Profile
Name: Nobuhiko FUWA
Japan Study, Waseda Exchange Student
Host institute and period: Beloit College 1982-83
Current position: Professor, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University
 

For undergraduate students, especially Japanese students, who would like to have an
international career, I would like to recommend studying abroad at a small liberal arts
college for one year as the first step before obtaining a master’s or doctoral degree abroad.

I attended Beloit College in Wisconsin from 1982 to 1983 while I was a Junior  through the
International Division at Waseda. At that time, there were not many options to study abroad,
and there were not any “famous” American universities on the list. Since I had never been
abroad before, it didn’t matter where I went as long as I went somewhere. It was my
opportunity to go abroad.

Regardless if you study abroad in the U.S. or other countries throughout the world, the
biggest merit of studying abroad as an exchange student is that you have time to reflect
on your future life while being away from the society and culture you grew up in. For me
at least, this was true. It was my one year at Beloit that gave me time to think about what
I wanted to do in the future. I have pursued a career in international development working
in seven different organizations to date without diverging from my career goals.

After studying abroad at Beloit, I graduated from Waseda as a 5th year student. I then
worked as a businessman for five years. Next, I spent five years studying at the University
of California Berkley Graduate School. I hope that comparing the differences between
liberal arts colleges in the Midwest and large west coast research universities with my
personal study abroad experiences will help students who are considering where to study
abroad.

One appealing factor of small colleges in the Midwest is that there are no or few Japanese
students. Also, since most of the students live in dormitories on campus, you can easily
make friends with everyone. Your English conversation skills will undoubtedly improve since
there is no one to speak with in Japanese. However, your writing ability will not improve
without effort. It is essential to take courses offered in Academic Writing. Of the seven
organizations I have worked at, two were international organizations: the World Bank in the
U.S. and International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. I acquired the foundations
of the English abilities required at these organizations during my year at Beloit.

On the other hand, large, well known universities have a Japanese community. It is nearly
impossible not to be involved with them for your future career. As a result, to which degree
you interact with non-Japanese students and use English will be much lower than if you
were at a college in the Midwest. Also, at the undergraduate level at large universities, it is
similar to Japan. Many classes are taught in large classrooms, and the professors cannot
give attention to all of the students. However, classes at liberal arts college are small, and
professors are close to students and able to give assistance when needed. The biggest
merit of studying at a well known research university in the U.S. is being able to learn from
internationally renowned researchers from around the world. Personally, getting a degree
from Berkely helped me later in my career, for instance at the World Bank. However, this
only applies to studying at the graduate level.

America is a very large country. Culture and populations change depending where you are.
The cities where well known research universities are located are often cosmopolitian and
there is access to Japanese food, but it is not the same for colleges in the Midwest. Many
of the people you may encounter might not know where Japan is or even that it is an island
nation. Due to many things, the culture shocks experienced in the Midwest compared to
going to a well known university are on a completely larger scale. Experiencing culture
shock is one of the purposes of studying abroad, so the bigger the shock the better.

Depending on your career path, you do not necessarily need to study abroad in North America.
From an international development standpoint, spending one year in a non-English speaking
developing country is a great option regardless of your future career path. However, if for
example you would like to work in an international organization, it is a good idea to spend a
year during college in North America since these organizations require a native level of
English, in particular efficient writing skills. For students who are considering to attend
graduate school in English speaking countries, I strongly recommend studying abroad at a
small liberal arts college instead of a well known college as an undergraduate studet as the
first step.

Japan Study and Waseda University
50 Years of International Exchange, 1963-2013