Top Global University Project
Establish a Model for Global Liberal Arts
To enhance "world-class internationality",
ICU has been continuously making various efforts since its dedication.
Ⅲ. Promoting Further
Internationalization
2014
Participation to GLAA
Japan's first university to join GLAA (Global Liberal Arts Alliance)
Ⅳ. Governance
2014
Top Global University Office established
A structure for managing and facilitating the progress under the President's leadership
Ⅲ. Promoting Further
Internationalization
2016
Accelerated Entry Program launched
A 5-year BA/MA program in partnership with the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS)
Ⅱ. Improving Education
2017
Momi House and Maple House opened
Bringing the total number of on-campus dormitories to ten and their collective capacity to 900 people
Ⅳ. Governance
2020
Over 60% of staff have a TOEIC score of 800 or more
Outperforming the target due to our support for staff's individual learning, our training in Japan and abroad, and our financial assistance in taking TOEIC and IELTS tests
Ⅳ. Governance
2014
A new tenure track system launched
ICU has introduced a tenure track system to cultivate faculty members who fit the university. It has also launched a mentor system whereby senior faculty members in different departments support their peers.
Ⅱ. Improving Education
2015
Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) established
A hub for learning and teaching support designed to cope with increasingly diversifying students and faculty members
Ⅰ. Academic Reform
2017
Universal Admissions introduced
A new screening system to accept diverse students that builds on and expands upon the September admissions that have accepted students from abroad since 1955
Ⅱ. Improving Education
2019
THE Japan University Rankings put ICU on top among private universities
Ranked top among private universities and 11th among all universities (10th in AY2023) in the overall score, achieving 97.6% for the international environment.
Ⅱ. Improving Education
2023
International Summer Program in Japan (ISPJ) launched
Remodeled after the now-defunct Summer Courses in Japanese, ISPJ involves Japanese language learning and omnibus-style classes on many aspects of Japan
2024
Present
(Project Period: October 2014-March 2024)
ICU's efforts are detailed in four categories:
Ⅰ. Academic Reform
Establish Admission Systems Open to Prospective Students Around the World
Ⅱ. Educational Development
Establishment of a comprehensive support
system for students and faculty
Ⅲ. Further Internationalization
Establish a Model for Global Liberal Arts
Ⅳ. Governance
Increasing global relevance
The number of applicants educated under a foreign education system
Universal Admissions to accept students with all kinds of background
Under the former admission system, students whose first language was Japanese took an entrance exam for April admission, while those whose first language was English undertook documentary screening for September-entry. This system has been superseded by a new admission system in which international students whose first language is neither Japanese nor English can take an entrance exam in Japanese and apply for either April or September admission and in which non-Japanese students can enter ICU in April or September. This is a major change for ICU. The new Universal Admissions is designed to accept students with diverse backgrounds. Recruiting efforts abroad with a focus on certain priority areas of the world has paid off. Undergraduate regular international students have increased in number (see:"Bringing People Together, Serving the World)
Enhancement of Language Education Programs Tailored to Individual Backgrounds
Offering tailored opportunities for language learning, which ICU values
We offer advanced courses for students who have completed the English for Liberal Arts Program (ELA) but want to enhance their command of English. These now include IELTS courses in addition to TOEFL and presentation courses. The courses originally designed for September entrants who already have a good command of English to enhance their skills in writing academic papers are now open to participants in the Japanese Language Program (JLP). The idea is to allow such students to take these courses regardless of the timing of their admission. Starting in 2016, ELA offered academic English courses to graduate students. JLP is now open to April entrants who are returning students, international students who have been admitted through Universal Admissions, and others with advanced English proficiency. The idea is to provide opportunities to improve their command of Japanese. Our language education programs have been expanded to include Arabic, Italian, and Indonesian, in addition to the original lineup of world language courses on German, French, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, and Korean. We cover these world languages on top of Japanese and English, both of which constitute a foundation of our bilingual liberal arts education.
Percentage of Senior Theses Written in English
Increased support for learning in English and writing in English
We have increased not only the number of courses taught in English but also the number of credits required for graduation from these courses substantially from 9 to 30. We also have created a thesis writing course for natural sciences and another for social sciences as an extended curriculum of the English for Liberal Arts Program. The aim is to build on the initiative of Cultivation of the Ability to Convey Information (Writing) through Courses Held in English, which was launched under the Project for Promotion of Global Human Resource Development for 2010-2015, the precursor of this project. In addition to thus offering more opportunities to learn and write in English, we provide a proofreading service, launched in 2016, at the Center for Teaching and Learning. This aim is to raise the percentage of senior theses written in English.
Percentage of Courses Taught in English
Offering more courses in English and taking various approaches to encourage students to take them
We increased the percentage of courses taught in English from 14.6% in 2013 to 29% (or 35% if Physical Education Exercise courses are excluded) in 2022 at the undergraduate level. At the graduate level, the number jumped from 25% to 60.4% during the same period. We have made steady progress in hiring faculty members who are capable of teaching in English. To recruit them, we explicitly state the courses they will teach and the principal language they will teach in. From the summer of 2016 through 2023, we have assigned more than 20-plus faculty members whose first language is not English to receive Oxford EMI (English Medium Instruction) training. Also, we now offer an English version of more syllabi of courses taught in Japanese that were originally written in Japanese. The aim is to benefit Japanese learners who challenge themselves to take such courses. This is part of our continued efforts to ensure bilingualism at ICU. As a result, the percentage of such courses in all courses surged from 18.4% in 2014 to 56% in 2023.
Integrating Learning and Teaching Support
Good practices of learning and teaching support at ICU
The establishment of the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), a centerpiece of this project, has integrated support functions for students and faculty members that were scattered across the campus. It has also enhanced various forms of learning support, such as advice on course planning and assistance in writing a thesis. Integrating these and other functions means better convenience for students and faculty members alike. The establishment of CTL has given rise to a wide array of initiatives that support education at ICU. These include providing new faculty members with orientation programs, offering an informal mutual learning forum for faculty members to exchange good practices, and assigning them to training in giving classes in English. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we smoothly transitioned to online classes to allow students to keep learning. The successful transition was made possible by factors such as a track record of IT-based education and existing support for such education, as well as by voluntary mutual help among faculty members who shared know-how in online classes. These factors were facilitated by CTL serving as a support hub.
Percentage of Students with an IELTS Score of 6.5 or Higher
Supporting Students' Language Skills (in ELA)
The growth in student language proficiency can be attributed to a number of initiatives in the English for Liberal Arts (ELA). By identifying student needs at each of the four levels (Streams) of ELA, the ELA program steadily fine-tuned and designed its courses to address those needs. We have also expanded to offer more Advanced English Studies courses such as IELTS and Creative Writing and many more. In collaboration with the Writing Support Desk, we also established an elective course for the training of English writing tutors in order to enhance learning support for ELA students.
THE Japan University Rankings
Evaluated highly in the THE Japan University Rankings
In the Times Higher Education (THE) Japan University Rankings in the overall category, ICU was placed fourth among private universities (and 16th among all universities) in 2018, the first year the rankings began, and was placed top among private universities (and 11th among all universities) in 2019. Ever since, ICU has been the No. 1 private university, except in 2022. Since 2019, ICU has been placed top among private universities in the engagement category. In 2023, ICU's ranking in the overall category moved up to 10th. The rankings are not everything. It is worth noting, however, that ICU has been receiving the acclaim it deserves as a university that has been selected by the Top Global University Project.
The Number of Credits Humanities Students Earn in Science Courses
Practicing education that cuts across the humanities and sciences by leveraging the strengths of the Division of Arts and Sciences
We have enhanced learning in natural sciences and made efforts to promote education that better cuts across the humanities and sciences. First of all, we increased the required number of credits in natural science courses among general education courses from three to six, starting with AY2017 entrants. Consequently, the number of credits that the students not in a science major will take until they graduate increased to nine in 2023. We have put in place an arrangement whereby students can take science courses and receive guidance on their senior theses at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology and the University of Tsukuba, with both of which ICU has a partnership agreement. While making these institutional improvements, we have begun to offer a range of new courses. These include data science courses given by faculty members specializing in business and information science; courses on social statistics analysis given by faculty members specializing in social sciences and mathematics; "Posthuman" courses given by a team of faculty members specializing in physics, psychology, literature, and international relations; and general education courses that focus on these themes from an interdisciplinary perspective and add thoughts unique to liberal arts.
The numbers of universities in GLAA
Collaboration with the world prompts diverse education exchanges
A total of ten students have participated in international workshops on leadership and other themes that hold the key to liberal arts. ICU has forged an exchange program with The College of Wooster (CoW), a GLAA member. The student exchange program allowed ICU students who are natural science majors to prepare for their senior researches and theses at CoW. For the past four years, ICU has sent five such students to CoW (see "Global Students and Faculty"). Under the faculty member exchange program, ICU sent a total of nine faculty members after screening to participate in workshops on themes such as science education and peace studies from 2014 to 2023 as faculty development. Through such visits, six faculty members learned about practices regarding dormitories, learning and teaching support, and IR at member universities.
The Number of Students Sent to MIIS
Taking an academic path that is high in quality and value
Interpretation and Translation, International Policy and Development, Non-proliferation and Terrorism Studies are some of the courses offered at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), a graduate school of Middlebury College. Middlebury College is one of the best liberal arts colleges in the US. Under this high-level program, students spend four years at ICU to obtain a BA and take three semesters (one and a half years) at MIIS to earn an MA. From AY2016 through AY2023, a total of seven students were sent to MIIS. This program, formally known as Accelerated Entry Program, has been made possible by the arrangement where what has been learned at ICU is certified as a basic requirement at partner universities abroad. This testifies to how high the international comparability of ICU's curricula is. The program features a special student exchange arrangement with the Middlebury College where students do not need to pay tuition fees for the minimum number of semesters at MIIS.
International Exchanges That Fit the Times
Online-based, multilingual, and readily-available international exchanges
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, ICU conducted Global Course Connections, which link--through online means--classes given at GLAA member universities. The pandemic prompted ICU to establish the Virtual Exchange Program with some of its partner schools abroad. Under the program, 21 students at these schools took classes given at ICU, and 33 ICU students took classes given at partner schools up to academic year 2022. Our online language exchange program, Language Buddies (conversation table), matches students learning English and those learning Japanese. In 2022, 188 pairs were engaged in language exchanges. Language Tables, another such program, created an opportunity to speak, in person, eight languages--Japanese, English, Chinese, French, Spanish, Russian, Korean, and German--in January 2024. (It was done online during the pandemic.) In academic year 2022, ICU launched the LearnUs Global Semester Program along with Underwood International College of Yonsei University in South Korea. The program involved online and in-person interactions and focused on the theme of reconciliation. It gave rise to a new form of international education exchange in a post-pandemic setting.
The Number of Student Exchange Agreements
Maintaining a sound balance between departures and arrivals
In addition to increasing the number of partners, it is also important to keep a good balance between the number of ICU students studying abroad and that of international students studying at ICU. The percentage of international students in the student body, as measured on May 1 every year, rose from 7.2% in 2014 to 13.5% in 2022. The percentage has remained within the range of 9% and 10 % or so, almost a two-fold increase from when this project was launched. The percentage of Japanese students with experience in studying abroad at the time of their graduation has remained high, within the range of 55% to 60%, during the same period. In particular, the number of ICU students studying abroad for a year under exchange programs jumped from 82 in 2013/14 to 137 in 2018/19. In academic year (AY) 2023, their proportion in the student body reached some 40%. By AY 2018, 98.6% of the student exchange agreements had been at work for the preceding five years in terms of both sending and accepting exchange students. ICU has been trying to maintain the balance in coordination with its partner schools.
Percentage of Full-time Faculty Members with Overseas Experience
A high percentage of faculty members with overseas experience makes education at ICU special
Full-time faculty members at ICU are all employed through open international recruitment. ICU is committed to Japanese-English bilingualism, as evidenced by the fact that these two languages are used by faculty members in daily settings and at meetings. Many of the faculty members whose first language is Japanese give classes in English or offer guidance on senior theses written in English. Likewise, some of the faculty members whose first language is not Japanese teach classes on Japan studies and conduct classes in Japanese. In this way, faculty members as well as students have diverse backgrounds. Education delivered from such diverse perspectives makes ICU unique and shapes diversity at ICU.
Percentage of Staff with a TOEIC Score of 800 or Higher
ICU has no office dedicated to promoting internationalism
The whole staff supports ICU's internationalism, with any office at ICU responding in both Japanese and English. During the project period, we supported our staff in improving their foreign language skills by offering training on business English and subsidizing TOEIC and IELTS fees. A total of 61 staff members received such support during the project period (2014-2022). We also encouraged our staff to use our financial support system for personal development, and hired people with study or work experience overseas. As a result, the percentage of full-time staff members who are non-Japanese or who have earned a degree from universities abroad rose from 6.3% in 2014 to 11.6% in 2023.
The Number of Staff Members Who Have Received SD Training Overseas
Overseas training to nurture staff capable of engaging in university management from a global perspective
We have not only assigned our staff to overseas training given by external organizations but also enhanced our own training arrangements. Such overseas training was high in quality and not confined to language training; it is designed to provide an opportunity for participants to broaden their horizons about, for example, the situation surrounding higher education. For instance, we combined training at our partner university in Sweden with job shadowing at a university in the Netherlands. Our focus is not limited to the international division. Our training also covers various fields, including student services, learning support, academic affairs, and library management. It is designed for staff members to improve their international competitiveness, cross-cultural communication skills, and operational expertise. The idea is to nurture staff members who contribute to university management from a global perspective (see "Top Global University Project Overseas Training Report Session").
Initiatives to Improve Information Accessibility
Accommodation for information accessibility in university management (going bilingual and digital)
ICU prepares English versions of in-house office documents. We ensure that applications related to personnel and other matters can be made in English so as not to put non-Japanese faculty and staff members at disadvantage and be applied online. In 2020, we started to refine translations of our university regulations. Efforts to this end included unifying English words and phrases in relation to the Japanese original, making translations gender-neutral, developing an English style guide for university regulations, and unifying the style of their English translations. We also put together an ICU glossary of keywords to help improve translations. In addition, we participated in proof-of-concept testing for digitalizing academic certificates. In 2022, we began to digitally issue multiple academic certificates, including transcripts, for students. This endeavor was the first of its kind among Japanese universities. We succeeded in coping with the growing demand for digitalization from the pandemic onward promptly.