Today's College Scene / ICU: Studying abroad at home

Hitomi Seki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

The following is an excerpt from The Yomiuri Shimbun series "Today's College Scene," which visits a different university each week.

If you visit International Christian University in Mitaka, Tokyo, you may feel as if you have just stepped onto a university in some foreign land, for all of its vast expanses of green.

Located in a forest measuring 620,000 square meters, the campus is home to buildings for both education and research, a chapel, faculty residences and a host of other facilities. Lining either side of the long road from the main entrance are 106 cherry trees. At the heart of the campus is a large grass-covered quad--a parklike public area where students gather for breaks or to sit and enjoy lunch under sunny skies.

ICU, best known by its initials, modeled itself on liberal arts schools overseas, and offers its students a wide range of educational opportunities built around small-group teaching methods. The private school considers communication between teachers and their students to be an important part of the learning process. This philosophy also applies to the dormitories: On campus, there are six undergraduate dorms and only a few single-occupancy rooms.

One of the dormitories--Global House--is home to more than 60 students, over half of whom hail from 15 countries besides Japan.

Maximillian Ashland Epling, a junior majoring in international studies, was named head of the dormitory in September. The 20-year-old has been participating fully in campus life, joining in dorm events such as ski trips and visits to the nearby Ghibli Museum--a gallery showcasing the work of animation auteur Hayao Miyazaki--and even starting a lacrosse club.

"In the dorms, we talk politics and lend each other an ear when needed," he says in Japanese. "It's interesting to see how students from different countries think differently about things. Coming here helped to further broaden my world in one fell swoop."

Bilingualism is expected at ICU, with non-Japanese teachers accounting for more than 30 percent of the faculty. Some courses are available both in Japanese and English--from an overview of Christianity to physics and chemistry--and Japanese students are required to take a certain number of their courses in English, and vice versa for non-Japanese students.

To develop their English skills for academic purposes, Japanese students are urged to take English Language Program (ELP). In their freshman year, they are required to take no more than 13 English classes per week, learning about everything from discussion to essay writing.

"Studying is no problem for me, but it's pretty hard to keep on top of my courses with all the preparation and review I have to do," says Atsushi Oho, a senior majoring in linguistics. "You kind of need to be in pretty good physical condition just to study."

The 25-year-old had just returned from a year studying at a U.S. university. While there, he recalls, Oho discovered that his ELP classes at ICU had really helped him.

In 1999, the university introduced its "service learning" program, in line with its service-minded Christian philosophy. The program, which gets about 50 participants a year, makes charity a part of the curriculum. The students are required to volunteer for at least 30 days at public institutions in Japan or elsewhere.

To assist such students, ICU has prearranged collaborative opportunities overseas. Despite the assistance, many students strike out on their own initiative, setting themes for their service and finding organizations where they want to volunteer.

This summer, junior Akito Kamei spent about six months in Chile. The 21-year-old worked at a children's hospital specializing in treating terminal kids from poor families.

"I taught origami to the children in Spanish," Kamei recalls. "When their parents couldn't come to the hospital to see them, the children tried hard to overcome their loneliness."

Another junior, Mio Arakawa, chose to volunteer at a home for young people in Tochigi Prefecture, where she lived with six orphans, aged 15 to 20, who came to the home after leaving orphanages to seek their own independence.

"I fought with some of the girls there," the 19-year-old recalls. "But we had decided that we should always be straightforward about any frustration we felt toward each other, so we had pretty good relationships. To this day, I stop by sometimes."

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Profile of International Christian University

International Christian University was founded in 1953 as a single college of liberal arts after church leaders in Japan and the United States worked together for its establishment. The campus was created on the grounds of what had been a research institute for Nakajima Aircraft Co., which was dissolved just after the end of World War II.

ICU employs a trimester system. In the 2008 academic year, the school started a new system under which all freshmen belong to the "Division of Arts and Sciences" without having to choose a major. They are given two years to decide their major from among 31 options, including some science-related majors such as biology. They may seek more than one major if they wish.

ICU has a student body of about 2,800, while accepting about 130 exchange students every year.