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Exchange Programs are programs under which students are exchanged between UTokyo and partner universities (overseas universities with which UTokyo has signed memorandums on student exchange) for a period of 1 semester to 1 year. (It is commonly referred to as "Student Exchange" in English.) UTokyo accepts students from partner universities without the students paying tuition to UTokyo, while, so long as UTokyo students pay their usual tuition fees to UTokyo, they are able to study or receive research guidance at partner universities without paying fees to the partner universities. USTEP stands for "University-wide Student Exchange Program" and is implemented throughout the whole UTokyo. All UTokyo students who meet the qualifications can apply for the USTEP at the undergraduate or graduate levels.
UTokyo’s partner universities are highly acknowledged educational institutions among the world. You can easily have access to substantial information beforehand and also receive support from the host institutions while there.
You do not need to pay tuition fees to the host institution. Your student status at UTokyo during the study abroad period will not be “Leave of Absence”, but “Study Abroad”, and you are required to pay tuition to UTokyo. (If you are a graduate student, your status will be either "Study Abroad" or “Receiving Entrusted Research Guidance” depending on the actual situation of your activity.)
You may get preferential treatment with regards to housing as an exchange student. Also, you may be able to receive special counselling service for international students.
The credits earned at partner universities may be able to be transferred to UTokyo. The criteria for transferring credit differs from the faculty/graduate school you belong to in UTokyo. Depending on the courses you registered, the credits may not be transferred. Please consult beforehand with the faculty/ graduate school you belong to during studying abroad.
You can apply for non-repayment type scholarships, The amount of monthly stipend varies depending on the fiscal year and the region of study abroad destination, but basically it will be from JPY 50,000 to 100,000. You can also apply for other scholarships offered by UTokyo or private foundations.
·Students must belong to a regular course of a faculty/college or graduate school of UTokyo during the study abroad period. (Please note that those who graduate from/complete a faculty/ college/graduate school of UTokyo during the study-abroad period are not eligible.)
·Have the qualifications for an exchange student specified by the partner university (language proficiency, faculty/graduate school at UTokyo, number of years, etc.).
For other eligibility and requirements, please check the application guidelines.
Please check the list of the partner universities.The factsheet (information sheet) of each partner university is available on each partner university's page. You can also use the "Browse the world map" function.
Internal screening through document review and interview will be conducted.
Students who have passed the internal screening need to prepare application documents specified by the partner university and submit them to the partner university for the documents to be reviewed. Only after passing the selection by the partner university, are your addmission officially permitted.
One semester or one year is a common study abroad period. The actual detailed period of study abroad will be determined based on the academic calendar of the partner university the student is going to study at. In principle, it will be one year starting from autumn semester if students wish to study abroad for a year. However, if the partner university sets the spring semester as its first semester of the academic calendar, you can apply as a one-year exchange student starting from spring semester.
Two semester systems is common in overseas universities. Usually the 1st semester is the autumn semester (beginning in August – October, ending in December - January), the 2nd semester is the spring semester (begin in January - February, end in April - May). If an academic year of an overseas university starts in autumn semester of 2022 (1st semester) and ends in spring emester of 2023 (2nd semester), it is called AY2022-2023.
We open calls for application twice a year.
Calls for application for those who wish to start studying abroad from either the “autumn semester of the next year” or “spring semester of the year after the next”.
Calls for application for those who wish to start studying abroad from the spring semester of the following year.
*Students can apply for the semester places which have been left unfilled after the last autumn recruitment as well as the places offered after the last autumn recruitment of newly added partner universities.
We have summarized questions frequently asked in the application process. Please check this page.
University wide Student Exchange Program (administered by the Center for Global Education (formerly the Division for Global Campus Initiatives)) Statistics (24/07/2023 updated)
The number of applicants, candidates, and accepted students for each partner university from the 2013-14 to the latest call is available.
Make sure to complete the online application via UTAS before the deadline set by the College, Faculty or Graduate school you belong to at the time of application. Please note that there will be time lag until the website of the College, Faculty or Graduate school be updated after this website is updated. Please confirm the details of application process from the following page.
