Exchange Programs and Scholarships
Please note that the scholarships listed here are only those whose applications are organised by the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics as part of our exchange program. Information about many other scholarships, to both Japan and elsewhere, is available in the Scholarships Bulletin, which is a publication of the Monash Research Graduate School.
The Kanazawa program , which enables students to study intensively in Japan (and for which scholarships are available), is part of the Japanese 5 & 6 language course and is not related to the information described here. An information session for the Kanazawa program will be held in Semester 2 (details to be announced later).
The scholarships listed below have been offered in the past, but we cannot guarantee that they will always be offered.
Contents:
1.
The exchange programs
2.
Eligibility
3.
When, what and where can you study?
4.
Types of scholarships
5.
Information Sessions
6.
How can students apply for exchange programs?
7. Further information
8. Student Voices
1. The exchange programs
Monash University has exchange agreements with twelve prominent universities in Japan. Students who want to study at a Japanese university with the benefit of credit transfer are invited to apply for the program.
If you are admitted, you will enrol in Monash University and study at a Japanese university. Since you will pay HECS or a tuition fee to Monash University, you need not pay tuition fees to the Japanese university. Accommodation is also provided by the Japanese university at a cost.
When you apply for admittance to a university, you will apply for a Japanese government scholarship (JASSO or Monkashoo-Japanese Studies) at the same time.
You may still study in Japan if you are not successful with the scholarship. In such cases, however, the student will have to finance himself/herself except for tuition fees.
2. Who is eligible to apply for the exchange programs and scholarships?
Arts students who have completed or are due to complete 48 credit points of study at Monash before commencing the exchange program. (If you are not an Arts student, please see the Monash Abroad website for your home faculty’s requirements.)
Students who are able to study a full-time load of Japanese language or cultural units in Japan and have them credited towards their Monash degree. A full-time load is defined as 18-24 credit points per semester. For honours students, a full-time load for the purposes of exchange to Japan is defined as 24 credit points per year. In some cases it is possible to gain credit for other areas of study whilst on exchange to Japan. Please contact Monash Abroad for more details.
Students who have a credit average (60%) minimum. Higher grade
requirements apply for some universities.
Students who have an active enrolment at Monash, and have obtained
approval from the faculty to apply.
If you are accepted by a Japanese university, you are going to Japan as
a Monash student. You should NOT defer totally from Monash University.
3. When, what and at which university can you study?
The following universities have exchange programs with Monash University with credit transfer benefits. All places are for the duration of six to twelve months, but usually the scholarship will be given to students studying in Japan for one year.
3.1 Private Universities
| Name of University | Language used in program | Subjects you can study | Commencement of study | Links |
| Meiji Gakuin University |
Japanese |
Special program for overseas students | April | |
| Seikei University | Japanese | All faculties | March | |
| Waseda University | Japanese | All faculties | April | University: |
3.2 National Universities
| Name of University | Language in which program is conducted | Subjects you can study | Commencement of study | Links |
| Chiba University | Japanese | All faculties | April | University: |
| Ochanomizu University | Japanese | Japanese Linguistics, etc. | October | |
| Osaka University |
Japanese |
All faculties |
April |
University: Exchange Program (OUSSEP):
Exchange Program (OUSSEP - Maple):
|
| Kyushu University | Japanese | Mainly Law/Politics |
April |
|
| Saitama University |
Japanese |
Arts |
April |
University: |
| Tokyo University | English | Arts | October |
University: |
| Tsukuba University | Japanese | All faculties | April | University: http://www.tsukuba.ac.jp/eng/ Exchange Program (JTP): http://www.intersc.tsukuba.ac.jp/01prospective/jtp_overview.htm |
| Nagoya University | Japanese English |
All faculties | April October |
University: |
4. What types of scholarships are available?
The following chart shows the types of scholarships and what each scholarship includes.
| Amount |
Return Airfare | Arrival Allowance | Accommodation | Notes | |
|
JASSO | 80,000 per month | No | 150,000 |
Arranged by host university at the student's own cost | |
| Monkasho | 135,500 | Yes | 25,000 |
Same as above |
3rd and 4th year students |
| Monkasho | 175,000 |
Yes |
N/A |
Same as above |
Postgraduate students only |
| Monash Abroad | Depending on the living cost of the country | N/A | N/A | N/A | Ask for more details at Monash Abroad Desk (Ph: 9905 1551) |
Monash Sakata Scholarships |
Up to $5,000 | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Yoshida Foundation |
Up to $5,000 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Honours students |
5. Information Sessions
Every year, information sessions on the exchange programs and scholarships are held twice (usually in March and in October) at Monash, Clayton Campus. Details of forthcoming sessions can be found on the Monash Abroad website.
The slide presentation from the recent Information Session (held in March) can be download here (in pdf format). You can listen to the presentation by downloading the audio (mp3 format)
Please attend at least one of these sessions before submitting your application. Applicants are selected by an exchange programs and scholarships committee.
6. How can students apply for exchange programs?
Application forms
Students need to complete both a Monash Abroad exchange application and also a Japanese exchange scholarship application. Both forms can be downloaded from the Monash Abroad website:
http://www.monash.edu.au/students/studyabroad/apply/exchange.html .
Selecting a university
Applying to go on exchange to Japan differs from other countries because students do not select just one university. Instead, students must list the universities in order of preference on the Japanese Exchange Scholarship form. The selection committee will then decide which university to you will be nominated for. Please write the university of your first preference on the top of the study plan in the Monash Abroad application.
Study plan
Because you do not know which university you will be going to, you cannot fill in the unit titles on the proposed study plan in the Monash Abroad application form, so leave this blank. Fill in the codes of the Monash Japanese Studies or Language units that you wish to get credit for (eg JPL2022, JPS2023) and arrange to see Dr Kuniko Yoshimitsu to get them approved. You then need to take your study plan to Exchange Adviser at the Arts Faculty office to get it signed off at the bottom of the page.
Please remember that you need to enrol in at least 18 points of study abroad subjects per semester while you are in Japan (12 points for Honours students.)
Once you have arrived in Japan, and have confirmed the units you will be studying, you will need to inform Dr Yoshimitsu. When you return to Australia, you need to bring back copies of any assessment that you submit to the Japanese university, to ensure that you can gain credit for your studies in Japan. More information about this will be given at the Pre-Departure session for successful applicants.
For double degree students
As well as getting the Exchange Adviser from Arts to sign the form, you also need to get the signature of the Exchange Adviser from the other faculty you are studying in. Getting credit for units that are not Japanese culture or language can be quite difficult, due to the limited range of subjects taught in English at Japanese universities. Please discuss this with Kate Parsons at Monash Abroad if you need any more information.
Deadlines
To commence exchange in December, March or April (equivalent to Monash semester 1):
1 June (previous year)
To commence exchange in September or October (equivalent to Monash semester 2):
1 December (previous year)
7. Further Information
If you would like more information about exchanges with Japan please contact one of the following:
Exchange Enquiries
Ms Katherine Parsons
International Education Coordinator
Monash Abroad
Phone: 9905-8242
Email: Katherine.Parsons@adm.monash.edu.au
Academic Enquiries
Dr Hiroko Hashimoto
Room: W410
Phone: 9905-2288
Email: hiroko.hashimoto@arts.monash.edu.au
8. Student Voices
Melissa Cheung
April 2006 - March 2007,
Waseda University, Tokyo
Madeline Prowse
March 2007 - February 2008, Seikei University, Tokyo
Gabrielle Metherall
April 2007 - March 2008, Waseda University, Tokyo
Rukmal De Silva
October 2007 - March 2008, Chiba University, Chiba