Global Programs >> Graduate Students >> Maxwell - I.U.J. Exchange Program

Maxwell - I.U.J. Exchange Program
 

The Program
Academics
Housing and Student Life
The Town
Getting There
Application Procedures & Costs
Reports from former participants
 

The Program

International Relations graduate students in the Maxwell School have the opportunity to study at the Graduate School of International Relations at the International University of Japan (I.U.J.) in Niigata during the Fall Semester. This unique opportunity is being offered by the International Relations Program in cooperation with the Division of International Programs Abroad.

Students who select Asia as their geographical concentration or Global Markets as their topical concentration should investigate the Maxwell-I.U.J. Exchange Program. The Graduate School of International Relations at I.U.J. offers a large number of two-credit courses on Japan, China, ASEAN, Southeast Asia, as well as Advanced Seminars on special topics. English is the language of instruction in all courses.

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Academics

The college student visa requires that students study for at least ten hours per week.  The minimum course load is four classes, at two credits each.  Some students choose to take an additional Japanese language class, which would not count toward the degree program.  Students typically take International Relations, History or Economics courses, such as:

International Politics (formerly called International Politics and Security)
History of International Relations
Governance Structure and Economic Development
Modern Japan from 1825 - 1995: A History

For a complete list of course offerings, please visit the following site, which lists the courses at I.U.J.'s Graduate School of International Relations.

View videoconference between the
Maxwell School and IUJ on the Japanese economy

The registration process is straightforward, but does not occur until late September.  In 2003, fall term courses ran from September 29 - October 31; examinations were complete by December 12, 2003.  In the semester prior to the exchange program, you will meet with the Ryan Williams, the Associate Director of Graduate Studies, to determine your plan of study and pre-approve any courses for credit towards your Maxwell degree program.  There is a "pre-registration" process through I.U.J., as well, but this is not official.  This is done in order to determine general interest in classes.  Students planning on coming to I.U.J. will be contacted by the Exchange Program Coordinator regarding pre-registration.

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Housing and Student Life

Housing is provided in student dormitories on campus.  The campus is small and promotes a "community/family" atmosphere.  Students have found that the size of the school and the design of the campus make it very easy to meet others.  Most students don't know much Japanese as the majority of students are from countries other than Japan.  The largest contingent comes from South, East and Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, China, Indonesia, India, and Laos, for example).  Some students have studies Japanese before coming to Japan but knowledge of Japanese is not necessary while on the I.U.J. campus.

Typically, room and board are subsidized by the Association for International Education in Japan (A.I.E.J.).  This Japanese governmental organization offers scholarships to study at I.U.J. for one semester.  To apply, please contact Sue Shane at the Division of International Programs Abroad.  The updated application form will be available January 1, 2004.  In addition, students participating in this program are eligible to receive global programs awards to help fund their travel and other expenses.  For more information on these awards, please contact Nell Silva or Ryan Williams.  Neither the scholarship nor the global programs award are guaranteed, and the availability and size of these awards vary by year.

The cost of housing and food are reasonable.  For example, a good lunch at the cafeteria only costs about 410 yen.  Students at I.U.J. are responsible for paying their own dorm fees, including electricity and hot water, but this is automatically deducted from an account which students set up through the local town bank.  The University staff help students open this account.

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The Town

I.U.J. is located near a small town (Yamato-machi) in Niigata Prefecture.  The area is located near the Sea of Japan opposite Tokyo.  The town of Yamato-machi is quite small and located in Japan's countryside, which means that students must know Japanese if they wish to explore the town.  While the University's facilities are sufficient to support most needs, there is a bus service to a larger local town that has more opportunities for shopping and eating.  There are also plenty of restaurants in the area and many second-year students have cars and are often more than willing to help out with driving and car pools.  Opportunities for working or internships in the area are very limited, and knowledge of the Japanese language would be required for any position in Japan.  At the time, the concept of an "internship" is not common in Japan. 

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Getting there...advice from an alumnus

"The only concern that I would have is that students should know some basic words and phrases in Japanese before coming.  The process of getting here is difficult (but not impossible at all) but knowing a little Japanese might help make it a bit easier.  It is, however, not required and I know some students here who came with no prior Japanese study experience.  I.U.J. also provides detailed instructions on how to get to the University and what to expect upon arriving in a pre-arrival guide which is mailed to all incoming students before they arrive in Japan." -Christopher Reina

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Application Procedures & Costs

The Maxwell-I.U.J. Exchange Program is open to all MA students in the professional International Relations Program.  The application deadline is October 15th.  Applicants should have a minimum GPA of 3.5.

This is how the Maxwell-I.U.J. Exchange Program works:  After being admitted to the program, participants will plan their course of study with the Director of Graduate Studies, who will consult with academic advisors at I.U.J.  Participants will pay graduate tuition to Syracuse University, and DIPA administrative fees (note that all DIPA procedures and fees apply to this program - contact DIPA for more information), but students will be responsible for their own room and board, as well as round trip transportation to Japan.  Financial aid may be available through the Association of International Education, Japan, organization for students who elect to remain in Japan for 6 months.  Those interested in this option should be in touch with Sue Shane at the Division of International Programs Abroad office at their earliest convenience, as deadlines apply. 

Participants will live in a residence hall at I.U.J.  The 2001 cost was approximately $275 per month for a small single room.  Other fees include electricity, copy and laser printing, textbooks, and the I.U.J. yearbook.  Pre-paid meal cards are used at the student cafeteria and the cafe.  Expect to spend about $15 per day for food.

While the fall term begins around September 1st, exchange students are sometimes restricted in their length of stay by a 90-day limit on their visas.  Be aware of your visa type before your departure.  Participants should expect to arrive in late September and leave just before Christmas.  For our program, classes begin on the first Monday in October.

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Reports from former participants:

Christopher Skaluba, Fall 2000
Sourabh Gupta, Fall 1998
Jeff Dutton, Fall 1997

Christopher Skaluba's Report (Fall 2000)

Chris Skaluba, an MA-IR and MA-English student (right, above, with Guy Grundman on the left, and Michelle Meyers, middle), participated in the Maxwell-IUJ Exchange Program in the Fall 2000 Semester. Here is Chris' report: "Confessions of a Mild Fall"

Since my geographic concentration at Maxwell is Europe, many of my colleagues expressed disbelief that I would spend a semester away in Japan. But having used my first year of the IR program to intently study European issues, I desired to expand my view of the world a bit. I had talked with previous IUJ participants who promised that the combination of individualized learning and amazing diversity at IUJ would make the experience worthwhile. And it proved to be so. IUJ is an opportunity to discover virtually every part of the world. There are nearly fifty nationalities represented in a student body that barely numbers 300 people.

When I arrived at IUJ, worn by jet lag, airplane food, and the necessity to utilize various modes of transportation without a word of Japanese in my vocabulary, all I wanted was a good night’s sleep, and I was overcome by that "what did I get myself into" feeling.

Much of the next week was spent writing a spate of emails that contained the line "new meaning to the phrase middle-of-nowhere" and hiding in Rebecca West’s 1150 page epic, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon. In that first week, I admirably scurried through about 300 pages of the exquisitely written, but immensely complex, paperback. The fact that I am writing this retrospective in mid-February having only reached page 700 is some indicator of how the rest of my time at IUJ progressed.

For a place with ostensibly nothing to do, I rarely had time for leisurely reading. My mornings were spent in the gym, my afternoons in class, and my early evenings over long and utterly inconsequential conversations at Café No Problem. For better or for worse, most of my nights were dedicated to honing what is still a relatively primitive pool game. And the weekends, what could be more exciting? Sake tasting contests, copious trips to Jusco, ethereal adventures on Sato Island, heated matches of Friday night death soccer, wild times in Tokyo, remarkable dinner parties, and the beautiful scenery of Kyoto and Nara.

The majority of my experiences might be categorized into three types: academic, cultural, and social. Though there was a great deal of overlap between these paradigms, and though none is more important than the other, it is somehow easier to reflect in this structured way. In many ways, my experience at IUJ proved so fluid and complementary that it appears to me now a vivid dream that I struggle to remember--impossible to recollect in sum, but somehow pieced together episodically.

Academics. The academics at IUJ are first rate, and my studies were not limited to just Asian topics. While classes in Japanese Politics and Japanese Society, Religion, and Culture helped me understand and adapt to the society in which I found myself, courses in the History of International Relations and the Political Economy of Regionalism were international in focus and allowed me to study related topics in a variety of geographical fora. In fact, my research paper for Political Economy was about NAFTA. Unable to take a Japanese language class because of a scheduling conflict, I fulfilled my desire to study language with a beginning course in Arabic.

Academic experiences, of course, involve my classes. While many of my friends on the IM side of the aisle would justifiably note the perceptibly less rigorous daily schedule of the IR crew, IR academics are not quite a casual stroll. As a native English speaker/reader, it took me less time to read and execute some of our assignments, and even so, I was often harangued for studying too often. My time spent on academics was not always born of necessity though. Quite frankly, I enjoyed my classes and studied as I did to stay as actively engaged as I could.

Professor Welfield’s sense of the History of International Relations is unmatched, and to understand a tiny fraction of what he does takes a vigorous effort. Professor Okuda’s Political Economy readings were amazingly relevant and challenging, and provided the basis for a remarkably well-designed class. Professor Shinoda’s introductory class on Japanese Politics culminates with a field trip to Tokyo, complete with briefing sessions at various ministries, lunch with a current Diet member, and a visit to Fuji television to watch a live newscast. Professor Kuroda’s sage, intricate, and candid consideration of Japanese culture and his patient attempts to teach me Arabic were enlightening beyond what I can adequately describe--and usually attached to the incentive of a post-class hot chocolate at Café No Problem.

Culture. Trying to extract the cultural aspects of my experiences from their academic or social counterparts is difficult. While both my academic and social experiences were, by nature, experiences in culture as well, those experiences were primarily defined by their academic or social flavors. My cultural experiences are those that are principally characterized by their cultural nature, that is, those moments where I was indisputably aware that I was interacting with a culture or cultures different than my own.

The evening of the US-Japan World Cup Soccer match was the first moment of profundity in this regard. Surrounded by twenty-five students who were vigorously cheering for Japan, I felt the need to deflate my obnoxiously vociferous support for the upstart American team. While delighted with the overtime US victory, I remember feeling strange that I was the sole pleased occupant of the SD-2 lounge that night. The cultural clashes over party music were equally confounding--one type of music could induce an entire national group to either militantly occupy or carelessly abandon the dance floor.

The cultural diversity of the campus is delightfully overwhelming. IUJ’s remote and rural setting demands that students form quick and intense friendships. Everyone knows everyone else and the opportunities to learn about other cultures are countless. There are myriad social and sporting events. A weekly dinner party among my closest friends included colleagues from Greece, Rumania, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Canada, and Eritrea. The most significant cultural experience was Open Day--an event that draws hundreds of people from all over Japan. On Open Day, each regional or national group reinvents its distinct culture--cooking native dishes, donning national dress, and performing skits or routines imported from home. Our "Americas" team danced Calypso and Merengue.

Of all the pictures I have from my time at IUJ, those of Open Day always arouse the most curiosity from onlookers. Most days, the student body of IUJ is a unique and heterogeneous culture of its own. But for one night, within a booth the size of a few square meters, each regional or national group reinvented its distinct culture. As I fought my way from station to station in an attempt to further stuff my face with incredible food, I remember thinking how much "at home" everyone looked and how honored and happy I was to have been invited into so many wonderful homes.

Social. IUJ’s administration does a stellar job helping students interact with the local community. There are copious opportunities to visit elementary schools and to practice Japanese with local school children. Among the local highlights in Yamato-machi, I visited a sacred shrine, participated in a sake-tasting contest, and toured government and industry points-of-interest. Best of all, the renowned Japanese bullet train--or shinkansen--passes directly through Yamato-machi. With a little planning and some smart budgeting, I was able to visit Sato Island in the Sea of Japan, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Tokyo, and even Tokyo Disneyland. Daily life at IUJ is reasonably inexpensive. Less credit hours and travel outside Yamato-machi, $2500-$3000 can sustain a comfortable life for one term. Travel into greater Japan tends to be expensive, since transportation and lodging can be pricey.

For some obvious reasons, it is my social experiences at IUJ that are most prominent for me. The friendships I made at IUJ are immensely special, with a few that may someday prove legendary. With due respect to my fine professors, I learned more about the world in the poolroom and Shokudo than I did in the classroom. Over countless games of pool and chess, over innumerable plates of chicken curry, I forged friendships that continue to teach me so much. In these seemingly endless hours, with the ragtag bunch of lunatics I proudly call my friends, I had intense discussions about Israeli actions in the Middle East, or spent hours defending the virtues of American capitalism (it does have some). At times like these, long after I should have been in bed, I learned about the acerbic side of both South Asian Politics and Russian Vodka.

Most of all I laughed. And laughed and laughed and laughed. Rarely have I met a group of people with such good humor. Rarely have I met a group of people so open to learning about each other. On this little tract of haunted land that is difficult to find even when looking for it, I learned how to cook Nepalese curry and was introduced to the incomparable Shakira. Here, I discovered that tone deafness and karaoke-like swing dancing and high heels (ask Rachel)-is a fun, though dangerous, combination. Here I learned just how much life is enhanced by diversity. Here I learned that who is around you is so much more important than where you are.

So forget the snow and enjoy each other. I hope to see you all soon.

Love and aragato, Chris

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Sourabh Gupta's Report (Fall 1998)

Sourabh Gupta, an MA-IR student, participated in the Maxwell-IUJ Exchange Program in the Fall 1998 Semester. Here is his report: "A Memorable Experience."

My semester of study abroad at the International University of Japan (IUJ) was an exhilarating experience. Set in idyllic surroundings in rural Niigata prefecture, IUJ comprises of a Graduate School of International Relations (GSIR) and a Graduate School of International Management (GSIM). With a student body of approximately 350 and faculty strength of approximately 40, the education is intensive, unique and very personalized. My concentrations currently at Maxwell are East Asia and International Economic Policy and I can confidently state that some of the best courses on those subject areas are offered at IUJ. In fact, for me two courses, Asia Pacific International Relations and Asia-Pacific Political Economy, were possibly the best ones of my graduate education.

Two features about IUJ struck me rather strongly. First was the exceptional diversity on campus. Strange as it may seem, at GSIR, Japanese students were outnumbered by international students, this at a university in their own country. And a real multinational cast of students it was. They came from places afar as Tunisia, Mongolia, and Myanmar, yet they shared the same interests and often, the same opinions, on issues as many of us here at Maxwell. Indeed many of them have their sights firmly set on attending Maxwell as exchange students. This diversity is also reflected among the faculty, composed of a multitude of Western and Asian professors, and probably best encapsulated by the Dean of GSIR, Leszek Buszynski, an Australian citizen of Polish descent with a doctorate from a British university.

The second striking feature was the huge number of exchange students on campus, again equally as diverse in composition as the full time students. In fact in one of my classes, International Business Management, exchange students comprised a majority of students and enlivened the class with their diverse viewpoints. Understanding the preciousness of this resource, the School's administration goes ever more out of its way to cater to the needs of exchange students and make the semester a memorable one for them. They organized visits for us to a local school, to the local onsen (hot spring, a specialty of the Niigata area along with rice and sake), to a restaurant for a serving of quintessentially Japanese cuisine, and also to a religious ceremony at the local shrine.

Additionally, other social activities in which I participated included an "Open Day" (an evening of cultural performances wherein I performed a group Fijian dance with painted face and minimal clothing! in front of local town-folk) and a small tennis tournament. Don't forget the tennis racquet when going to IUJ. Set with the mountains in the backdrop, it is among the more memorable places one can hope to play in.

All in all, IUJ was a wonderful experience. The student body being small, is extremely cohesive (as the karaoke bars in Yamato-machi will testify), student government is strong--sometimes to the point of being too politicized, and staff members kind and courteous. Japan is an expensive place, though IUJ is comparatively less so. An amount of $2000-$2500 (for accommodation in single student dorms, and other food and daily expenses) should see you comfortably through the full semester. If you have any questions about staying at IUJ or would like to discuss possible course options with me, please don't hesitate to contact me at sagupta@mailbox.syr.edu.

And beyond IUJ there is a whole beautiful country to see. Not an opportunity that one should surrender too easily!

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Jeff Dutton's Report on IUJ (Fall 1997)

Jeff Dutton, a professional MA in International Relations student in the Maxwell School was in Japan for the Fall Semester 1997 at the Graduate School of International Relations of the International University of Japan. Here is his informal report on the experience:

I was in Japan to study at IUJ from September 22 to December 20, 1997. I took four two-credit IR courses and a one-credit Japanese language course that focused on business topics. These nine credits finished my course requirements for the MA in IR at Syracuse. This report is divided into five sections: the student body, classes and instructors, social life, daily living and expenses, and the pro and cons of spending the last semester of the IR program in Japan. My general conclusion is that I had an excellent experience at IUJ, and I recommend it to any IR student with an interest in Asia.

The Student Body. There is perhaps no more international place than IUJ in the world. Of a total enrollment of only around 250 students, 40 countries are represented. Most of the students are from Asia, with Japanese students forming the majority of Asian students and approximately 30 percent of the student body. The Asian Development Bank sponsors dozens of students from Malaysia, Indonesia, and India, so these countries are very well represented on campus. There is also a surprisingly large contingent of students from Ghana in West Africa. IUJ students are generally slightly older (25-35) and more experienced than the average graduate student in the Maxwell IR program. Many are/were employees of their respective governments and are thus excellent contacts for a future career in IR, especially for those concentrating in Asia. I recommend to future students that they make a special effort to get to know their classmates despite the short period of study.

Instructors and Classes. I took the following classes (instructors in parenthesis): Asian Development Planning (Hara), Macro Analysis of the Japanese Economy (Nakamura), ASEAN Political Economy (Ng Chee), International Trade and Commercial Policy (Islam), and Japanese V (Kato and Tamaru). Hara had extensive experience working for the official Japanese development agencies in Thailand and had even been published. Nakamura is very talented in his field and enjoyed teaching. Ng Chee was a visiting professor from Singapore who has a Ph.D. in economics. His energetic presentation motivated me to find out more for myself about ASEAN countries. Islam was a visiting professor from Bangladesh. While some of the topics of the course repeated those in Professor Lovely's International Economics course in Syracuse, Islam's perspective was colored by his experience growing up in a developing country. The emphasis was much more on tariff policies and growth strategies. Japanese class met five days per week for one and a half hours, and it was very challenging. The instructors push students to the edge of their willingness to do homework and memorize phrases for daily quizzes.

There are, of course, other very insightful IR classes and instructors at IUJ. Professors Mori, Akita, and Inukai, I heard, are all quality teachers with solid academic backgrounds and challenging course requirements. In addition, IR students may take one or two classes from the Graduate School of International Management (IM) at IUJ. If I could choose classes again, I definitely would select a class called "International Business Management" taught by Professor Wallace from the IM school. I heard nothing but positive remarks from my friends about that class.

Social Life. Coming to rural Japan on the heels of a stimulating summer in Washington took some getting used to. It is important to realize that IUJ is in the middle of rice fields, and a round-trip Shinkansen train ticket to Tokyo costs over $100. My fellow students were extremely cordial and never hesitated to invite me to participate in social activities. Friday and Saturday nights can be spent in one of the dormitory lounges drinking beer and swapping stories about home country culture. Frequently my peers threw dance parties on Saturday nights in one of the more spacious student lounges in a dorm. Many chose to take advantage of IUJ's first-rate computing facilities to communicate with friends and family via e-mail or to surf the web during free time.

I spent most of my weekends in late September and October writing my Master's Paper, but in November I could spend more time with friends. I made two overnight trips to Tokyo during the last three weeks of my stay because I yearned to feel the energy of the big city.

Sports and Outdoor Activities. There is a well-maintained gymnasium where each night students play basketball, soccer, volleyball, etc. It also has some weight training equipment that I used about 4 times per week. The most outstanding facility is the IUJ tennis court area, which is equipped with night lighting. Until the snow season begins in early December, many of my classmates played tennis in the late afternoon or early evening. Bring a tennis racket!

Daily life/Expenses. I lived in a dorm room with a desk, bed, closet, toilet, and shower. It was small by Western standards, but it was all I needed for a one-term stay. I paid 32,000 yen (around $290 at the exchange rate of the time) per month for rent. Other fees included electricity, copy and laser printing, textbooks, and the IUJ yearbook. Pre-paid cards are used at the cafeteria and at "Café No Problem," the two dining options on campus. Both places are very cheap and are probably subsidized by the university. I usually spent $12-13 per day on meals I found quite edible. A variety of drinks and snacks are available at reasonable prices from the campus store and from vending machines. It will not be necessary to go into town for food shopping as most of the regular two-year students do, but it can be done via the free IUJ bus Monday through Saturday. Since room expenses are pro-rated for September and December, it is possible to live on less money than at Syracuse. Plan for $800 per month for living expenses.

Advantages/Disadvantages of the Third Semester at IUJ. The best part of study in Japan for the last semester of the MA in IR program is that it helps students develop a more global perspective. When I hear about the currency crisis in Indonesia or Malaysia, I think immediately of the close friends from those countries I have at IUJ. Employers will often be impressed that a student bothered to study abroad during graduate school. IUJ computing facilities are up-to-date, plentiful, and open 24 hours. I conducted part of my job search via e-mail and the web in Japan and have been interviewed in Washington for applications I sent from IUJ. I also wrote my Master's Paper at IUJ and had the final version approved by my first reader on December 1.

The convenience of living on campus and the relative ease of IUJ second-year IR courses made for enough time to complete some academic/career work that some students might not get around to if they were in Syracuse. On the downside of study at IUJ, Maxwell students will miss opportunities for information sessions and on-campus interviews with consulting firms such as Andersen and Coopers and Lybrand. However, if someone really wants a job at such a place, independent applications are always a possibility. Gretchen Shinoda in IUJ's Office of Student Services was happy to make competent recommendations for my resume and cover letters. She told me not to hesitate to seek her help with my job search (except in early October when IUJ students are preparing their resumes for the IUJ resume book).

If anyone would like to contact me to ask questions about my IUJ experience, please e-mail me at jeffdutton@hotmail.com.

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This page current as of: June 30, 2004