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Tsukuba International School is an IB World School in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. Since our founding in 1992, we have been dedicated to promoting international-mindedness in the northern Kanto Region. We offer a rich educational program for students from pre-kindergarten (age 3) to Grade 12 (age 18). We have 235 students in our school (as of September 2017). We are authorized to offer the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), and the Diploma Programme (DP) of the International Baccalaureate (IB). IB World Schools share a common philosophy—a commitment to high-quality, challenging, international education. For further information about the IB and its programs, visit the International Baccalaureate website or the Ministry of Education website (in Japanese). We are accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS). We are registered as an educational organization by Ibaraki Prefecture. This is the standard category for international schools in Japan that are registered as schools in their local prefecture. (We are the only international school registered in Ibaraki Prefecture.) We are also a member of the Japan Council of International Schools (JCIS). Tsukuba International School takes its role in advocating for and safeguarding children very seriously. The school child protection policy is by the recommendations of the International Task Force on Child Protection, endorses the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, of which Japan is a signatory, and is by Japanese Law. If you are interested in learning more about our school, please use the menus below or to the right to explore our site. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us in English or Japanese. External assessments are an important tool for reflecting on and improving student learning at our school. Students, parents, and teachers need to have many data points upon which to base decisions regarding our students’ education. In addition, it is important for us, as a school, to have a sense of the context in which our school is operating, and how students at our school perform in comparison with students at other schools around the world. The library at our school houses approximately 10,000 volumes and is used as a resource for our students’ independent learning projects. We also have computers in every classroom. Students in Grade 4 and above are required to bring their laptop computers to the school. The internet is available in every classroom and it is used widely for research, learning activities, and interaction with other students around the world. The school provides students with accounts to learning sites such as RAZ Kids, which lets them record themselves reading books aloud and send the resulting file to their teachers, and Mathletics, an interactive math site used by more than 10,000 schools around the world. For student research needs, we have subscriptions to EBSCO databases and Encyclopedia Britannica. Our curriculum is based on the standards and principles of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), and the Diploma Programme (DP). You can read more about the International Baccalaureate at TIS, and you can download our weekly schedules and term overviews on the PYP and MYP pages. We are very proud of our school buildings, which are two two-story loghouses designed with the idea of providing very large classrooms for small classes. The West Building (completed in 2009) is made of imported Finnish pine and won a “Loghouse of the Year” award for its design. The East Building (completed in 2016), is a mirror image of the West Building and is made of Japanese cedar and cypress from the local area. (The school received a subsidy from the government for making effective use of local lumber in the building.) Our classrooms give teachers the ability to offer various learning environments within one room. The wooden structure gives the school an at-home feeling that is very different from typical concrete school buildings. The school is located in a forested area and the students have many opportunities to interact with nature in the forest and on our school fields. TIS students in Grades 4 to 12 are asked to bring their computers (laptops) to school. Students must take personal responsibility for their computers and must learn to keep them well-maintained and in good working order. Siblings can't share one computer. Each student must have his/her computer. It is fine for students to have a used/secondhand laptop rather than a new one for this purpose. If you will find it difficult to supply your children with a computer, please talk to the school about your options. Tsukuba International School (TIS) relies on the kind generosity of the people and corporations in our community. Donations that we receive are used to purchase educational resources and equipment, and to offer scholarships to our students. As TIS is registered as a “special public interest promotion corporation” donations to the school are tax-deductible for individuals and corporations. If you would like to donate to Tsukuba International School, please fill out this form and return it to our Financial Officer, then transfer the donation to the following bank account! View full school

The radical transformation of global society has brought confusion and unrest to our lives. In our global society, problems such as pollution, infectious diseases, financial crisis, and terrorism have been spreading beyond national boundaries in no time. Solving problems concerning energy and the environment, or industrial and economic revitalization, needs to be shared globally. Solutions for the issues above will require innovation that surpasses contemporary convention. The University of Tsukuba was reborn in 1973 as a comprehensive university based on new educational concepts. It has inherited the traditions of its predecessors, starting with the Normal School, founded by the Meiji government in 1872 as the first institution of higher education in Japan, and continuing over to its history as the Tokyo University of Education. The philosophy of human resource development rooted in our university is expressed with the phrase Shikon rise. Loosely interpreted, it emphasizes the need to be kind-hearted to others, much like parents and teachers, and to have the ability to bring people together and solve problems rationally. Since its establishment, the University of Tsukuba has aimed to be an open university in every sense. Based on that aim, we have promoted constant reforms to create a flexible education and research organization and a new university system that would meet the needs of the next generation. Dr. Jigoro Kano, who was the principal at the Tokyo Higher Normal School? The predecessor of the University of Tsukuba is known as the Father of Judo. More importantly, however, he was the pioneer who opened up Japanese higher education to the international community. Even as we have advanced specialized areas of expertise, we have actively developed new cross-disciplinary approaches to education and research. Amid this rapidly changing global society, the functions of a university need to be restructured. We realize that it is our responsibility to take the lead role in conducting such a reform. Universities, in general, are required to contribute to society through education and research activities. The University of Tsukuba was established based on new educational concepts in the heart of Tsukuba Science City. Since then, it came to be a center of cutting-edge research and education, human development, collaboration among industry, government, and academia. It is an international center of intellectual activity. In its capacity as an open university, the University of Tsukuba intends to continuously meet new challenges in order to contribute to the welfare of its region and regional society, Japan and its citizens, and lastly, the world and humanity as a whole. The University of Tsukuba is located in a rich natural environment and is a university that respects diverse values. Our university intends to contribute to the international society by demonstrating leadership as an innovative, unique, and cosmopolitan center of knowledge with an influential voice on the international scene, under the slogan "IMAGINE THE FUTURE." The University of Tsukuba aims to establish free exchange and close relationships in both primary and applied sciences with educational and research organizations and academic communities in Japan and overseas. While developing these relationships, we intend to pursue education and research to cultivate men and women with creative intelligence and rich human qualities. The University of Tsukuba endeavors to contribute to the progress of science and culture. The University of Tsukuba has decided to function as a university open to all within and outside of Japan. Toward this end, the university has made it its goal to develop an organization better suiting the functions and administration with a new concept of education and research highly international in character, rich in diversity and flexibility, and capable of dealing sensitively with the changes occurring in contemporary society. The University of Tsukuba aims to be an open university in all aspects, and we are a frontrunner in the university reform in Japan. Our fundamental principle is to create a flexible education and research structure and a university system to meet the needs of the next generation. We aspire to be a comprehensive university, continuously meeting new challenges, and developing new areas. The foremost mission is to provide an environment that allows future leaders to realize their potential in full. View full university

The National University Corporation of Tsukuba University of Technology (NTUT) plays a leading role in providing higher education for people with hearing and visual disabilities in Japan by "primarily focusing on activities to promote world and nationwide educational research that is not just community-oriented but extends to related and distinctive fields with due consideration to the characteristics of its specialties." NTUT offers a systematically and meaningfully designed curriculum from admission to graduation, covering disciplines ranging from liberal arts education to professional training. The curriculum is designed to prepare socially independent professionals in industrial technology, health science, and information and communication accessibility to meet the needs of a society seeking increased expertise. The research conducted by the university since its inception has led to an accumulation of knowledge and techniques to support people with disabilities, and it plans to further improve on these methods to gain more expertise in the field. The university has endeavored to provide students with teaching that gives due consideration to their developmental characteristics and the communication difficulties attributed to their disabilities. The university offers individualized instruction and support, which are the advantages of small-group education, and develops active learning methods suited to particular disabilities and specialties. In this way, it helps prepare professionals who can adapt to the ever-changing global society. On the research front, the research community globally and nationally is encouraged by the university to conduct world-class research in industrial technology, health science, and information and communication accessibility for people with hearing and visual disabilities. The research community aims to analyze and clarify insights acquired through educational and support activities and disseminate basic and applied information that can benefit people with disabilities and bring about social change to lead fuller and better lives. Particularly in information and communication accessibility for people with hearing and visual disabilities and integrated Eastern and Western medicine, the latest and practical research outcomes are disseminated within and outside of Japan. In terms of social contribution, knowledge, and skills for the education and support of people with disabilities should be disseminated within and outside Japan. The knowledge and insight provided contribute to increasing the abilities of people with disabilities and paves the way for the realization of a barrier-free and universal society. To achieve this, the university collaborates with other institutions for disabilities, educational institutions, research institutions, government institutions, and private companies within and outside of Japan. The university extends support in primary and secondary education, helping students with disabilities who are studying in other universities and colleges, expanding job categories and employment, and enabling students and people with disabilities to overcome their limitations as well as helping them to participate in social activities through healthcare services and sport. Through education, research, and social contribution, as mentioned above, the university's mission is to work for the realization of a society in which people with disabilities can overcome their disabilities and become active participants in it. Currently, we are promoting practical education activities aimed at encouraging our students to attain social independence with the vision that our functionality as a national university corporation must be reinforced based on educational know-how and information security technology for students with auditory and visual difficulties, which we have developed over the past quarter of a century. As part of our undergraduate education program, we offer to learn opportunities by promoting the concept of active learning, the development of global human resources, the support for career development aimed at social independence, clinical exercises for training practical health professionals, etc. Our graduate school, which is specialized in Information Accessibility, is now on track, allowing graduates to play active roles in new academic fields exemplified by disability aids and information security. Also, as a shared base of higher education for disabled people nationwide, we are steadily implementing our vision by building a shared network and our functionality for the support of disabled students of other universities and the like. View full university

Surrounded by a green environment, Tsukuba Gakuin University is located in the center of Tsukuba Science City--which is at the forefront of Japanese science and technology--and is 45 minutes from Tokyo on the Tsukuba Express. In order to cultivate independent human resources equipped with KVA spirit, Knowledge, Virtue, and Art ̶ which were the philosophy of the founder of Tokyo Kasei Gakuin University, Mrs. Sumi Oe ̶ our education fosters the willingness to contribute to society by acquiring the management and IT skills needed for the globalization of the future. There are four courses in the business and informatics department ̶ Business Management, Global Communications, Media Design, and Information Design ̶. Beyond the walls of these four courses, you can freely choose from among 150 other specialized foundation courses to acquire a broad range of knowledge and education. There are special international courses for international students to learn the Japanese language, and there are courses for international students in the university departments. The employment support staff is on call and always available to consult with students. The staff provides help with filling in applications and writing resumes, guidance for interviews, and companies' information. In the Career Design Course beginning in the freshman year, students develop communication skills and acquire the aptitude for self-analysis, research companies, local governments, and industries. Consultants provide guidance. In addition to academics, there are many activities, such as clubs, circles, overseas training, internships, and the like. Be sure to make the most of your campus life. The staff members in charge of international students at the International Exchange Center provide consultation on studies, daily life, and career assistance. There are also systems for second-year and third-year admissions. Also, "tuition fee exemptions" and "Let's Live in Tsukuba Scholarships" are available for those who move to Tsukuba. We conduct educational research as a university cooperating with the local community. Through the "Make Tsukuba City the Campus" Off-Campus Program (OCP) activities, students implement field activities off-campus at companies and local governments in the community, leading to discovering and solving problems in the community. Eight units are required. In terms of education and research, we are researching cooperation with the community, including an experimental study with Segways in cooperation with Tsukuba City tourism business hospitality and airport research image processing research on famous places in Tsukuba City Tsukuba Creative Laboratories, and the like. Besides, for citizens, we offer community college courses, eighty language and culture liberal arts courses for the intellectual curiosity of citizens, developing their love of learning, and encouraging lifelong education. Students can attend free of charge. Five hundred students, including 80 international students, are now studying under 28 professors /assistant professors with over 50 part-time lecturers. We accept international students to the Japanese-taught programs once a year, in April. An on-campus exam and interview (conducted primarily in Japanese) are held in November for admission. Applicants are also required to obtain the certificate of Japanese Language certificate. Various types of scholarships and financial aid are available for International students. According to a year-end survey of the senior class, including international students, 92 percent of the graduates had secured employment with a variety of local entities dealing in such areas as information technology, software development, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, financial services, and general trading companies, to list just some. The top employers for the graduates of Tsukuba Gakuin University during the past three years have been the Tsukuba City Hall, Toyota Motors East Japan Inc., the Self Defense Agency, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Joyo Bank Ltd., Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, NTT Systems, and ANA Airport Services Co., Ltd. Over the last four years, the students have out-performed their collegiate counterparts in acceptance rates to graduate schools attached to national universities such as Tokyo University, the University of Tsukuba, and Ibaraki University. View full university