to its course offerings. Typically AIU publicizes its course schedule for fall in June.

Program Costs:

How much does it cost?.

	Delaware Resident	Non-Delaware Resident
Final Tuition based on current year	$7,300.00	$19,595.00
Final Program Fee	$300.00	$300.00
UD Registration & Activities Fee	$0.00	$0.00
Total to be charged to UD account	$7,600.00	$19,895.00
Plus Airfare Estimate (purchased separately)	$1,700.00	$1,700.00

The rates above may not apply to you if you are a UD graduate student during the time you are studying abroad. Please refer to http://www1.udel.edu/finaid/rates.html for the appropriate rates.


When and how do I pay?
If you are offered acceptance to the program, you will have 3 days to withdraw without financial penalty. After the 3 days have passed, you will be officially accepted to the program, and IGS will post the full Program Fee and Tuition/Fees to your UD student account.

• An initial payment of $1000.00 will be due in early April.
• The balance of the Program Fee and Tuition/Fees will be due in early August.
• Payments are submitted through My Finances in UDSIS.
• All charges, once posted to your account, are considered non-refundable.

*All students will receive an email when they are accepted to a program and will have 10 days from that notification to make their $1,000.00 Initial Payment.


Contact Information:


Deadlines:
Submit Program Application by 5pm on February 01, 2024
Recommendation also due by 5pm on February 01, 2024
Acceptance and Scholarship Announced: February 05, 2024

Please note that this program is highly competitive and will accept only a limited number of applicants. Interview appointments and acceptance decisions are at the discretion of the faculty director.



Interest Meetings:


Program information is subject to change at any time. Please check this web site periodically for updates.