Saitama University

Priority Deadline: February 15th | Fall Semester Deadline: March 1st | Spring Semester Deadline: October 1st

Requirements

• Must be a UIS undergraduate or graduate student in good academic standing.
• Must have at least a 2.4 GPA.
• Students must have successfully completed at least 1 full year/2 semesters (24 credits) at UIS.

Semesters

Due to Saitama's academic calendar and the quarter-based system, exchange students are welcomed for either:

• Spring Semester (April - August)
• Academic Year (September - August)

Courses

• About 50 courses are taught in English across many disciplines including: Humanities, Social Sciences, Liberal Arts and Economics.
• Enroll into the intensive Japanese Language program, equivalent of 10 credits of instruction per semester. 
• View the course offerings at Saitama.
• Course selections are made during orientation after arrival to Saitama.

Housing

• On-campus housing is available for exchange students in the International House (I-House)
• Typically, students have a single furnished bedroom and share a small kitchen, shower, and toilet with two other roommates.
• Students of the same gender are housed together.

Program Costs

• Exchange students are charged UIS tuition and fees.
• Estimated semester expenses for housing, meals and incidentals is $3,500.
• Learn more about the Estimated Cost of Living for Saitama.

Scholarships

• Apply for the UIS Donor-Funded Scholarship by mid-February. Indicate within the application that you plan to participate on a study away program.
• Visit Study Away Financial Aid & Scholarship website for more information.
• JASSO Scholarship
• Watanabe Scholarship
• Freeman-ASIA
• MEXT Scholarship

Passport & Visa

• Students will require a passport to participate on this program. 
• For assistance securing a U.S. Passport, visit Travel.State.Gov.
• U.S. citizens require a visa in order to participate in this program. After acceptance into the program, students follow instructions from the host university to apply for the visa.

Location

• Exchange Student information
• Information about the city of Saitama and surrounding area.
• City tour of Saitama

The information gathered below is from GoinGlobal. Take a deeper dive into the cultural advice via the GoinGlobal → Country Career Guides (top toolbar) → Japan.

• Daily Life - understand the history, the people & values, views of time management along with the cuisine and meal etiquette
• Communication - learn about appropriate communication methods, including negotiation & correspondence styles, language skills & vocabulary
• Acting Like a Local - avoid acting like a tourist by learning these taboos & helpful hints