program DETAILS
- Arrival date: Late June 2022
- Departure Date: Late July 2022
- Program length: 4 Weeks
- Dickinson Credits: 1 (equivalent to 4 semester credits)
- Program Fee: TBA
- Pre-requisites: None
- Application Deadline: 04/01/2022
Get a Global Perspective
Study abroad should be more than tourism, more than a language barrier, more than culture shock… it should challenge you as a person. Take on a summer program that makes you think critically about the world around you, teaches you to navigate situations with empathy and respect, and helps you develop the skills and knowledge base to not just learn, but to do.
Summer in Japan
program highlights
- Take college-level coursework
- Expand your understanding of global issues and interdependence, and their impact on local communities
- Live in a homestay and experience life in Osaka as locals do
- Travel to Tokyo and visit museums, see cultural monuments, and explore local parks
SUmmer TAKEAWAYS
- College credit on an official transcript from Dickinson College
- Develop a solutions-focused mindset in the face of complex issues
- Build independence, confidence, and experience as you live away from home and experience a new culture
- Exposure and advancement with learning the Japanese language
Global Learning from Japan
Take on Global Issues
Explore broader global themes and issues at every level—how they influence you on a personal level, how they play out in a US-based context, and finally what they look like nationally in Japan and regionally in Osaka. Compare American headlines on equality and justice with local perspectives. Examine the national difference in approaching environmental sustainability. Then connect with peers all over the world for even more perspectives.
Introduction to Global Perspectives
Your core course explores global interdependence through identity/power/culture, public health, environmental sustainability, and civic engagement. To foster a global understanding inclusive of many perspectives, you and your Global Perspectives peers (based in Italy, France, Spain, China, and Washington, DC) maintain a summer-long discussion. Compare national responses to environmental emergencies, identify the most critical barriers to public health comparing what you’ve learned in a Japanese context with what your peers have learned in their own countries. See the class syllabus.
Learning the Language
Japanese language learning is weaved into every module throughout the summer. Not only do you learn vocabulary and grammar sets that help you navigate your daily life in Japan, but you also learn terminology specific to the program’s academic themes. And because you can’t learn a language without real-world practice, your assignments use Osaka as an extended classroom.
Travel to Tokyo
Enjoy worry-free travel with a program-sponsored excursion to Tokyo. Ride the Shinkansen (bullet train) into the city. People watch in Harajuku. Spend hours in the Akihabara district, shopping in the endless anime, manga, and video game market stalls. Visit the Meiji Shrine. See the ancient Buddhist temple at Sensō-ji in Asakusa. Eat traditional foods with your group and practice your Japanese in a different city.
YOUR JAPAN Itinerary
Summers with CET are packed with classes, activities around the city, and even regional travel. These are a few highlights to give you a better idea of what your summer might look like outside the classroom.
Week
1
- Attend orientation and get to know your group during the welcome banquet
- Roam downtown Osaka with your class on a street food tour
- Visit Abeno Life Safety Center to see the region's public health approach
Week
2
- Learn the careful art of making takoyaki (fried dough balls with octopus)
- Take the train to explore the Kyoto International Manga Museum
- Snack on taiyaki then indulge in karaoke culture in the Dotonbori area
Week
3
- Practice your Japanese vocabulary by ordering at a restaurant
- Visit the Pokémon Center and learn about its history and influence
- Head to the Cup Noodles museum and design your own instant ramen pack
Week
4
- Travel to Tokyo via bullet train for a 2-day trip with the group
- Explore the unique cultures of the Akihabara and Harajuku neighborhoods
- Attend the closing banquet before heading back home
Life in Osaka, Japan
- Known locally as: 大阪 Ōsaka
- Population: 2.691 million
- Local Currency: Japanese Yen
- Famous for: Great food, Osaka Castle, mom-and-pop shops, friendly people
Osaka offers an incredible Japanese experience. You live in a quiet residential neighborhood but have easy access to the bustling downtown. Go souvenir shopping with your group for Kit-Kats in various Japanese flavors, stickers and pens galore, and tea-flavored everything. Try out takoyaki for your first taste of octopus. Go hiking in Minoh Park with your group for some fresh air and relaxation at the waterfall.
HOUSING & MEALS
Where you live and what you eat is another layer of developing your global perspective. You go beyond a tourist’s experience and live life as locals do in a residential neighborhood in Osaka.
- Local homestay
- 1-2 CET students per homestay
- All meals included
- Internet access, bed linens, basic furnishing, kitchenware
You either have your own furnished room or share one with another CET student or a host sibling of the same gender. All homestays (vetted by CET staff) will look different but provide the same general amenities. And like most other Osakans, you have a 20-40 minute commute via train.
Connecting Locally Starts in Your New Home
Living in a homestay with a locals is the best way to get to know and experience life in Osaka. It’s far more than just housing, they provide you with instant community—help your host parents prepare Saturday morning breakfast, see how a birthday is celebrated in a Japanese home, explore their favorite parts of Osaka. At the end of your time together, you’ll find that Japan isn’t simply somewhere you visited, it’s a place you called home.
Eating in Osaka
Your program fee includes three meals a day, giving you ample opportunity to explore the wide variety of Japanese cuisine. Your breakfasts and dinners (and sometimes lunch) are shared with your hosts at home, providing a daily platform for cultural exchange over food. And in your free time, learn why Osaka is called “the nation’s kitchen.” Explore all the snacks at your neighborhood konbini (convenience store), and don’t forget the Osakan specialty of okonomiyaki, a savory pancake.
Program Costs
2022 Summer Fees: TBA
CET’s high school programs are designed to be as inclusive as possible. You pay for your flights and your own personal spending, and we take care of the rest.
All of your classes and course materials are included with your tuition.
All of your meals are included with your program fees.
We arrange for you to live with a local family in a CET-vetted homestay in Osaka. Families are hand selected and trained by local CET staff and matched with students based off the housing questionnaire.
We are your support network. From pre-departure questions to academic support to emergency management, we’ve got your back.
You’re provided with a comprehensive insurance plan through GeoBlue. It even includes evacuation coverage for individual medical emergencies.
The activities and excursions that we arrange are included in your program fee. All you need to do is remember to bring your camera!
You receive a CET Certificate of Completion and an official transcript from Dickinson College at the end of the program… the icing on the cake for your college applications.
Estimated
Out-of-Pocket
Costs
- Round-trip Airfare: $800 - $1,500
- Personal Expenses: $300
For CET high school and pre-college programs, you must:
- Be between ages 14-18 at the program start date
- Be a rising sophomore, junior, or senior in high school, or a recent graduate not yet enrolled in a college or university degree program
Competitive applicants are motivated high school students with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. However, admission decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, so students with lower GPAs are still encouraged to apply.
Complete the application through your online CET account. This is a brief form that asks for basic information and has a few short answer questions about why you want to study abroad.
Your online CET account has specific instructions for submitting an official transcript.
Use the link in your online account to send a recommendation request to one of your current or previous instructors.
Priority Application Deadline:
February 1st 2022
Final Application deadline:
April 1st 2022
Questions? Get in touch!
Melanie Mackenzie
Student Services Coordinator,
High School & Pre-College Programs
202.846.7662
[email protected]
Price Subject to Change:
CET reserves the right to increase quoted charges at any time without prior notification, based on increased instruction costs, exchange rate fluctuation or other cost increases beyond CET’s control.