Kanazawa University Exchange Program (KUEP)

Program Overview

The Kanazawa University Exchange Program (KUEP) provides opportunities for students from partner Universities to earn credits and/or receive research guidance at Kanazawa University. Exchange students are offered Japanese language program and courses on education and lectures in English or Japanese on Japanese culture and society and various fields of specialization in English or Japanese.

Partner Universities

Partner universities are those with which Kanazawa University has concluded a Memorandum of Understanding on the Exchange of Students. There are two types of agreement: Inter-University Exchange Agreement and Inter-Departmental Exchange Agreement. Under the Inter-University Exchange Agreement, exchange students who meet the requirements can be affiliated with any college or graduate school of Kanazawa University. Under the Inter-Departmental Exchange Agreement, exchange students must be affiliated with the college or the graduate school with which Kanazawa University has concluded a MoU.

Academic Calendar

Academic Calendar

The KUEP academic year is divided into two semesters as follows.

Spring semester (Quarter 1, Quarter 2)	April 1 - September 30
Fall semester (Quarter 3, Quarter 4))	October 1 - March 31 of the following year

Classes are held during the following periods. Students will be able to return to their home countries as soon as classes are over

Spring semester	Quarter 1 (early April to mid-June), Quarter 2 (mid-June to early August)
Fall semester	Quarter 3 (early October to late November), Quarter 4 (early December to mid-February)

Admission

Enrollment is in April and October. The duration of study is 5 or 11 months.

April (Spring Semester) Admission	April - August or April - February of the next year
October (Fall Semester) Admission	October - February of the next year, or October - August of the next year

Application Period and Deadline for Spring 2027 Exchange Student

Application Guidelines to be sent to partner universities by e-mail	July 2026
Start of application period	August 2026
Nomination Deadline	September 25, 2026
Application Deadline	October 16, 2026
Notification of Acceptance	December 2026
Orientation	Early April 2027
Class starting date	Early April 2027
Course registration period	Early to Mid-April 2027

Application Period and Deadline for Autumn 2027 Exchange Students

Application Guidelines to be sent to partner universities by e-mail	July 2026
Start of application period	December 2026
Nomination Deadline	February 5, 2027
Application Deadline	February 26, 2027
Notification of Acceptance	June 2027
Orientation	Late September 2027
Class starting date	October 1, 2027
Course registration period	Early to Mid-October 2027

Qualifications

Applicants must fulfill all of the following conditions to be eligible.

Applicants must be enrolled at a partner institution that has concluded a Student Exchange Agreement with Kanazawa University at the start of the exchange program and must remain enrolled as a regular student at their home institution throughout the entire exchange period. Students who will graduate or complete their program at their home institution during the exchange period, or who will progress from an undergraduate program to a graduate program at their home institution during the exchange period, are not eligible to apply.
Applicants who wish to enroll in the College of Transdisciplinary Sciences for Innovation, the College of Science and Engineering, and the College of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences must be in their third year or higher of an undergraduate course at the time of arrival in Japan.
Applicants must have excellent academic performance at home university (above average in principle), as well as a good personality.
Applicants must have a clear purpose and plan for studying in Japan as well as a strong commitment to the program.
Applicants who wish to enroll in the College of Science and Engineering, the College of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, the Graduate School of Medical Sciences or the Graduate School of Advanced Preventive Medical Sciences must be students at a college or graduate school of their home university that corresponds to the respective host department and must have the ability and knowledge to take part in specialized research.
Applicants must return to their home university to continue their study or acquire a degree after completing the program at Kanazawa University.
Be certain to obtain “Student” visa to study at Kanazawa University.
Applicants must have sufficient proficiency in Japanese or English to understand course content. Applicants wishing to enroll in courses taught in Japanese must have Japanese language proficiency equivalent to JLPT N2 or above. Applicants wishing to enroll in courses taught in English must have one of the following English language qualifications: a TOEIC Listening & Reading Test score of 700 or above, a TOEFL iBT score of 72 or above, a TOEFL PBT score of 527 or above, an IELTS overall band score of 5.5 or above, or a Cambridge English Qualifications score of 160 or above. Applicants wishing to enroll in the Graduate Program in Japanese Language Education and Japanese Studies must have Japanese language proficiency equivalent to JLPT N1.Link to the attached file
1. Those who wish to be accepted at College of Transdisciplinary Sciences for Innovation, College of Science and Engineering, College of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences or at the graduate school must have an Provisional acceptance agreement from the desired academic advisor prior to application. 2. Those who wish to be accepted at College of Human and Social Sciences do not need the informal consent of their academic advisor. However, they will not be supervised for their graduation thesis, master's thesis, or doctoral dissertation at their home university.

How to apply

If you have any questions, please contact International Student Section, International Student Exchange Division<st-exch@adm.kanazawa-u.ac.jp>.

Please check the qualifications.
The partner institution (the applicant's home university) must nominate the applicant to Kanazawa University. Please submit the applicant's name and email address through the online nomination form by the nomination deadline.（The link to the online nomination form will be provided by email together with the program information . Scheduled for early July 2026).
After nomination, a link for online application will be sent to the candidate and the partner university.
Please select a prospective college and graduate school.
-College
-Graduate School
College of Transdisciplinary Sciences for Innovation Students who wish to be accepted at College of Science and Engineering, College of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, or at the graduate school should send an email to the faculty advisor of their choice to obtain his/her acceptance agreement before applying. College of Human and Social Sciences (Those who wish to be accepted by a faculty advisor are not required to obtain the acceptance agreement of the faculty advisor of their choice. The following is a list of faculty advisors. You can search for your academic advisor at the following URL. If you do not know the e-mail address of your preferred academic advisor, please contact International Student Exchange Division st-exch@adm.kanazawa-u.ac.jp Please contact us for more information.
- [Item to be included in the e-mail] Subject. Kanazawa University Researcher Information [Subject: Request for acceptance as a KUEP student Content: Name / Name of the university where you are enrolled / You wish to study abroad as an exchange student (KUEP) and need informal acceptance / The field you wish to study at Kanazawa University, specifically in that field of specialization / Period of study abroad

Note: Starting with applications for the 2027 academic year, applicants are required to submit the Provisional Acceptance Agreement for Kanazawa University completed by their prospective academic supervisor at the time of application.
Applicants shall complete webform and submit all required documents by the deadline.

Required application documents

If you have any questions, please contact International Student Section, International Student Exchange Division<st-exch@adm.kanazawa-u.ac.jp>. Please zip documents 2-9 and upload to the webform.

Application Webform (sample)The URL of the application webform will be sent to nominated students.
Photo data
Academic Transcript
Recommendation Form ←Please submit using this form.
Certificate of Enrollment ←Please submit using this form.
Copy of Passport
Certificate of Japanese or English proficiency　Reference: Proof of Language Proficiency Students who cannot submit a ← certificate should check the "Reference Proof of Language Proficiency."
Provisional Acceptance Agreement for kanazawa UniversityApplicants wishing to study in the College of Transdisciplinary Sciences for Innovation, College of Science and Engineering, College of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, or in any graduate program (including those in Guraduate School of Human and Social Sciences) must submit a Kanazawa University Provisional Acceptance Agreement completed by their prospective academic supervisor.Note: From the 2027 application cycle onward, copies of email correspondence from a prospective academic supervisor will no longer be accepted.
Applicants who wish to enroll in the College of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, the Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and the Graduate School of Advanced Preventive Medical Sciences must submit the following three documents.
-Medical Report
-Pledge
-Immunization Record

Curriculum

Exchange students who enroll in the College of Human and Social Sciences ・ Graduate School of Human and Socio-Environmental Studies ・ Graduate School of Law will attend regular courses offered by the Academic Field or the Graduate School, or conduct research in their field of specialization at the graduate school.
Exchange students who enroll in the College of Transdisciplinary Sciences for Innovation, the College of Science and Engineering, the College of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, the Graduate School of Medical Sciences, the Graduate School of Advanced Preventive Medical Sciences, and the Graduate School of Frontier Science Initiative will take "Specialized Seminar (required)," "Specialized Research," "Specialized Experiment," and other specialized courses in Japanese or English based on their own study objectives.
In addition to these courses, exchange students may also take Integrated Japanese language Program and Program for the studies on Japanese culture and society. However, it depends on the affiliated department whether credits will be granted or not. For details of offered courses, please refer to the university's web syllabus.

Integrated Japanese Language Program

Exchange students may take Japanese language courses in the Integrated Japanese Language Program (IJLP). The IJLP is a Japanese language program for all international students enrolled in Kanazawa University. The aim of the IJLP is to improve students’ Japanese language ability and help them fit into the university and life in Japan. Students can reach a level of proficiency to understand lectures and seminars, and to be able to carry out their study and research in Japanese. By learning the language, students can also gain the knowledge necessary to be able to understand Japanese culture and society.

Integrated Japanese Language Program

Learning Agreements (Certificate of Completion)

The conversion from Kanazawa University’s credits to ECTS is as follows:

1 credit equates to 45 hours of learning activities at Kanazawa University.
The conversion of credits earned at Kanazawa University to ECTS shall be at the discretion of home university.
1 credit is equivalent to 1.5 ~ 2 ECTS. If there is any deviation from this standard, please submit evidences.

The timing of issuance is as follows

Q3 Learning Agreement for Courses Rregistration
Submission Period: Thursday, October 8 – Friday, October 23, by 5:00 PM
Return Date: Two weeks after submission

Q4 Learning Agreement for Courses Registration
Submission Period: Friday, December 11 – Wednesday, December 23, by 5:00 PM
Return Date: Two weeks after submission

Program for the Studies on Japanese Culture and Society

Kanazawa University offers a Japanese Culture and Society Study Program for international students to learn about Japanese culture and society through experience and lectures. The “Japanese Culture and Society” courses are open to Japanese students as well as international students, and provide opportunities for international and Japanese students to deepen their understanding of traditional Japanese culture and society together through both knowledge and experience.

Program for the Studies on Japanese Culture and Society

FAQ

Please refer to Frequently Asked Questions about application procedures.