Changes to Off-campus Programs from AY 2024 | Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

In AY 2023, APU founded the College of Sustainability and Tourism (ST) and started new curriculums in the College of Asia Pacific Studies (APS) and the College of International Management (APM). Our Graduate School of Management (GSM) also started a new curriculum from AY 2023.
As part of this, to strengthen learning in our colleges and graduate schools and give more students an opportunity to make use of Off-campus Programs, we have been establishing and expanding our programs and partner universities. For example, we have increased the number of field study programs and the number of partner universities involved in exchange programs and double degree programs, established new off-campus programs for our graduate schools, and expanded the types of internships that can be done for credit (added independently-arranged internships in addition to contract internships).
Going forward, we plan to continue considering new programs that are designed to respond to the changing times and meet the needs of our students. When new programs are available, we will notify you via the Off-campus program website, Campus Terminal, etc., so please check these sites regularly.
With the establishment and expansion of our programs, there will also be some programs that will not be offered from AY 2024. For details, please see the list of our programs and the information on each program page.

[About On-Site Meeting and Dismissal for Off-campus Programs]
Up to now, all students participating in off-campus programs as a group have had their plane tickets arranged by the university, and have departed from and returned to Japan as a group. However, from AY 2024, in principle students participating in off-campus programs will “meet and dismiss on-site,” and students will be asked to make their own arrangements for plane tickets and so on. For programs with a significantly large number of participants, the university may continue to arrange plane tickets for all participants and have them depart from and return to Japan as a group. Please check the application guidelines and other information for each program for details.

Meeting and dismissing on-site provides the following benefits for students:
・Opportunities for continued learning
Meeting and dismissing on-site allows you to carry out research activities that suit your interests in the country/region where each program is held or in the surrounding area, and deepen your learning.

・Gain the skills needed to act autonomously
Since students will be asked to carry out the necessary procedures for traveling overseas on your own (getting plane tickets, visas, etc.), it will give you a sense of responsibility and the opportunity to act autonomously. If you are able to make arrangements to go abroad on your own, it will make it easier for you to travel abroad during your student life.

・Can travel directly between the on-site location and your home country
International students will be able to depart directly from your home country to participate in programs, and can return directly to your home countries after the program, making it easier for you to join programs.

APU off-campus programs provide students with opportunities for learning and practice in various countries and regions around the world. Instead of just being satisfied with experiences gained through studying in APU’s multicultural environment, I hope that students will join off-campus programs, learn and have experiences in the field, and bring what they have learned back to campus to engage in a “cycle of learning” that will further deepen your studies at APU. I hope that many students will participate in Off-campus Programs.