Kyushu University was selected to participate in the Project for Establishing Core Universities for Internationalization (Global 30) to develop centers for internationalization, instigated in 2009 by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Since then, we have pursued further internationalization in education, and we have been undertaking initiatives aimed at strengthening the university's function as one of Asia's leading universities offering world-class education and research. Moreover, under the “Top Global University Project”, which was adopted in AY 2014, we have been promoting further internationalization. We are aiming to increase the number of Japanese students who study abroad while increasing the number of international students. Based on the results up till now, the University has a goal for the fourth mid-term - “Train people to experience different values and to have a cosmopolitan outlook”. In addition to this, having in mind the producing of people who become leaders in global society in terms of Kyushu University VISION 2030, we are sending Japanese students abroad and accepting international students strategically and systematically.

○Promoting the internationalization of education

We are implementing the following measures to ensure the increase of international students.

(1) Establishment of English courses in two undergraduate schools and all graduate schools

As of April 1, 2023, a total of 69 international courses will have been established in two faculties, the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Agriculture, and in 17 graduate schools (The Graduate School of Law (Law School) is an exception), where students can obtain degrees only through education in English.

(2) International Student Guidance & Counseling

At the Counseling Room of the International Student Center, specialized faculty members (counselors) provide a variety of counseling services for international students, including advice on study and research (tuition, scholarships, promotion, human relations in the laboratory, etc.), daily life (accidents, illness, housing, family, etc.), and mental health in cooperation with faculty members in charge of international students in each undergraduate and graduate school. (Contents of counseling are kept strictly confidential.)

Although the International Student Counseling Room is located at Ito Campus, counseling is available at each campus as needed.Counseling is also available in English and Chinese in cooperation with the Center for Health Sciences and Counseling. For more information, please access the websites of the International Student Center and the Counseling Health Sciences Center.

(3) Emergency support system for international students

Kyushu University has established the "Kyushu University Emergency Support Guidelines for International Students" to provide support to international students in the event of an accident, illness, or other emergency in Japan.International students pay 1000 yen as an annual membership fee.

Under this system, international students can receive an interpreter service over the phone, arranged by the hospital, when visiting a medical facility during emergencies and at normal times.

○Overseas offices etc.

＊Overseas offices

＜Office spaces with local staff, established to undertake activities in other countries＞
　・Beijing office
　・Cairo office
　・Hanoi office
　・Stockholm Liaison Office

＜Offices that provide a point of contact in other countries＞
　・Seoul office
　・Washington, D.C. office
　・Taipei office

(Details of activities)

The different offices are engaged in different activities, but they are mainly designed to increase the recruitment of high-quality students, as well as to collect information relating to trends in education and academic research in those countries, and to support the activities of University faculty members and students located in those areas.

＊Branch offices

　・Branch office within Gadjah Mada University (Indonesia)

(Details of activities)

These universities provide office space for coordinating the educational/research aspects of joint projects between Kyushu University and the respective universities, and implementing PR activities with the aim of acquiring high-quality international students.

＊Project Offices

・UQ-KU Educational and Research Exchange Project Center (Australia)
The project promotes educational and research exchanges between Kyushu University and the University of Queensland

・Study in Japan Global Network Project in the Middle East and Northern Africa (Turkey) offices
Attracting high potential students from the region to come to Japan to study (Activities)

Projects and initiatives are carried out by the coordinators at the Kyushu University and in Sweden.

○ Intake of international students

Kyushu University hosts a large number of international students through student exchange agreements, government-sponsored international student programs, and short-term study abroad programs.

＊No.of international students

The University currently hosts 2,620 international students from 109 different countries (as of November 1st, 2023).

＊Government-sponsored international student system

The government sponsorship system for international students is a system administered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Culture, with the intention of promoting the acceptance of international students.

Students mainly apply to the system through embassy recommendation (those coming to study abroad for the first time), university recommendation (for students who wish to come to Japan from overseas).

＊Financial assistance for privately-funded international students

Financial assistance available for privately-funded international students includes the Monbukagakusho Honors Scholarship for Privately Financed International Students offered by the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) and scholarships provided by various foundations.

International Student Center
＊Japanese Language Education

・JACs: Japanese Academic Courses/ KIKAN Education, Basic Language and Culture Course "Japanese”

Credit Courses for Japanese Learners（Ito Campus）

These courses are designed for the following students to study Japanese for credit as part of KIKAN Education. International students enrolled in regular undergraduate courses at Kyushu University (including the International Course of the Bachelor's Program), students belonging to the International Student Center who are studying abroad at Kyushu University based on inter-university and inter-departmental student exchange agreements, and exchange students belonging to each faculty. Four courses are offered throughout the year: General Japanese, Conversation, Kanji, and Writing, and eight levels of classes are offered from introductory to advanced.

・JTCs: Japanese Training Courses/ Japanese language supplementary courses (Ito) (Non-credit courses)

Non-credit Courses for Japanese Learners（Ito Campus）

Supplementary Japanese language courses are offered throughout the year at the Ito Campus for exchange students (excluding students affiliated with the International Student Center of Kyushu University) and international students enrolled in graduate schools (including non-degree students) who wish to learn Japanese while pursuing their professional studies. Seven levels of general Japanese language classes are offered, from beginner to advanced.
Students who wish to take the courses are required to take the online placement test within the designated period.

Japanese Language Supplementary Courses (Maidashi)

Non-credit Courses for Japanese Learners（Hospital(Maidashi) Campus）

Students studying at the Hospital (Maidashi) campus can take the JTCs’ online courses offered at the Ito campus. Students who wish to take the courses are required to take the online placement test within the designated period (same schedule as JTCs).

Japanese Language Supplementary Courses (Ohashi)

Non-credit Courses for Japanese Learners（Ohashi Campus）

At the Ohashi Campus, there are four levels of general Japanese language classes, Beginner 1 and 2, Intermediate, and Advanced.
Students who wish to take the courses are required to take the online placement test within the designated period.

Japanese Language Supplementary Courses (Chikushi)

Non-credit Courses for Japanese Learners（Chikushi Campus）

At the Chikushi Campus, there are five levels of general Japanese language classes, Beginner 1, 2 and 3, Intermediate, and Advanced. Students who wish to take the courses are required to take the online placement test within the designated period.

＊Short-term exchange programs

(1) Kyushu University Short-term Exchange Program (JTW: Japan in Today’s World)

The International Student Center has been implementing the JTW course for students from overseas since 1994.The program lasts for 10 months or a semester, and offers lessons, in English, from a range of areas such as the humanities and social sciences in Japan. Students also have the opportunity to implement research in their own field.

Most of the students on this course are exchange students from the universities with which we have exchange agreements.

(2) JLCC: Japanese Language and Culture Course

The International Student Center has been implementing this course in Japanese Language and Culture since 2000 for students from　international universities (departments).

The course lasts for 11 months, and is mostly attended by government-sponsored international students (recommended by their embassies or universities), or privately-funded students on exchange programs from universities with which we have exchange agreements.

(3) Kyushu University / ASEAN educational exchange program (AsTW: ASEAN in Today’s World)

AsTW is a two-week spring program conducted in collaboration with leading universities in ASEAN countries. This program aims to educate students from all over the world, especially from ASEAN and Japan, to obtain international commonality with ASEAN as the keyword, and to develop human resources who will lead Asia in the next generation.

○Placement of students overseas (including exchange students)

Kyushu University has entered into agreements with overseas universities regarding international student exchange, based on which it implements student exchanges, short-term language study trips, in order to ensure that as many students as possible have the opportunity to spend time at universities overseas.

＊Number of students overseas

In AY 2019, 1,820 students were sent to overseas universities and other institutions in 64 countries and regions. In AY 2022, which was affected by COVID-19, 764 students were sent to overseas universities and other institutions in 58 countries and regions, and 229 students participated in online programs at overseas universities and other institutions in 18 countries and regions.

＊Student exchange program between universities

Based on agreements between universities, we both accept and dispatch students from and to our partner universities. Students can apply for this program through the International Student Exchange Division. Advantages of this program include non-collection of tuition fees, transfer of credits, and priority access to student dormitories.

In addition to this, departments sometimes enter into student exchange agreements, which allow their students to engage in exchanges with students from other university departments.

＊Short-term exchange programs

(1) Kyushu University/ASEAN educational exchange program (AsTW: ASEAN in Today’s World)

AsTW is a two-week spring program conducted in collaboration with leading universities in ASEAN countries. This program aims to educate students from all over the world, especially from ASEAN and Japan, to obtain international commonality with ASEAN as the keyword, and to develop human resources who will lead Asia in the next generation.

(2) College of Asia Pacific (CAP)　

The College of Asia Pacific (CAP) is an interdisciplinary short-term overseas program that integrates lectures and fieldwork. The program incorporates Problem Based Learning (PBL), in which participating students take the initiative in identifying issues and challenges common to the Asian region, such as immigration, religion, and social integration, and Team Based Learning (TBL), in which teams of students work together to solve problems and challenges.
Under the CAP scheme, in addition to short-term dispatch, we provide our courses to the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) and implement the COIL program.

＊Short-term language trainings

Overseas language training programs are as follows;

(English)

・English Language Training: three to four weeks during summer and spring vacation (country to be determined)

(Chinese)

・Short-Term Chinese Language Program (CLP): 3-week training during spring vacation in Taiwan (selected students).

(French)

・Short-Term French Language Program: four-week course during spring vacation regardless of a student’s major, and available to beginners as well.

＊The Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU)

Kyushu University is a member of the International University Consortium, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), where the online study abroad program, the Virtual Student Exchange Program (VSE) is provided. The VSE Academic Course is an online program course offered by APRU member universities. Our undergraduate students can take this program for free.
Besides the VSE, APRU also offers non-credit Co-Curricular Programs, where students can participate in a variety of cultural experiences, leadership development, career development, and student exchange programs offered by APRU member universities free of charge. In addition, the University's faculty can also offer VSE Academic Courses and Co-Curricular Programmes.
About APRU VSE:
https://www.isc.kyushu-u.ac.jp/intlweb/study/online/vseacadomic

＊Study abroad on our campus

The JTW and SIJ classes offered by the International Student Center are open to the general students as KIKAN Education courses. This provides a valuable opportunity for students to study specialized subjects in English side by side with international students from famous overseas universities while being on the Kyushu University campus.

＊Supports students to be sent abroad

The university as a whole is working closely together to develop a system for strategically and effectively sending Japanese students abroad. Students can seek advice on studying abroad from the staff or experienced students at the International Student Exchange Division and Student Exchange Salon on the 1F of Center Zone 6.

〇EU Center

In 2010, the EU Center was established with the aim of deepening knowledge and understanding of the European Union (EU) as the operating body of the EUIJ Kyushu, which was active until March 2016.Since June 2016, the Center has been working under a new term based on the Education Programs (EU-DPs) to further expand research and education on the EU, building on the rich results of its previous activities.

In September 2016, we were selected as the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (Jean Monnet CoE), the second center of the EU's educational grant program (Erasmus Plus) in Japan, and we have been presenting EU research to the world again for three years as the Jean Monnet CoE Kyushu project. The second phase of the Jean Monnet CoE Kyushu began in November 2020, and conducts research and outreach activities to promote a broad understanding of the EU for researchers, students, the general public, and business people. Examples of such activities include the provision of systematic learning opportunities about the EU through the EU Studies Diploma Program (EU-DPs), educational activities such as summer camps, EU study tours, sending students abroad on short visit scholarships, and supporting young researchers with funding for attending international conferences related to the EU, as well as EU-related symposiums, lectures, and public lectures.

＊EU Center Educational Programmes
EU Studies Diploma Programmes (EU-DPs)

The EU Centre offers EU Studies Diploma Programmes (EU-DPs) to our students. The EU-DPs is a unique interdisciplinary educational program for EU studies, which provides students with a broad and deep understanding of the EU's pursuit of economic and social development through regional integration, as well as the European history, philosophy, science and technology behind such integration.