Factsheet on Exchange at Kyoto Seika University:
Art, Design, Manga, Media Creation

Kyoto Seika University is located amid the green northern hills of Kyoto, anancient city that was Japan’s imperial capital from 794 to 1868. Kyoto remains
the heart of Japan, rich in cultural traditions spanning more than 1,200 years.
It has 230 National Treasures, 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites, and is also
home to Nintendo and popular cultural attractions such as Kyoto Seika’s
unique Kyoto International Manga Museum.
Founded in 1968, KSU currently has about 4,200 students in undergrad andgraduate programs in Faculties of Art, Design, Manga, Media Creation, and GlobalCulture.

1: Partner institutions
We host up to 20 exchange students each semester. Students from our exchange partner
art/design institutions are welcome to apply through their home institution for single-semester
exchange at KSU.
We are unable to accept applications from schools that we do not have a current exchange
agreement with.
Exchange Partners
https://www.kyoto-seika.ac.jp/eng/exchange/exchangepartners.html

2: Available majors (See https://www.kyoto-seika.ac.jp/eng/exchange/application.html)
Exchange applicants apply for one specific major/department, relevant to their major
study area. In principle, each major runs own curriculum and facility independently. Only ourFaculty of Art allows selection of electives from other majors within the same Faculty.
• Art:Oil Painting, Japanese Painting*, Sculpture, Ceramics, Textiles,Printmaking, Video & Media Arts
• Design: Graphic Design, Illustration, Digital Creation, Product Communication
Design, Interior & Goods Design, Fashion, Architecture• Manga: Cartoon Art, Comic Art, Animation*, Character Design, New Generation Manga• Media Creation: Media Technologies, Image Creation, Sound Creation* Japanese Painting only accepts students with a strong background in traditional
painting.
* JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) N2 is required for Animation.

13: Academic Calendar
Spring (Beginning of April– Beginning of August) Fall (Beginning of October– Beginning of February)
A student visa is valid for 6 months; you can arrive in Japan up to one month before the beginning ofclasses, or stay on after the semester within your resident card’s period of validity or till the end of
September/March*.
* Even if your resident card is valid for one year, your residential status as “student” will be invalid inaccordance with your enrollment period at Kyoto Seika University

4: Applications
After receiving approval from your home institution, please send us KSUʼsExchange Student Application form (downloadable from http://www.kyotoseika.ac.jp/eng/exchange/application.html) including your study objectives and atentative study plan), together with your most recent transcript, a faculty member’srecommendation, and a representative portfolio of 10-20 recent works (digitalimages compiled as a PDF may be sent as an email attachment, or by data servicesuch as WeTransfer), for approval by the department in which you want to studyat KSU.
• Acceptance by KSU depends on availability of working space and a suitable
academic supervisor.

5: Application Deadlines for Applying to Seika
For spring semester (classes from early April):
For fall semester (classes from early October):November 15th of the preceding year
April 15thSend by email to kokusai@kyoto-seika.ac.jp

6: Fees
Exchange students pay tuition fees to their home institution only. However, you may needto pay for some studio materials at KSU. For example, Printmaking provides inks butstudents buy their own paper etc; Design students pay for laser-printing of posters, and soon.

7: Language Requirements
For a successful exchange study experience, at least basic Japanese language ability isrecommended. No specific test score is required, but we strongly advise studying Japanese for one
semester before arrival; more if possible. This will make a big difference to your experience here,
both on- and off-campus.
* JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) N2 is required for Animation.

• A weekly Japanese language class is provided free for exchange students by a qualified
tutor, but no formal credits are given for this in Seika transcripts as it is extra-curricular. If youneed extra credits, you may be able to arrange this with your home institution as independent
study (with extra homework?); the tutor can provide documentation at the end of semester.

8: Accommodation
University Dormitory
Shuko-kan, an international student dormitory owned and operated by the university, is offered
to exchange students. Generally, international students will share a room with a Japanese
student. If you wish to apply to live in the dormitory, please fill out the application form, which
will be attached to your acceptance email, and submit it via email by the designated dat e.

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Apartment/ Share House
Kyoto is a compact city. Thanks to a high concentration of universities in the area, a wide rangeof properties are available in and around the city center and the suburbs to accommodate
different budgets. However, not many properties are available for short-term contracts, so it may
be challenging to find a property that fits your needs. Even worse, only a few realtors can offer
their services in English. In principle, you should find a place to stay on your own. We
recommend that you start applying for accommodation as soon as you have received anotification of acceptance from us.
For more information, please refer to this link.
https://www.kyoto-seika.ac.jp/eng/exchange/after_acceptance.html

9: Student visa
You will need a student visa to enter Japan. If you do not have a current passport, be sure to apply forit well ahead of the time that you need to apply for your visa!
• After your application is approved by Seika, we will apply for your Certificate of Eligibility (COE)at the Kyoto Immigration office. Processing takes at least one month. We then e-mail the COE toyou, with a visa application form, for you to submit with your passport to your nearest Japanese
Consulate or Embassy, to obtain the actual visa.

10: Travel to Japan
Students need to make their own flight reservations and cover all travel expenses. We advise arriving via
Kansai International (KIX) as the closest airport for international flights. We provide additional on-arrival
access information in our Pre-Departure Guide, sent with the COE.

11: Insurance (required even if you already have other cover!)Everyone staying on a student visa is required to join Japan's National Health Insurance (NHI,kokumin kenko hoken). It covers 70% of ordinary medical costs including doctor's, hospital, anddental fees for necessary treatment (accident or sickness). You will sign up for NHI at the local ward
office, during orientation. It costs around ¥2,000 per month, paid by monthly installments at aconvenience store, bank or post office. Coverage begins immediately on joining. It is compulsory,even if you already have your own full health insurance in your home country.
Students at KSU are legally required to be covered by comprehensive personal insurance. Under thispolicy (through Tokyo Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd.), if you cause accidental injury to otherpersons you are covered for claims of up to 100 million yen, and or tenant liability up to 5 million yen. It
costs around ¥3,000 per semester (6 months). Pay either by FlyWire or at Seika’s Accounts office.

12: Credits
Be sure to check with your academic supervisor in your home institution how many credits you will needto receive for transfer while on your exchange program. Most of the exchange students take 8 to 10
credits from KSU (It changes depends on your choice and depends on the faculty).
In Japan, the standard value of one credit represents “contents requiring 45 hours of study (includingself-learning). Each Japanese credit converts as approx. 1.5 to 2 ECTS (depends on the country or theuniversity).

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