How Can Students Learn at University?

Learning a foreign language is the core ingredient to gaining a global vision.

All of the freshman learn English, Chinese, Spanish or Indonesian and Malayan Languages as their primary foreign language.

In addition, students may also earn credits in English, Chinese, Spanish, Indonesian, French, and Korean as a second foreign language.

Reasons for choosing the Department of International Studies at Setsunan University

1. Small-size seminar
2. Class formation according to the students own language proficiency
3. Practical English, Chinese, Spanish and Indonesian and Malayan ability stressed
4. English, Chinese, and Spanish classes tailored to suit students' abilities
5. Outside qualification Tests (TOEIC & Chinese Kentei Test & Spanish Kentei Test & Indonesian Kentei) undertaken to improve future employment possibilities
6. Study abroad programs strongly recommended by the university
7. Opportunities to learn about global issues
8. Information provided by the university on qualifications needed for jobs in the mass media, international organizations, travel, teaching and the arts

Tutorial & Seminar Classes

1st year

First Year Seminar

University research skills are taught including note-taking and information collection to enable positive participation in university classes.

Basic Seminar

Presentation skills are developed in English, Chinese, Spanish and Indonesian and Malayan and students can enjoy learning the language and cultural background.

2nd year

Second Year Seminar I・II

Students develop their own research interest guided by their seminar teacher. Various research articles, books and fields are examined in class to assist students in finding their own field of interest.

3rd year

Cultural Studies Seminar I・II

Students work with a teacher whose research is of interest to them, and carry out their field work and study, analyzing and reading, and finally present their data in written form.

4th year

Graduation Thesis I・II

Students work with their teacher to research their field of interest in more depth and develop their own ideas to produce a graduation thesis.

Study Abroad Program

Students are encouraged to study abroad from their second year. The universities students can take part in are University of Alabama in U.S.A.; University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and Calgary University in Canada; Southern Cross University in Australia; University of Auckland in New Zealand; National Taiwan Normal University in Taiwan; Beijing Language and Culture University and Shanghai International Studies University in China; Universidad de Zaragoza and Universidad de Alicante in Spain; Universidad de Guanajuato in Mexico; Universitas Dr. Soetomo in Indonesia; Universiti Kebang Saan Malaysia in Malaysia.

Other Projects

Lectures and Speech & Vocabulary Contests

In addition to regular classes, various international events are held each year to raise students' global awareness. Every year there is a lecture series which features international speakers who discuss various historical and cultural topics. There are also speech &Vocabulary contests for students in several languages. Setsunan students have done especially well in recent nation-wide Chinese speech contests.

English parties

English parties are held mainly for freshmen to get acquainted with friends and teachers in English in spring and also at christmas.

On-site study

Students are visit museums, historical sites and other cultural points of interests to gain practical experience and knowledge.

Internships

Students can attend internship program in order to develop and improve knowledge and skills with a career interest.