A Tokyo University Looks to Foreign Students to Raise Its Profile
nytimes.com | October 7, 2012
TOKYO --As other Asian powers rise and Japan becomes less of a player on the world stage, the University of Tokyo is trying to strengthen its reputation as a globally relevant institute of higher learning.
Prospective students have long needed strong Japanese-language skills to do well at the university, which was founded 135 years ago, but that is beginning to change with the introduction of an undergraduate degree program taught in English.
The program, PEAK, for Programs in English at Komaba (Komaba being the name of the campus in Tokyo), is the university’s first four-year undergraduate curriculum where all courses required for graduation can be taken in English...
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...The 27 incoming PEAK students, who finished their entrance ceremony on Oct. 1, arrived from 11 countries including Australia, Britain, Finland, Poland, the United States and Vietnam...
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...Students who speak English will be able to take an array of classes during their first two years, including physics, mathematics, philosophy, linguistics and economics. They will then proceed to a major in one of two fields during their third and fourth years: environmental science or East Asian studies, with a particular focus on Japan.
About three-quarters of the students are eligible for a full-tuition waiver and a monthly living allowance. Tuition is ¥535,800 annually, or about $6,800, plus a one-time admission fee of ¥282,000.