Coastal Carolina University has established an exchange agreement with Tokyo Denki University (TDU) which will offer unique benefits to Coastal students interested in studying Japanese language and culture.

Beginning in the fall 2001 semester, a group of Coastal students will attend TDU for one semester. The students will take a full semester of classes, including a course on the Japanese language. All courses will be taught in English, and the students will live either in an apartment near campus or with a Japanese family. The tuition and registration fees for each student will be waived by TDU. The students are required to pay travel and living expenses. All participating students will have the opportunity to tutor Japanese students in English, either with their host families and/or at TDU.

Students who participate in the program are required to take and pass Japanese 101, offered this Summer II semester at Coastal. When they arrive in Japan, they will also take an intensive two-week Japanese language immersion course. Students who satisfactorily complete the fall semester program in Japan will meet their foreign language requirement for their studies at Coastal.

"This is a phenomenal opportunity for Coastal students," says James Henderson, professor of politics at Coastal and organizer of the program. "Students can go to Japan and study a fascinating culture at first hand and at a very reasonable cost, and earn the equivalent of two semesters of a foreign language in a little more than one semester."

Plans to bring Japanese students to Coastal through the program are under way. Future faculty exchanges between the two universities are also being discussed.

As a result of the program, Coastal is adding Japanese for the first time to its list of foreign language curricula.

Established in 1907, TDU has a long and distinguished history, particularly in science and engineering. More than 11,000 students are enrolled at TDU.

For more information, contact Henderson at 349-2626 or Geoff Parsons in Coastal's Office of International Programs at 349-2054.