Ochanomizu University (Ocha) is a women's national university in the Ōtsuka neighbourhood of Bunkyō-ku, Tokyo, and is one of the top national universities in Japan. The Ocha Summer Programme for Global Leaders provides intensive courses for students of partner universities from both domestic and overseas, as well as students of Ochanomizu University and Graduate School. All classes are multi-cultural, aiming for students’ career development and promotion of international exchanges. As in previous years, Ocha will offer a hybrid summer programme (two weeks online and two weeks in-person). The Ocha Summer Programme for Global Leaders 2024 information below refers to Summer 2024. This webpage will be updated with information for Summer 2025 in January 2025.

The Ocha Summer Programme will be offered in Round 1 Applications - this page will be updated with more information once available.

Please refer to the information from Summer 2025, whilst the program information is being finalised.

Who can apply?

The Ocha Summer Programme for Global Leaders is open to Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught students only. Postgraduate Research students are excluded from this offer.

Courses offered

Ocha Summer Programme for Global Leaders 2026 offer two courses. Students can choose between a Subject-Based Course or Japanese Language Course. The Subject-Based Course consists of lectures and project work. The project work component will consist of both an online and in-person component. The Lecture based course has 3 sub-courses and students are only permitted to take one sub-course. There are 15 classes in a sub-course. For the Japanese Language Course, Ocha offer three courses for students depending on their proficiency levels in CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) as follows: Introductory Class for Absolute Beginners: Students with no prior experience learning Japanese Introductory Class for Beginners: Students with N5/CEFR A1 or equivalent proficiency Pre-Intermediate Class: Students with N4/CEFR A2 or equivalent proficiency You can find more information in the promotional video linked below.

Programme dates

The Ocha Summer Programme for Global Leaders subject-based course and Japanese language courses are being finalised, but they have provided provisional dates in the meantime. The full Programme will commence on Monday 6th July and end on Wednesday 5th August 2026. The program usually consists of a 2 week online project work and then 2 weeks on in-person lectures. The Online part of the exchange will take place between Monday 6th July 2026 - Friday 17th July 2026 and will consist of the following: Subject-based course - lectures and project work Japanese language course - online sessions with a Japanese buddy student For the in-person part of the exchange, students are expected to have arrived in Japan by Monday 20th July 2026, in order to be present for the Opening Ceremony, Course Orientation and Welcome Party which will take place on Tuesday 21st July 2026 The in-person component of the programme will then take place from: Wednesday 22nd July 2026 - Wednesday 5th August 2026

Application deadlines

If you wish to apply for a place at Ochanomizu University, you will need to submit your Global Summer Exchange application by 11:59pm on Monday 5th January 2026. If your application is successful, you will be provided with information on how to apply directly to Ochanomizu University, once your nomination has been confirmed with the university. Please note, successful students will be required to write a motivation paper. You can find a sample copy from Summer 2025 in the Global Summer Exchange 2026 - Website Documents Folder, linked below. Students will need to log in with their KCL credentials.

What are the costs?

The fees to attend Ochanomizu University are: Registration fee = JPY 10,000 Extracurricular activity fees may be self-funded Estimated expenses (including transportation from the university) = approximately JPY 88,500​ for 16 days Estimated accommodation costs = approximately JPY 106,600​ for 16 days Students who are successful in their application will receive a tuition fee waiver, but will be responsible for all other costs, including, flights, accommodation, visas, health/medical insurance (if compulsory), living expenses and those listed on this page. Ochanomizu University are also offering nominated students JASSO Scholarship of 80,000 JPY, however, In order to be eligible, only students participating in the subject-based course can apply. Nominated students will receive more information on the application process.

Accommodation

Accommodation is not offered. Summer programme participants need to arrange their own housing as Ochanomizu University's dorm is not available to short-term programme participants. Accommodation recommendations will be provided during the registration stage. Ocha estimate that it will cost approximately JPY 106600​ for 16 days accommodation

Eligibility, Exclusions & Restrictions

In order to be eligible to apply for the JASSO Scholarship, students must have a JASSO GPA of at least 2.3. Students receiving more than 80,000 JPY (around £400) per month in total from other scholarships for study in Japan are ineligible for this scholarship. Applicants must have a good academic and personal record.

The information on this webpage contains information from 2025 and is accurate for 2026 entry. More information will be provided once available.