About Our Exchange Program

What can students study at Kobe University as exchange students?

Eligibility

Application Procedure At A Glance (forms, deadlines, etc...)

Tuition & Expenses

Scholarships

Accommodation

Kobe University has concluded over 180 academic exchange agreements with overseas institutions in both Inter-University and Inter-Faculty/Graduate School exchanges. Under these agreements, Kobe University is conducting extensive educational and research exchanges with partner institutions. Among these are student exchange agreements with 100 institutions, which are made up of “Inter-University Student Exchange Agreement” and other student exchange agreements concluded by faculties/graduate schools.

1. Inter-University Student Agreement:

Inter-University Student Agreement aims at university-wide exchange of students. This section explains the Inter-university student exchange program, which is conducted by the Kobe University International Affairs Department.Kobe University has Inter-University Student Agreements with the following institutions:

• Faculty of Letters/Graduate School of Humanities
• Faculty of Intercultural Studies/Graduate School of Intercultural Studies
• Faculty of Human Development/Graduate School of Human Development and Environment
• Faculty of Law/Graduate School of Law
• Faculty of Economics/Graduate School of Economics
• School of Business Administration/Graduate School of Business Administration
• School of Medicine/Graduate School of Medicine
• Faculty of Science/Graduate School of Science
• Faculty of Engineering/Graduate School of Engineering
• Faculty of Agriculture/Graduate School of Agricultural Science
• Faculty of Maritime Sciences/Graduate School of Maritime Sciences
• Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies

Most classes offered at Kobe University are taught in Japanese, which means daily homework, reading materials, and examinations will be given in Japanese. In order to be enrolled in and successfully complete regular courses, the students must have advanced-level of Japanese language skill.They will belong to one of the faculties or graduate schools that they applied for and are admitted to. Within each faculty/graduate school, they will have an academic advisor or a tutor to consult academic matters. After arriving at Kobe University, the advisor/tutor will meet the students individually and decide the appropriate classes according to the level of their Japanese language ability. If they were accessed as having an adequate Japanese language skill, they will be eligible to take any class without limitation, except for ones with pre-requisites. For those who take part in research activities, the language requirement will be determined on an individual basis depending on whether supervision in English is available in their field of interest.

For the academic information such as courses, syllabus, class schedule, etc, please go to the following website.

http://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/campuslife/edu/syllabus.htm (Japanese only)

If the exchange students were accessed as having not-enough Japanese language skill to take regular classes, they will be given an opportunity to enroll in Japanese language course offered by the International Student Center. There are 3 courses of 5 levels each.

Japanese Courses:

1)

Integrated Japanese Language Course

2)

Japanese language/Japanese Studies Courses

3)

The followings are the qualifications and conditions for exchange students according to the Memorandum of Understanding on Student Exchange between the students’ home universities and Kobe University:

1.

Students must be enrolled in their home university as a full-time undergraduate or graduate student, and is aiming to receive a degree from their home university after completing exchange study at Kobe University. Undergraduate students must have completed at least one year of undergraduate study at their home university at the time of coming to Kobe University.

2.

The purpose of study abroad is clear and concrete so that the achievement of their study and research at Kobe University can be expected.

3.

Students should have adequate Japanese skill in order to understand classes or conduct research in Japanese.

4.

Students must have GPA 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale for their completed undergraduate study at their home university.

5.

Students should have the basic knowledge and skills required for the classes they wish to take or conduct research at Kobe University.

6.

Students are expected to maintain good relationships with local students and faculty members of Kobe University and its neighboring community. At the same time, they are able to contribute to the development of continued exchange between Kobe University and their home university after their stay at Kobe University.

This chart is applied for the Inter-University Student Agreements only. For information on the Inter-Faculty Student Agreements, please consult with each faculty or the international office of your home university.