Doshisha University
Doshisha University is one of our newest partners for exchange students. The exchange program is a great opportunity to discover this unique country and all it has to offer at a reasonable cost.
Students with all levels of Japanese capabilities are invited to apply!
Doshisha University was founded in 1875 by Joseph Hardy Neesima. He defied an overseas travel ban during the last turbulent days of the Tokugawa shogunate in order to come to the United States, where he studied for ten years at several institutions. Neesima was so impressed by the effects of science and Christianity on American society that he became convinced of the necessity of establishing an institution of higher learning in his homeland based on an awareness of Christian principles. Accordingly, he returned to Japan in 1874, which had just started on the path to a modern state, and established Doshisha Eigakko in Kyoto in 1875.
Since then, Doshisha has been upholding the three fundamental educational ideals of Christian principles, liberalism, and internationalism for more than 130 years. Neesima’s thinking about education is encapsulated in the simple words engraved on the memorial monument at the main gate of Imadegawa campus, which reads: “I earnestly desire that many young people filled with conscience will be raised and sent out by our school.”
Program Info
Students must choose to enroll in either the Center for Japanese Language and Culture or the Center for Global Education
The Center for Global Education (CGE) (as of Fall 2016) is for English-speaking exchange students interested in studying Japanese Culture, Society, and Nature in English.
The CJLC Program (Center for Japanese Language and Culture) is for exchange students interested in studying Japanese language and culture in Japanese. This is for students with intermediate and/or advanced proficiency in the Japanese language.
Although some cross-enrollment is allowed between the CGE, CJLC, and ILA (Institute for Liberal Arts), students must identify primarily with one program at Doshisha.
Please be aware that Doshisha's academic calendar is very different from LSU New Orleans's when submitting your application. Their fall semester runs from September to February and their spring semester from April to August/September. Their deadline for applications is usually March 31 for the fall semester and mid-November for the spring. See Doshisha's guide for exchange students including their academic calendar and applications deadline here.
Students interested in participating in an academic exchange with Doshisha University must first apply to the program through LSU New Orleans. Only after a student is successfully accepted as a LSU New Orleans Exchange participant will he/she then be allowed to continue on to the second step, which is to submit the application materials that Doshisha University requires. An application is only considered to be completed once these two steps have been done.
