How to enter the Faculty of Letters
We are expecting to receive foreign students from all over the world to come and stay in our faculty.
（１）The foreign students can enter our faculty by passing the entrance examinations as Japanese students do (General Selection) or by passing the special entrance examination (Special Selection for International Students), as explained in the following site.
http://ic.int.okayama-u.ac.jp/kymx/prospective/admission_e.html
It is possible to become a research student（研究生） of our faculty. But it is recommended to become a research student of the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences of Okayama University, if applicants wish to be regular students in the graduate school.
It is possible to receive a scholarship from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT; Monbukagakusho) to enter the university from the first year. The application is through the respective Japanese Embassy in applicants’ home countries.
http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/ryugaku/1291550.htm
（２）Foreign students of universities which have an agreement with Okayama University have two ways to stay in our faculty for a short period (usually from six months to one year) without the aim of receiving a graduation diploma.
①It is possible to apply to be special auditing student of lectures(特別聴講学生). The application should be made from applicants’ home universities four months in advance of the beginning of semesters, which start in April and October.
The Universities which have made an agreement with us at a university level are shown here:
http://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/en/tp/international/list.exchange_agreements.html
The Universities which have an agreement at a faculty level are shown here:
http://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/en/tp/international/list.exchange_agreements2.html
②It is also possible to be accepted as a scholarship student for Japanese Studies（日本語日本文化研究留学生、abbreviated as 日研生）. Such students stay for one year and should graduate from the home university after returning to their home country. This scholarship can be applied for through the respective Japanese Embassy in applicants’ home countries or can be applied for by recommendations from faculty members of Japanese universities, in our case, Okayama University, if the applicant’s university has an agreement with Okayama University.
The application is usually made in early January and the students enter the faculty from October.
Here is an announcement for applicants for the year 2011.
For the students who apply through their respective Embassies:
http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/ryugaku/boshu/1301237.htm
For the students who apply through their universities:
http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/ryugaku/boshu/1301942.htm (in Japanese)
③For the students from a restricted number of universities among those which have an agreement with Okayama University on the university level, they can apply for EPOK (Exchange Program Okayama) of Okayama University.
For EPOK in general, see the following site.
http://ic.int.okayama-u.ac.jp/epok/index.html
The List of the EPOK-participating universities is on the following site.
http://ic.int.okayama-u.ac.jp/epok/puise.html
For the students who would like to learn the Japanese language, here is the curriculum in the Language Center in Okayama University.
http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/ryugaku/boshu/06121317/001/045.pdf
The Japanese Studies Students(日研生) will learn in our faculty in this education frame.
As for the scholarship in general:
http://www.g-studyinjapan.jasso.go.jp/en/modules/pico/index.php?content_id=46
Statistics of the International Friendship in our Faculty of Letters
For the academic year 2010, the foreign students numbered 621 for the whole of Okayama University. The Faculty of Letters has 22 students from outside Japan. Among these, 8 are our faculty students who came through the Special Selection for International Students and 12 are the special auditing students of lectures(特別聴講学生) who stay mostly for half or one year according to the agreement between universities or faculties. 2 are Japanese Studies Students（日研生）here for one year. Among them, 8 are from China, 5 from USA, 4 from University Michel de Montaigne Bordeaux 3(France), 2 from Sungkyunkwan University (Seoul) with one more from Korea, and one from Belgrade (Serbia) and India.
We are expecting more students from foreign countries and hope they will give Japanese students and people a wealth of opportunities for cultural encounter and friendship. We are sure this experience will enrich the personal life of Japanese students and future Japanese people in general.
Our Faculty has established contract also with Canakkale (Turkey), Korea and Kookmin (Korea), Strasbourg (France) Universities. We plan to widen our agreements to other universities in other countries.
For the students from these universities, the tuition fee is exempt and dormitory accommodation will be provided. They can also attend the classes of the elementary or advanced Japanese language also in the Language Center of Okayama University.
Experiencing Japan as a student of Okayama University
By Ivana Milanovic
University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philology, Japanese Language and Literature Foreign studies:Okayama University, Faculty of Letters
Since my major at the University of Belgrade was Japanese language and literature, I applied for MEXT scholarship, and after receiving it, I packed my suitcase and came to Okayama to spend one year living and studying here. It has been almost 6 months since I came to Japan. It certainly was a unique opportunity.
In the beginning, I was really worried whether I would be able to get used to this way of living or not. However, to my surprise and happiness, living and studying here were easier and more interesting than I had imagined. First of all, because the people of Okayama are very kind, polite and always ready to help foreigners living in their city. Apart from that, Okayama University offers numerous opportunities to its students. Classes ensure great cultural exchange and learning through practice, and apart from that students can take part in one of the many clubs and circles like sports or music. I joined Aikido club. Also, there are many festivities organized by the university. All of this helps you meet new friends among both Japanese and foreign students, and get to know a bit more about Japan itself. If asked, I would definitely choose to come back here again.
