FAQ for the Admitted Students 2023

Classes begin on October 3, but all of you will need to attend the orientations starting from mid-September. Please check the Timeline for details.

Yes, it is possible. It’s even possible to take courses offered by faculties at other campuses. Please check the latest SFC Guide for further details.

Yes, it is possible for you to take courses conducted in Japanese. There is also no Japanese proficiency requirement.

(From current student) If you want to take courses offered in Japanese, of course you will need a certain level of Japanese skills to keep up with classes and earn credits. Required Japanese level depends on the course or seminar, but the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N2 or N1 level would be desirable.

Please refer to the Keio SFC Course Syllabus. You are able to see the course summary without the login ID.

Around the end of August, the Admissions Office will send a login ID to view the syllabus website.

Please refer to the Curriculum and Requirements for Advancement and Graduation section on the Keio University Student Website.

Students are required to meet the designated conditions/requirements and earn credits for their advancement to the next year and/or graduation. So please make sure to register for courses carefully. In the case of Winter AO (Global) admission, the conditions for advancement and requirements for graduation are the same as other students.

The Faculty of Policy Management and the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies implement a student screening for many courses, in which students who are eligible to take the course are determined before the first class begins. There are two main methods of the student screening for courses: Assignment Screening and Lottery Screening.

Only those students who have completed the “Entry for Student Screening” process and have been approved to take the course will be able to take the course.

Please refer to the About Registration for more details about the student screening.

Class designated courses are courses that have their time schedule determined by your “class.” All new students should register for the designated courses or fields. These courses do not require student screenings and a special procedure although it may be written so in the syllabus. In principle, students cannot change these class designated courses.

Please refer to the About Registration for more details.

1. Newly enrolled students are asked to prepare their own laptops before the school orientation week. For detailed information, please refer to the BYOD for AY 2022. 
2. Although you can earn credits fully in English, we still suggest you start to learn Japanese language not only for academic purposes but also for your daily life as early as possible. 

The following websites are recommended for your practice:

＜MARUGOTO Japanese Learning＞

hiragana：https://a1.marugotoweb.jp/ja/hiragana.php

katakana：https://a1.marugotoweb.jp/ja/katakana.php

No. It is possible to take classes entirely in English and still graduate. ​However, it is strongly recommended you take Japanese language courses. You will need to get 8 credits in a foreign language other than your mother tongue in order to graduate.

​Also, if you wish to obtain the GIGA Certificate (separate from graduation), you will need to obtain a Japanese level equivalent to the JLPT N2 if you are a non-native Japanese speaker.

As for Japanese language classes, the Japanese language lab at SFC has courses for all levels of language ability, from beginner to advanced students looking to do research papers in Japanese.

https://giga.sfc.keio.ac.jp/global/japanese-courses/

Depends on the class. From a small number of students to more than a hundred. ​Courses offered in English (GIGA courses) tend to be small sized classes with a small number of students.

Yes, it is possible to study abroad! Many GIGA students in the past have completed study abroad. If you study abroad through the Keio University Student Exchange Program (Outbound), you can study under tuition waiver agreements. However, there is a selection process since Keio can only nominate a certain number of students per university. There are also short-term programs and fieldwork opportunities for SFC students. ​

http://www.ic.keio.ac.jp/keio_student/exchange/ex_partners.html

The seminar syllabus can be found on the Keio SFC Course Syllabus. Also, faculty profiles are available on the Keio SFC Faculty Profile Database.

It’s up to you. You can continue your research in the same seminar, but when your interest changes, you may change your seminar. In principle, students can register for Seminars from their second year. However, students in their first year can register for one Seminar per semester only if the faculty member in charge grants special approval.

(Comment from current student) I strongly encourage you to join a Seminar (kenkyukai) from your first year so you get a feel for what you are interested in. ​If you end up not liking it, you are free to change, but if you end up loving it, you can stay in that lab for the remainder of your time at SFC if you want.

It varies greatly from seminar to seminar, depending on the topic and professor.

(Comment from current student) There are also larger joint Seminars (kenkyukai) with multiple professors who share resources, but will have smaller more dedicated sub-groups that meet together and study.

(Comment from current student) Honestly, it depends from seminar to seminar. My seminar personally does not pre-screen students, but instead takes anyone and will require you to complete a “new comer challenge” by the end of your first semester. There’s no real way to say definitively without saying what your individual interests are. However, your life in seminar (kenkyukai) will be significantly easier if you have some Japanese background.

(Comment from current student) ​No. Many of them are conducted in Japanese but English is available for a large number of Seminars. Please refer to the Keio SFC Course Syllabus.

Yes, there is no distinction between Seminars (kenkyukai) based on language. Though many are still getting used to having more international students and are trying to hold mixed meetings ​where they’ll support both languages.

”原級” means repeating a year (remaining in the same grade level) in cases that you could not meet the requirements for advancement or graduation, or failed to earn the required credits. When repeating a year and if you are a recipient of a scholarship, measures such as suspension or discontinuation will be taken. Please plan your courses to fulfill the requirements for advancement or graduation, and aim to earn credits.