Destination Countries and Partner Universities/Colleges

U.S. (seven universities/colleges)

Partner schools in the U.S. are all coeducational four-year private universities/colleges that have a school philosophy based on Christianity like that of Hokusei Gakuen University. Although these institutions in the U.S. vary in size from small colleges with no more than 1,000 students to large universities with tens of thousands of students, most of our partner universities/colleges are small institutes with 1,000 to 2,000 students, which is comparable to the student population of Hokusei Gakuen University (which has approximately 3,900 students excluding the junior college).
There are also differences in courses offered, the availability of special English classes for foreign students, environment (urban or suburban), location (e.g., west, central, east), state, living costs and other aspects among the individual universities/colleges. Student should consider all of the information provided to decide their on your preferred destination to study abroad.

Lewis & Clark College (Portland, Oregon)	This college is located in Portland, one of Sapporo’s sister cities. The sister-school affiliation with Hokusei Gakuen University was established in 1965, making it Hokusei’s oldest exchange relationship. The campus, which is situated in an area not far from the urban district, is surrounded by many trees. The beauty of the campus even in tourists. The college offers an excellent ESL program, and there is a pipe organ with 4,000 pipes in the chapel.
Buena Vista University （Storm Lake, Iowa）	This university is located in a small town with a population of approximately 9,000 by Storm Lake. People can enjoy beautiful seasonal scenery, yachting, canoeing and water-skiing there. Eighty percent of the students are from Iowa. Laptop computers are provided to all students.
Manchester University (North Manchester, Indiana)	This university is located in North Manchester, approximately 60 km north of Indianapolis, the state’s capital. Eighty percent of the students are from Indiana, and the number of female students is slightly larger than that of male students. The university provides enhanced educational programs such as Social Work and Peace Studies, the first undergraduate program of its kind in the United States.
Juniata College (Huntingdon, Pennsylvania)	This college is located in Huntingdon, a town with a population of approximately 9,000 that is located in the center of Pennsylvania. This area provides excellent access to scenic spots and places of historical interest in the eastern United States and good train connections. Approximately 30 percent of the graduates go on to graduate school. The college also offers programs related to Columbia University.
St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minnesota)	This college is located in Northfield, a town with a population of approximately 20,000 in the southeast corner of Minnesota. The number of students is approximately 3,000. The college is highly respected in the U.S. as a school with not only a high level of academics but also a high level of student satisfaction. Hokusei Gakuen University established an exchange agreement with St. Olaf College in 2014 after a graduate of Hokusei’s Department of English taught Japanese and linguistics there as an associate professor.
University of Hawai‘i Maui College (Kahului, Hawaii)	The University of Hawaiʻi Maui College is an accredited college that offers three bachelor of applied science degrees, a wide variety of associate degrees and certificates, as well as distance learning degrees through its UH Center on campus. UHMC is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools & College. The number of the students are about 3,000 and it offers a full range of programs in economics and information technology, engineering technology, and management science. The agreement between Hokusei and UHMC was signed in 2019.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)	The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is located at Milwaukee, a city of 60,000 people. It provides world-class education to 25,000 students from about 90 countries. Its 15 schools and colleges include accounting, business, education, art, films, and Wisconsin’s only schools of architecture, freshwater sciences and public health. The agreement between Hokusei and UWM was signed in 2019.
Elmira College (Elmira, New York)	Elmira College is located in Elmira, a small town in New York State with a population of around 25,000 people. Also located in Elmira is the First Presbyterian Church of Elmira, which is the church that sent Sarah C. Smith, the founder of the first Hokusei Gakuen school, to Japan as a missionary in August 1880. Elmira was the first college for women in the U.S. with a course of study equal in rigor to the best men's colleges. Elmira College became coeducational in 1969, and today it offers over 35 majors and minors with an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 800 full-time students. Elmira College is also known as the home of the Center for Mark Twain Studies, which includes the Mark Twain Study, Mark Twain Archives, and Quarry Farm. This Center attracts Twain scholars from around the world and is one of four historically significant Twain heritage sites in the U.S.

China (one university)

China is a country close to Japan in terms of both distance and culture. However, most Japanese do not know as much about daily life and society in China as they do about life in the U.S. and the U.K. Accordingly, Japanese students may encounter greater culture shock in China than they would in the U.S. or the U.K.
Exchange instructors and students from the Dalian University of Foreign Languages are at Hokusei Gakuen University through our exchange program with the university. It is helpful for students who wish to study in China to hear their stories.

Dalian University of Foreign Languages (School of Chinese Studies) (Liaoning)

This university is located at the southernmost tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, in the Lüshunkou District of Dalian, 350 km south of Shenyang, one of Sapporo’s sister cities. Dalian is the largest port city in northern China and continues to develop as the “Honk Kong of the north,” attracting many companies from Japan. The university is equivalent to a university of foreign languages in Japan. Most of the international students in the School of Chinese Studies are Japanese.

Taiwan (one university)

Taiwan is home to many Japanophiles, and for Japanese people it’s a comfortable place to live. The urban areas boast many restaurants and eateries that are open from early morning until late at night, making it an ideal environment for those living on their own.

Tunghai University (Taichung)

This university is located 190 km southwest of Taipei in the city of Tunghai, which is the largest city in central Taiwan and Taiwan’s most sun-blessed city with very little rain throughout the year. In addition to school buildings, the vast campus abounding in greenery has a post office, a farm and a supermarket. The university has sister-school affiliations with more than 80 schools in 17 countries, and hosts many international students from Japan and other countries.

U.K. (two universities)

After international exchanges at Hokusei Gakuen University began, the United States remained the only English-speaking country available as a destination for studying abroad for a very long time. However, since more and more students began to express a desire to study in the U.K. and we had no partner schools in Europe, the university concluded its first exchange agreement with a university in the U.K. in 1999.

Regent’s University London (London)

This university is located in Regent’s Park in London, the capital city of the U.K. The university is surrounded by the abundant nature of Regent’s Park, and is close to the City (financial district of London), the West End (theater district), art galleries, museums and sport and entertainment venues. It is one of the U.K.’s most prestigious universities, with students hailing from more than 100 countries.

University of Central Lancashire (Preston)

This university is located in the County of Lancashire in the northwest of the U.K., in Central Lancashire, a city with a population of 130,000 that is approximately an hour’s drive from Manchester and Liverpool. International students who meet the requirements have a chance to obtain a degree from the University of Central Lancashire.

Canada (two universities)

Canada is well known for the Rocky Mountains, Niagara Falls and other areas of magnificent nature. The country has the world’s second largest land area, and is considered to be an easy place to live. It is also highly regarded by the United Nations as the country with the world’ highest standard of living. Although Canada’s national languages are English and French, English is used in most areas other than Quebec.

St. Thomas University (Fredericton, New Brunswick)

This university is located on the east coast of Canada in Fredericton, the capital city of New Brunswick, and has a population of approximately 50,000. It shares a campus, library and computer facilities with the adjacent University of New Brunswick, which has roughly 9,000 students. New Brunswick is the country’s only province where English and French are used as official languages and many residents speak French.

Okanagan College (Okanagan, British Columbia)

Okanagan College is located in the province of British Columbia in western Canada. It has four campuses with about 16,000 students, including about 1,500 international students from more than 60 countries and about 1,500 students with indigenous roots. International students from Hokusei Gakuen University will study at the Kelowna campus, which is a 10-minute drive from the center of Kelowna, a city with a population of approximately 150,000. Okanagan College offers classes in a variety of fields, such as arts, science, and business, as well as programs in food, wine, and tourism, so studying there can be a good opportunity for students to study a field they have never studied before. The college also offers indigenous languages, history, and culture classes.

South Korea (one university)

In the 2001 academic year, it became possible for students at Hokusei to study in South Korea, a neighboring country that is just a three-hour flight from New Chitose Airport. The Korean Peninsula is strongly connected to Japan by history and culture. As with any cverseas study program, it is very important for students to deepen their understanding of the country in which they will study abroad. In addition to acquiring language skills during a year-long period of studying abroad, students need to learn about South Korean culture and history beforehand to ensure a positive study abroad experience.

The Catholic University of Korea (Gyeonggi)

This university has two campuses in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and one campus in the adjacent city of Bucheon. Students from Hokusei Gakuen University study at the Songsim Campus in Bucheon, which is a 50-minute drive from Seoul. The campus is located on a gentle hill, and outside the campus are convenience stores, shops and other convenient facilities.

Spain (two universities)

Partner-school affiliations were established in European countries in the 2013 academic year. Two partner schools are located in Madrid, the capital of Spain. The Iberian Peninsula, where Spain is located, is sandwiched between the African Continent to the south and the European Continent to the north and between the Mediterranean Sea to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Students dispatched to Spain will be able to experience for themselves the long history and culture of spain formed by changes in religion and the mixing of ethnic groups.

San Pablo University (Madrid)

This private Catholic university is located in the Spanish city of Madrid, at the center of the Iberian Peninsula. As a university, it has an Economics and Business School, School of Humanities and Communication Sciences, School of Law, School of Medicine and School of Pharmacy. Students dispatched to the university will take courses in English and learn Spanish for foreign students. Spanish is necessary in daily life.

Nebrija University (Madrid)

This private university has campuses in Madrid and the suburbs of Madrid. The number of students is almost the same as that of Hokusei Gakuen University, but approximately 500 of the total number of students are international students. The university offers programs in communication science, including social science, journalism, mass communication and marketing. Spanish is necessary in daily life.

Switzerland (one school)

The other European country in which Hokusei Gakuen University has a partner school is Switzerland. Known as a permanently neutral country, Switzerland hosts numerous headquarters of international organizations. Our partner school there has a campus in Geneva, an international city that abounds in nature. The official languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian and Romansch. Geneva is in a French-speaking area.
Exchange students will take courses in English, but French is necessary in daily life. The students will also learn French as a second language.

Haute école de gestion de Genève (HEG-Genève) (Geneva)

Geneva is Switzerland’s second largest city. With a population of 190,000, Geneva is situated near Lake Leman. The city is a hub of important international organizations with a highly sophisticated culture and belongs to the country’s French-speaking area. The school is a state-run institute specializing in business. Although the scale is small, international exchanges are active. Students dispatched to the university will take courses in English, but French is necessary in daily life.

Ireland (one college)

University College Cork (Geneva)

The University College Cork is located in southern Ireland in Cork, the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland. The university, surrounded by 42 acres of forest, is a 10-minute walk from the center of Cork city. It has approximately 24,000 students, including 4,000 international students from about 104 countries. The University College Cork is also active in research, and its research achievements are so highly regarded that it is ranked among the top universities in the world in a variety of fields, such as the SDGs.

Indonesia (one university)

Our first partner school in Southeast Asia is a university located in Bandung, Indonesia. This country is a multiethnic state with the world’s fourth largest population. Religion varies depending on the area, but most citizens are believers in Islam. The partner school is a Christian university with a Japanese language department, and there are Japanese-speaking students and faculty members on campus. Students dispatched to the university will take courses in English, but Indonesian is necessary in daily life. Exchange students will also learn Indonesian as a second language at the university.

Maranatha Christian University (Bandung, West Java)

This university is located in Bandung (provincial capital), West Java, Republic of Indonesia. Situated approximately 250 km west of Jakarta, Bandung is the capital of Indonesia. This private Protestant university has 21 departments in 8 faculties and roughly 10,000 students. There is a Japanese language department in which around 150 students study Japanese. Many courses are provided in English. Indonesian is necessary in daily life.

※ The school to which a student is dispatched in English-speaking areas is decided through coordination between the host schools and Hokusei Gakuen University with consideration of the student’s request, English skills and the number of students from other countries. Please note that students are not always dispatched to their first-choice schools. (Students are, however, able to voice which countries they would prefer; e.g. “I am only interested in studying in the U.S.”)