Location
  • Japan
    • Nagoya
Term
Academic Year, Fall, Spring, Summer
Subject Areas
Asian Studies Business Humanities Social Sciences

Program Details

Program Type
Provider
Degree Level
Bachelors
Housing
Host Family
Language
English

Pricing

Price Details
Contact IES Abroad or see website for details.
Apr 19, 2021
Aug 20, 2019

About Program

Yearning to immerse yourself in Japanese language and history near the heart of cultural Japan? The fourth-largest city and the hub of Japanese manufacturing industries in Japan has plenty of festivals, traditional arts, and sports to enjoy.

Be sure to visit Nagoya Castle and Atsuta Shrine, two beautiful and culturally significant landmarks, to help you gain a better understanding of Nagoya, where there is truly something for everyone.

Experience all this city has to offer whether through direct enrollment or intensive language study, as this thriving city becomes your classroom.

Video and Photos

Scholarships

IES Abroad Scholarships

IES Abroad Scholarships and Financial Aid

As far as we're concerned, financial limitations shouldn't prevent you from studying abroad with us. That's why we offer more than $5 million in scholarships and aid.

Value
$500 - $5,000

Popular Programs

crowd walking in front of a red building of traditional Japanese architecture

Immerse yourself in Japanese culture through full-time enrollment at the Center for Japanese Studies at Nanzan University. In addition to a required intensive Japanese language class, you will choose from a range of English-taught course offerings in Business, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and enjoy hands-on instruction in Japanese arts such as ikebana, shodo, hanga, and sumie. Students with advanced language skills are encouraged to enroll in seminars taught in Japanese with local students.

group of students smiling in front of a castle in Japan

Immerse yourself in Japanese culture by spending the summer studying abroad in Nagoya! Practice your language skills when you order sashimi at a local restaurant or ask for directions to the subway station. Interested in learning about hanga (woodblock printing) or ikebana (traditional flower arranging)? Our program offers you the chance to learn about Japanese culture with hands-on classes. You can also participate in course-related excursions around the city and to the historic city of Kyoto.

Program Reviews

9.23 Rating
based on 22 reviews
  • 9-10 rating 77.27%
  • 7-8 rating 22.73%
  • 5-6 rating 0%
  • 3-4 rating 0%
  • 1-2 rating 0%
  • Academics 8.5
  • Support 9.1
  • Fun 8.6
  • Housing 9.2
  • Safety 9.9
Showing 1 - 8 of 22 reviews
Default avatar
Jessalin
9/10
Yes, I recommend this program

My Japanese improved greatly, and I made friends!

I went abroad to improve my Japanese, and I was not disappointed. The Japanese program is intense and rewarding; it took a lot of work, but I learned a lot! I loved being able to learn alongside other passionate students. The professor's were caring and helpful, which made it easier during difficult classes. One of the ways IES was helpful was the practical advice about the area, and the time spent with other international students. I especially liked having the orientation before the classes started so I had adjustment time. Also, the trips they coordinated were really fun and helped me learn how to travel safely so that later I was able to do my own trips as well.
The only thing I found a bit frustrating was it was nearly impossible to participate in clubs at the university. But overall, the program was amazing.

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?
Items I still don't know the names of. IES gave me the opportunity to try a lot of traditional Japanese food, and I learned that a lot of Japanese food has really different textures.
14 people found this review helpful.
Read my full story
Default avatar
Jacob
10/10
Yes, I recommend this program

One of the best Decision's I have ever made

I studied abroad with IES Abroad Nagoya in the Spring of 2019.

The IES abroad program at Nagoya is amazing. the staff for both the program and the university are very kind, and very helpful. they understand all of the struggles you might go through while studying abroad. Nazan also has counselors for international students.

Nagoya is a small but very nice city. In the areas where you will live, host family or dorm, there are very little foreigners so you don't have to worry about being treated like you know very little to no Japanese. it's also a very convenient city to make trips from. There are a lot subways, trains, and bus lines in the area to go almost anywhere of interest. And you can easily take the bullet train along the eastern coast which goes all the up to Hakodate and all the way down to Kagoshima. The airport is also a major one so you can easily take a domestic flight to a lot of cities.

The trips you are broad on are amazing as well and super generous. You get to go to some really cool locations, stay at very nice hotels and Ryokans (Japanese inn), and eat very good food.

The convenience and cheapness of the public transport system in Japan really encourages you to explore. I've made many solo trips. If your Japanese level is good enough, you can go almost anywhere.

Overall, this program completely change me. I was able to grow a lot as a person, a student, and a professional. My Japanese ability also skyrocketed.

I highly recommend this program for anyone who has the chance.

14 people found this review helpful.
Julia
10/10
Yes, I recommend this program

Studying Through IES in Nagoya: The Experience of a Lifetime

If you had told me a few years ago that I’d be studying abroad in Japan, I wouldn’t believe you. My application process was surreal: I’d looked up a countless number of photos, blogs, and reviews of study abroad in Japan, and I couldn’t believe that I was applying to go to a country so different from my own. When I applied and found out that I was accepted into IES Abroad’s Nagoya Summer Program, I was ecstatic: I was going to Japan! I had a new perspective about the photos, blogs, and reviews that I’d seen and read. I would gather my own memories and photos just like those in the past who’ve studied abroad have done.

What I loved the most about studying abroad through IES is the support system that I had from the minute I was accepted and even now as an alumna. I remember feeling butterflies (a bit from excitement, a bit from nervousness) when I thought about my upcoming study abroad trip, but my advisor sent me a weekly newsletter and answered all of my questions (no matter how small or unimportant they seemed to me!).

The minute my plane touched down in Nagoya, two IES staff members greeted me in the airport. This was such a relief for me, as I had never been in a foreign country before--let alone one where the native language isn't English! The staff members were so polite and helped me and two of my fellow participants to the hotel that we'd be staying in for the weekend. On the train ride there, we introduced ourselves and talked about various aspects of American and Japanese culture (in a mix of Japanese and English) and just our initial reactions at being in Japan. It was comforting to have them there with me, and they assuaged any lingering fears or worries that I had about being in a country so far from home.

My first weekend in Japan was an orientation guided by two IES staff members. They gave us emergency resources, talked about some cultural differences and difficulties that we might face, and organized a traditional Japanese meal for us. It was a perfect transitioning weekend that helped me and the other participants become comfortable with our new home for the next 6 weeks.

I won't lie and say transitioning to life in Japan was easy; being in a foreign country for the first time, especially when you don't speak the official language fluently, is tough. Tasks that I wouldn’t give a second thought to in America like doing laundry and buying groceries were challenging. My advice to overcoming these challenges is this: observe how your Japanese classmates carry out their day-to-day lives and never be afraid to ask for help.

My time in Japan was short, but I felt like I had seen a lot and learned a lot about the places that I visited. Because of IES, I was able to see my host city in a new way, through several different cultural events like the community Tanabata celebration and the TAO drum performance. I also explored more of Kyoto than I ever thought I would; Kyoto is such a historically and culturally rich city with an abundance of shrines, temples, and historical landmarks, and our weekend field trip to Kyoto allowed us to visit a handful of the most famous landmarks in a short span of time. Although I was extremely tired after the trip, I'm glad that I had the chance to see so much of such a beautiful city. IES Abroad field trips supplemented an already incredible study abroad experience by helping me to see more of Japan, both geographically and culturally, than I ever thought possible.

One aspect that I loved about IES is that they organized these field trips and events, but the time commitment was never overwhelming. I still had free time so I could hang out with my new friends and go to karaoke or a local ramen shop, or plan small field trips of our own to museums and castles.

As far as academics go, Nanzan University provided a rigorous and highly beneficial language learning environment. We had classes 5 days a week, around 3 hours a day with a 15-minute break in between, and then homework on a daily basis. What I loved about Nanzan was that they provide so many opportunities for international students to interact with Japanese students, both inside and outside of the classroom. Every Friday, our sensei would invite Japanese students to our class and we would start off the class by having conversations with them for 20-minutes. There were also daily events such as the Japan Plaza where you could go and get homework help or just informally converse in Japanese, and other frequent events such as Coffee Hour where you could converse and play games with Japanese students. They also organized several field trips (some just for international students, some for international and Japanese students) to various places such as Shirakawa-go, a beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site nestled in the mountains, and even a sumo championship held in Nagoya! The environment that Nanzan University provided was so inviting and fun.

If you attend, I highly recommend staying in the International Student Dormitories. For the girls dorm, you’re guaranteed one Japanese roommate, plus up to 2 other roommates from anywhere in the world! The dorms are more like 4-bedroom apartments with a shared bathroom area, kitchen area, and common area. The guys dorms are single rooms, but there is still at least one Japanese student on each floor, so you won’t lose the opportunity to converse with native Japanese speakers, even when you’re settled in for the night.

Despite only being in Japan for 6 weeks, it felt like a lifetime because of all of the incredible people that I met and places that I saw. Overall, I highly recommend studying through IES Abroad if you’re looking to get the most out of your time abroad and explore every nook and cranny of your host country, with the support of a genuine and caring staff.

13 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Maya
10/10
Yes, I recommend this program

Summer in Nagoya

Participating in the Nagoya Summer--Language and Culture program at Nanzan University for seven weeks this past summer truly transformed my Japanese language ability and increased my confidence. Initially terrified to travel alone for the first time in my life, I was incredibly nervous, but the IES facilitators provided so much support that I was ability to immediately make friends and quickly come to call Nanzan University home. By both intensively studying Japanese and being fully immersed in Japanese culture every day I was able to improve more in my language ability then I ever could at my home university in the US. I left the program conversationally fluent and able to navigate the city by myself. I made lifelong friends with both other international students and the Japanese students at Nanzan. We still keep in touch to this day. This program made me realize just how much I love studying Japanese and has motivated me to continue to further pursue these studies.

12 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Sarah
10/10
Yes, I recommend this program

Spring Semester in Nagoya!

Living in Nagoya was an absolutely amazing experience I will never forget. Living in Japan and with a host family, I was able to use my Japanese all the time and because of that, my language skills greatly improved. Traveling and seeing Japan was one of the highlights of my experience. Every city I visited in Japan was not only beautiful, but also, had something unique to offer. The people I met in my daily interactions and at my university were extremely kind and helpful.

17 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Charles
9/10
Yes, I recommend this program

A Truly Immersive Experience

The IES experience was truly beyond what I expected from studying abroad. While we were given great cultural classes in addition to our regular classes, they assured that students were truly immersed in exploration, creating international friendships, and having a working understanding of the language and social aspects. The trips included many cultural experiences that even normal Japanese people do not get to do (i.e. very nice tea houses!).
Even when I was going on side trips with friends, Nagoya's location is perfectly located so that you can easily get to visit tourist favorites, such as Tokyo and Osaka, with ease. It also is a big city with many attractions within itself, but you get the feeling of it being legitimately Japan. Especially among my friends who were really searching for actually learning the culture and improving their language skills, Nagoya's Nanzan University the best program fit.
If you're still deciding which program to choose, you won't regret choosing IES Nagoya!

What would you improve about this program?
Many students weren't taught well of the social environment and nuances, so it could create for an awkward transition when meeting people, making friends, or even just socializing in general.
15 people found this review helpful.
Emily
9/10
Yes, I recommend this program

Incredible Semester in Nagoya!

I really couldn't have imagined my experience without going abroad with IES! IES provided so much support and opportunities for all of us during the semester. My friends who also studied abroad at Nanzan (but not with IES) were always really jealous of all of the incredible performances we saw and field trips we went on as a part of IES! Furthermore, the upper levels at Nanzan for Japanese studies are incredible, I learned so much and my Japanese improved dramatically. Would DEFINITELY recommend this program, and I do!

Choosing this program is such an incredible investment in your life and future! :)

16 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Thomas
9/10
Yes, I recommend this program

My time in Nagoya

I got the opportunity to study overseas in Japan, thanks to IES Abroad and I can say that it was a wonderful experience. The immersion and activities that this program provide were amazing. Everything from spending a weekend in Kyoto, to watching the incredible TAO drums which took my breath away and more. One of my favorite things that I got to do was making souvenirs, I loving things and this program gave me the opportunity to make a furoshiki (something like a traditional japanese handkerchief) and my own chopsticks with a little carrying case. There was the added benefit that I knew that even though I was overseas and away from my friends and family, that I had a group of fellow IES students who were there to help me out and join me on my adventures. The program coordinators were informative and ready to answer questions and were some addition peace of mind while overseas. All in all, I had a great time with this program and would recommend.

15 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers

To an extent, yes. The minimum requirement is that the student be able to read and write all hiragana and katakana characters. That is the requirement to place into the 300 (lowest level) New Intensive Japanese course. All international students enrolled in Nanzan University's Center for Japanese Studies are required to take the New Intensive Japanese classes and will take a placement test upon...