March 10, 2008
OXFORD, Miss. – One University of Mississippi student is to get a life-changing opportunity to live and study in Japan for a full academic year, thanks to a new scholarship funded by the Japan Student Service Organization, or JASSO.
The $10,000 scholarship for study at Osaka Gakuin University in Osaka, Japan, is for the 2008-2009 academic year. The program is administered through the UM Study Abroad Office.
OGU offers courses in Japanese language, culture, social sciences, political science and business.
"JASSO scholarships are designed for qualified international students accepted by Japanese universities under the student exchange agreement on a short-term basis from about three months to one year," said Mike H. Matsuno, director of international programs at OGU. "We are excited to recommend a student from the University of Mississippi as a candidate."
The scholarship program is open to all UM students in good standing with a GPA of at least 2.5, said Blair McElroy, study abroad advisor for Asian programs. All academic areas are eligible, and students need not speak Japanese to qualify.
"Students get an intensive Japanese language program while they're there, and that's why they don't necessarily have to have any prior knowledge of Japanese language to qualify for this program," she said.
Students can go for the fall semester or for the full academic year. The 10-month academic year is broken into the fall semester, a seven-week interim program and the spring semester. Students take 16 credits per week, with 10 credits of Japanese language and six credits of subject-based courses taught in English for the fall semester. The interim program is an intensive language program, and all classes in the spring semester are taught in Japanese, McElroy said.
Upon arrival in Japan, the scholarship recipient is to receive 150,000 yen (about $1,500) and thereafter a monthly stipend of 80,000 yen (about $800) for the duration of the program, she said.
OGU is a private institution in the heart of Osaka, Japan's second-largest city and the country's commercial center, with Mitsubishi, Sanyo and Suntory calling it home. The school is also UM's only exchange partner in Japan offering a home-stay option, providing students with a complete immersion in Japanese culture.
"Because of the growing relationship between the communities in north Mississippi and Japan, now is the perfect time for a Mississippi student to consider studying in Japan," said Susan Oliphant, director of the UM Study Abroad Office. "Imagine the impact of such study on future employment."
UM has exchange agreements with more than 43 universities around the world. Through these agreements UM students can spend a semester or year abroad, and students from international universities can come to Ole Miss. Students who study abroad on an exchange pay UM tuition and fees for each semester they are abroad. They remain enrolled as Ole Miss students and receive UM credit for the courses they take.
To apply for the Osaka Gakuin University scholarship, students must write an essay, provide a reference and complete a study abroad application and the OGU scholarship application. The application deadline is April 3, with award letters mailed by April 30.
Study abroad applications are available online at http://www.olemiss.edu/abroad. For OGU scholarship applications and more information on the program, contact Blair McElroy at 662-915-1508 or blair@olemiss.edu.
