BRIDGING SCHOLARSHIPS

The Association of Teachers of Japanese Bridging Project offers scholarships to American undergraduate students participating in study-abroad programs in Japan. Funding from private foundations and major U.S. corporations has made it possible for ATJ to award 100 scholarships annually to assist students with the travel and living expenses they will incur while studying abroad in Japan for a semester or an academic year. Contributors to the scholarship fund include American International Group, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Estee Lauder Group of Companies, FedEx, The Freeman Foundation, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Lockheed Martin, McDonalds Japan, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Nishimoto Trading Co., Shinsei Bank, Temple University Japan, and Toyota Motor Corporation.

Undergraduate students majoring in any field of study are eligible to apply for these scholarships. Japanese language study is not a prerequisite. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and must be enrolled as undergraduates in a college or university in the United States before and during the time they are studying abroad. (For a list of the most recent recipients of the Bridging Scholarship, scroll down to the bottom of this page.)

Bridging Scholarship recipients receive a stipend of $2,500 (for students on semester-long programs) or $4,000 (for students on academic year programs). Students studying in Japan on summer programs are not eligible to apply.

Applications for Bridging Scholarships are accepted twice a year. Sixty scholarships for Fall 2008 have been awarded; the list of recipients is posted below.

For study in Japan beginning in Spring 2009, applications closed on October 6, 2008. Applications will next be accepted from students who will be studying in Japan beginning in Fall 2009, for a semester or an academic year. The deadline for receipt of applications will be April 6, 2009.

Each scholarship recipient will be expected to send a brief report about his or her study in Japan to the ATJ office within 60 days of returning from abroad. These reports will be valuable both for students who plan to study abroad in Japan and for teachers and advisors who are helping students to select suitable programs of study.

Instructions for Applicants

Please submit the following to the ATJ office:

1. A completed application form (three copies). A printed application can be requested from the ATJ office by phone, fax, or e-mail, or downloaded in text format or pdf format. (You may need to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view and print the pdf version of the form.) If you can't download the form, please request one from the ATJ office by phone, fax, or e-mail.
   

   Bridging Scholarship Application Form
   HTML format	PDF format

   
   

2. A short essay (up to 500 words) introducing yourself, explaining your interest in study in Japan, and outlining what you hope to achieve by participating in a study abroad program (three copies).
   

3. An official transcript from your college or university.
   

4. A letter of recommendation from someone who knows you and is knowledgeable about your abilities and potential, preferably a professor or instructor in your major field. (This may either be submitted together with the application or mailed separately to the ATJ office; please note that it must be received by the application deadline date in order for your application to be considered.) Faxed or e-mailed letters will not be accepted.
   

For further information on the Bridging Scholarships or the application procedure, please contact Susan Schmidt, Executive Director of the Bridging Project Clearinghouse, at the ATJ office: atj@colorado.edu.

Bridging Project Clearinghouse
Association of Teachers of Japanese
Campus Box 279
240 Humanities Building
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0279
Phone: 303-492-5487 Fax:303-492-5856
E-mail: atj@colorado.edu
Web: www.colorado.edu/ealld/atj

The Japan-US Friendship Commission (www.jusfc.gov), an independent federal agency promoting mutual understanding between the United States and Japan, in an effort to highlight public / private partnerships, initiated the Bridging Project scholarship program and established a 501(c)(3) private foundation, the US-Japan Bridging Foundation, to accept contributions.

The goal of the Bridging Project is to promote study abroad in Japan by larger numbers of American undergraduate students.

Contributors to the Fall 2008 scholarship fund include American International Group, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Estee Lauder Group of Companies, FedEx, The Freeman Foundation, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Lockheed Martin, McDonalds Japan, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Nishimoto Trading, Shinsei Bank, Temple University Japan, and Toyota Motor Corporation.

The scholarship program is administered by the Association of Teachers of Japanese, a professional organization of educators in Japanese language, literature, and culture.

The Bridging Scholars hail from a variety of schools--public and private, large universities and small colleges. Their majors range from computer science to fine arts, but they share a common interest in Japan, its language and culture. Their destinations also vary, from giant campuses in Tokyo to intimate consortium programs in rural Japan. A list of the Fall 2008 recipients, their home schools, and their destination programs follows.

Bridging Scholarship Recipients - Fall 2008

Neal AKATSUKA (University of Hawai’i) / anthropology -> Waseda University
Joshua ALLEN (University of Montana) / communication studies -> Sophia University
Jonathon ALLRED (Drake University) / international relations -> Kwansei Gakuin
Pedro BASSOE (Ball State University) / anthropology -> Sapporo University
Kaitlin BENNER-KANAGY (University of Washington) / comparative religion -> Osaka University
Alexandra BERTAGNOLLI (Middlebury College) / Japanese -> Associated Kyoto Program
Brent BONDEHAGEN (University of Kentucky) / computer engineering -> Nagoya University
Richard BOWEN (SUNY at Buffalo) / fine art -> Konan University
Leah BOWRING (Truman State University) / visual communication -> Hosei University
* Edward BRASSINGTON (Montclair State University) / political science and pre-law -> Temple University Japan (*TUJ Bridging Scholarship)
Brian BURG (Purdue University) / computer science -> Tohoku University
John BURLINSON (Bowdoin College) / computer science and Asian Studies -> Nanzan University (IES Nagoya)
Nhia CHANG (St. Olaf College) / political science -> Nagasaki University
Dennis CHASTAIN (Oklahoma State University) / mechanical & aerospace engineering -> Kansai Gaidai
Katy DANIEL (Baylor University) / accounting and international business -> Seinan Gakuin
Jasmina DIZDAREVIC (Barnard College) / political science -> Waseda University
Jon-Michael DURKIN (University of Akron) / political science -> Kansai Gaidai
Chelsea EICHENBAUM (Hollins University) / international business -> Kansai Gaidai
Zachary ESPIL (Boise State University) / linguistics -> Hosei University
Erik FINCK (UCLA) / theater and East Asian studies -> International Christian University
Jason FITCH (University of Idaho) / mathematics and mechanical engineering -> Hiroshima University
Ian FLOOD (University of Puget Sound) / economics -> Waseda University
Michael FOX (University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire) / English linguistics -> Kansai Gaidai
Chelsea GAETA (Eastern Michigan University) / Japanese -> Kansai Gaidai
John GARRETT (Ball State University) / Pre-med and Japanese -> Aichi University of Education
Sarah GOSSETT (Arizona State University) / history -> Wakayama University
Ryan GREENE (Ripon College) / global studies -> Nagasaki University of Foreign Studies
Samuel HANDOJO (University of Southern California / business administration -> Tokyo International University
Kathleen HARTLEY (Middlebury College) / psychology -> Sophia University
Sanna HERWALD (Pomona College) / molecular biology -> International Christian University
Martin HYMAN (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) / Asian studies -> International Christian University
Yolanda INCHAUREGUI (San Diego State University) / international business -> Seinan Gakuin
Aaron JASNY (Washington University in St. Louis) / Japanese -> Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies
Miki KELLEY (University of California, San Diego) / physics -> University of Tokyo
Arielle KING (University of North Texas) / Japanese -> Kansai Gaidai
Jennifer KNIGHT (University of Arizona) / political science -> Sophia University>
Jennifer LAWSON (Earlham College) / comparative linguistics -> Iwate University
Mia LEWIS (Columbia University) / East Asian studies -> Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies
Michael MARION (Ohio University) / computer science -> Chubu University
Mariko NISHI (University of California, San Diego) / biology -> Osaka University
** Midori NOZAKI (New York University) / economics -> Waseda University (**Morgan Stanley Japan Scholarship)
Virginia O'CONNOR (University of Arkansas) / international business -> Kansai Gaidai
Nathan OLSON (University of Minnesota) / Japanese and English -> Hiroshima University
* Hyun Sook PARK (Temple University) / Asian studies -> Temple University Japan (*TUJ Bridging Scholarship)
Bailey PICKENS (University of Chicago) / East Asian languages and religious studies -> Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies
Bradley RAMOS (University of Southern California) / East Asian studies -> Tokyo International University
Daniel RAU (University of Arizona) / economics and political science -> International Christian University
Eric ROBBINS (Pomona College) / Japanese -> Associated Kyoto Program
Nida SANGLIMSUWAN (Mount Holyoke College) / Asian studies -> Associated Kyoto Program
Christine SCRIBA (University of Illinois) / East Asian studies -> Konan University
Isaac SHIN (Gonzaga University) / business administration -> Akita International University
Matthew SMITH (West Virginia University) / international studies -> Akita Shukutoku University
Robert SMITH (Southern Methodist University) / business and anthropology -> Kwansei Gakuin
Kathryn TANQUARY (Knox College) / creative writing and Japanese -> Waseda University
Alan TSE (Wayne State University) / Asian studies -> Japan Center for Michigan Universities
Meghan VENTURA (Ohio University) / journalism -> Chubu University
** Jonathan-Sean VICTORIA (Albion College) / political economy - Waseda University (**Morgan Stanley Japan Scholarship)
Meryl WALDO (Schoolcraft College) / international business -> Kansai Gaidai
Elizabeth WEBER (Northern Michigan University) / international studies -> Japan Center for Michigan Universities
Robert WERTHEIM (Case Western Reserve University) / Japanese studies -> Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies
Kevin WHITESIDES (Humboldt State University) / religious studies -> Antioch Buddhist Studies in Japan
Anne WHITTINGHAM (University of Massachusetts, Amherst) / Japanese and English -> Kwansei Gakuin
Esther WONG (Cornell University) / urban and regional studies -> Kanda University of International Studies (IES Tokyo)