For eligible students, there are some programs that can help financially. The Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarship Program offers seven types of different scholarships with varying requirements. Visit the site to determine what you are qualified for and submit applications to help offset the costs of studying in Japan. For a master site with links to many universities in Japan, visit All Universities Around the World.
Acceptance to a Japanese university can be complicated. Aside from some basic guidelines, applicants must be over 18 and have 12 years of prior education (or possess an International Baccalaureate Certificate) to enroll. Depending on the school, foreign students are required to take language proficiency examinations and possibly Uniformed Tests in Science and the Humanities. StudyJapan.com outlines the qualifications required for multiple institutions and the various levels of study.
Foreign schools may prove to be less complicated. Instead of language proficiency tests and interviews, applicants are approved based on their academic standing in high school, standardized test scores, and an essay about why they wish to study abroad. Students are able to take classes in English, and there is the added benefit that more of the courses and credits will transfer in the event that you decide to study somewhere else.
One foreign university is Temple University, Japan Campus in Minato-ku, Tokyo, an abroad branch of Temple’s main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. About 60% of the student body is Japanese, with the rest of the students being from the US and other countries. Temple also offers its Academic English Program (AEP), which is designed to help students score 500-525 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) (the minimum requirement for entrance to Temple University and most other American universities). Temple sticks out as the only foreign school that you can graduate from in Japan.
Further information can be had from the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) website Scholarships for International Students in Japan -JASSO which contains details of scholarships provided by various organizations that responded to a questionnaire survey carried out by the Information Center of JASSO
Other scholarship programs for studying in Japan, see the Japan Study page; Studyabroad.org website and for government sponsored programs see the Study in Japan page.
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