The purpose of the program is to support future American educators to become more knowledgeable about Japan. It is expected that recipients of these fellowships will return to the US to teach about Japan. While in Japan, fellowship recipients will be expected to visit Kobe (Jogakuin) College in Nishinomiya to give a presentation on the fellowship topic. Fellows will speak at a key meeting of KCC Japan Education Exchange in the US upon completion of the fellowship year.

Qualifications:
KCC Japan Education Exchange will award fellowships to graduate students who have a record of teaching effectively about Japan, or who show promise to do so in the future. There are no restrictions as to place of study or research in Japan, field of study, or age of applicant. Preference will be given to applicants who have documented interest in Japanese studies, such as the arts, culture, education, language, history, journalism, or business. Preference will be given to those advanced graduate applicants who provide written confirmation of the research or study site in Japan.

Applicants must be US citizens. They must also be enrolled, in good standing, in a graduate program at an accredited higher education institution in the US The fellowship is for teaching/research master's or doctoral degrees only. Students enrolled in professional graduate degree programs are not eligible (i.e., M.B.A., J.D., M.D., etc.). Fellowship recipients must plan to teach in the US after completing their degree, either at the secondary or higher education levels and should have good public speaking skills.

Criteria for Selection:
The Graduate Fellowship Program Review Panel will evaluate each application on the following items in order of importance:

*Scholarly excellence of applicant.
*Quality of proposal.
*Quality of preparation to undertake the proposed fellowship plan.
*Plan for teaching upon completion of degree.
*Documented interest in woman's education.
*Feasibility of project and proposed schedule.
*Applications will be reviewed by a distinguished panel of scholars and should be prepared accordingly.

Kobe College as a Research Site:
Kobe College, in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, welcomes KCC Japan Education Exchange Fellows to affiliate while in Japan. Within the graduate school of letters, the Department of Japanese Culture has a distinguished faculty who welcome the opportunity to work with American graduate students. The beautiful campus is conveniently located between Kobe and Osaka on the Hankyu Train Line.

Areas of academic research of the faculty include:
Aesthetics
Japanese language and literature (ancient and modern)
Japanese history
History of religions
International relations in the history of modern Japan