Kyoto History and Culture Immersion

Highlights

• Experience Japan’s historical sites, traditional arts, culture, and customs firsthand to cultivate a deeper appreciation of Japanese traditions and identity.
• Immerse in Japanese culture by living with a host family during a weekend homestay.
• Can count towards a history major/minor/immersion or Japanese major/minor/immersion.
  
  No Japanese language is required - the program is taught in English.

A spring semester course at RIT in Japanese History and Culture will give you context to Japanese history, culture, and traditions; then you will travel to Japan for two weeks in early summer to complete your coursework at Doshisha University, one of Japan’s top universities and partner of RIT. The program, taught in English, will offer a comprehensive overview of Japanese history, focusing on the regional culture and societal development of Kyoto and surrounding cities to better understand Japan’s past and present.

Kyoto serves as the ideal setting for this program. Once the capital of Japan for over a thousand years, the city remains the cultural heart of the country, home to countless temples, shrines, palaces, and traditional neighborhoods. With its deep-rooted traditions and preserved historical architecture, Kyoto offers students a unique opportunity to study Japan’s past in a living cultural environment. Its central location in the Kansai region also makes it easy to visit other culturally significant cities, such as Nara and Osaka, which are included in the program.

The program emphasizes experiential learning through field trips and hands-on cultural activities. While in Japan, you'll be surrounded by the very landmarks and traditions that have shaped Japanese identity for centuries and the opportunity to engage in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, ikebana (flower arrangement), and textile dyeing will give you further insight into Japan's cultural arts developed over thousands of years.

Course Term: Spring course at RIT, travel to Japan in early Summer
Travel Dates: May 30-June 13 , 2026
Credits: 3

Course Details:

• HIST 103: The City in History: Kyoto (3 credits)
  Students will be enrolled in a spring 2026 course at RIT and travel to Japan in early summer.

No course prerequisites, no Japanese language required. Open to all undergraduate majors.

Application Deadline: October 19, 2025

Eligibility:

• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher (students with lower than a 2.5 GPA would be considered on a case-by-case basis)
• Have a clear conduct record with RIT
• Have no financial holds on your RIT eServices account at the time of your program acceptance/confirmation

Program Cost & Financial Aid

Program Cost: A student budget worksheet outlining all program costs will be available here soon.

Financial Aid:
Financial aid may cover some program costs. As you review the budget worksheet, please remember that it does not include your RIT financial aid or scholarships, which may cover some of the program costs. The purpose of the budget worksheet is to show all the costs associated with your study abroad program, which will help your RIT Financial Aid Assistant Director determine how your aid and scholarships may be applied. 

To understand how your financial aid and scholarships may apply to your program costs:

• Make an appointment with your financial aid assistant director (call Financial Aid at 585-475-2186) and mention that you are calling for a study abroad appointment
• Upload a copy of your budget worksheet(s) via the Financial Aid upload portal at https://join.rit.edu/register/FA_upload (at least 48 hours prior to your scheduled meeting so they have time to prepare) 
  • Please rename the file name of your budget worksheet before uploading it to the Financial Aid portal based on the instructions provided in the portal (adding your name and student ID)

To find out the name of your financial aid assistant director for your degree program visit: https://www.rit.edu/admissions/aid/contact#counseling-team

We recommend you meet with Financial Aid before the application deadline so you understand how your aid will apply. The RIT financial aid office is located in Bausch and Lomb Center (Bldg. 77), 2nd floor, 2125.

Scholarships:

• RIT Education Abroad Travel Grants ($500-$1,000)
  All students with pending applications for this program in RIT Study Abroad Compass will be automatically considered for an RIT Education Abroad Travel Grant. You will be informed of your scholarship status shortly after the application deadline. Scholarships are awarded based on financial need.

• Other scholarships: RIT Study Abroad Scholarships, National Study Abroad Scholarships

To Apply

1) Start an application in the Compass (RIT's study abroad application system)
Once you login to the Compass you will need to complete some profile/registration questions, then use the “Search Programs” tab to search for “Kyoto History” to complete an application.

2) Watch this video, which goes over all important application steps for RIT Faculty-Led Programs

Contact

Faculty Directors:

Yukiko Maru (yxmgsl@rit.edu)
Joseph Henning (jmhgsh@rit.edu)
Masako Murakami (mxmgsl@rit.edu)