Let’s start from the very beginning. How do I get to Japan?
On the 09th of February 2022, I received an e‑mail that I am able to go to japan for an exchange year. I applied in November/December 2021. At my university the application deadline was until 1st of december 2021 and to be honest I was a bit late :).
My application process was online and included an online application with a resume, letter of motivation, transcript of records, a current academic transcript, and a letter of recommendation from a college professor.
You should deal with the documents as early as possible and prepare them (I give this tip because I should have paid more attention to it myself ;)). For example, I noticed later that the letter of recommendation takes more time because the university professor has to be contacted first. This made it very difficult for me and it was only possible to get it in time thanks to a very nice lecturer.
So, to everyone who wants to apply, you should pay attention to necessary documents early and also plan enough time for it according to the motto: It is never too early ;). During my whole preparation time, I heard again and again that I should take care of things early because time goes by faster than you think. And what should I say: It’s true!
All about my letter of motivation
In my letter of motivation, I was asked to answer three questions in particular:
- First, why I would like to study abroad for one or two semesters with academic and personal reasons in particular being as specific as possible.
- In the second question, I should explain why I chose this particular university ( Addition: The International Office of RuB (Ruhr University Bochum) has a partnership with the University of Tsukuba and Osaka University) and which courses I would like to take there. For the courses I should pick out 3 to 5 courses and describe why I would like to focus on this field.
- So and here we come to the third question. The answer which I gave at that time, led to this blog. I should present what I will do to make RuB more known abroad and to motivate many students from abroad to study in Bochum. My idea was this blog :). So, the letter of motivation is quite complex and you should allow some time for it.
More detailed information from the International Office at RuB can be found here:
One more tip
At the RuB, there is also the possibility for all those who are enrolled in East Asian Studies to go on a study abroad program directly through the faculty. In Japanese Studies, there were more partner universities in Japan to choose from. Unfortunately, the application was suspended for 2021 because the applicants of the previous years who were not able to enter Japan because of Corona were considered first. But that will be interesting again from this year on.
For now, that’s all about my application for my study abroad :).