Undergraduate/Graduate School

APU’s multicultural environment

About half of APU’s 6000 students are international students from over 100 countries/regions

At APU, students of different cultures work alongside each other both inside and outside the classroom daily. To get the most out of this environment over their 4 years of study, students must acquire proper communication and multicultural cooperative skills. All 1st year students must take Multicultural Cooperative Workshop as a mechanism for acquiring the skills for a successful university life.

Class structure

Knowledge and skills for multicultural cooperation

Language barriers; Active listening; Communication styles; Diversity and inclusion; Stereotype; Group theory; and Cultural lens

Learn in small, international groups over a 4th month period

Students are divided into small diverse groups, considering countries of origin, nationalities, and areas of study. The groups are comprised of about half Japanese speakers and half English speakers. Over 4 months, these small groups work through discussions toward a final project that they must present at the end of the course.

TA(Teaching Assistant) support

Practice in the small classes is supported by senior student TAs. In addition to facilitating discussion, helping find resources, and giving feedback for the student presentations, these reliable TAs also offer advice on university life.

Group project

Students will use the diversity of their groups to propose an innovative plan based on a particular theme. In the process of creating a plan through repeated group discussions inside and outside the class, students build a relationship of trust that transcends language and cultural barriers. Some teammates become true friends. Presentations are given towards the end of the course, and a winning team is selected.

Skills students build in MCW