Japan Semester/Year Program

Internships

Temple University, Japan Campus, offers a variety of paid and unpaid internships with Japanese and multi-national organizations, embassies, and NGOs in the Tokyo area for one or two semesters. A student typically continues regular course work while participating in an internship. The student receives university course credit for the internship, which varies depending on the requirements of the organization, the availability of the student, and the restrictions of the course. Generally, for a three credit internship, the student works 140 hours, and organizations prefer to have interns from 10 to 20 hours per week.

An internship provides excellent preparation for the particular field and for future employment, as well as the opportunity to experience a different dimension of Japanese life and make important professional contacts for future networking. Generally, bilingual capabilities in Japanese and English are desirable, although for some placements Japanese is not required. Computer skills are highly prized by most organizations seeking interns.

A faculty advisor oversees the internship, sets the evaluation requirements for the internship, and meets with the student regularly throughout the semester. Students submit a report on the internship.

All students are provided with detailed information about available internships after being accepted to the study abroad program. Interested students then apply for an internship prior to departure for Tokyo.

One of my main initial draws to the Temple University, Japan Campus, program was not only its emphasis on Asian business courses but also on career development through internships at both international and Japanese companies within the Tokyo area.

I had applied for internships prior to my arrival in Japan, and after one month, I began my internship as the marketing coordinator for a mid-sized Japanese company. The combination of this internship and my favorite class, Fundamentals of Asian Business, helped me obtain a sound introduction to Japan's business community from both a practical and theoretical level. TUJ’s Dean taught my Asian Business class, and many of the aspects of Japanese business that he taught us became readily apparent during the course of my internship. In this sense, I believe that the internship went a long way in reinforcing the points made in class.

Although my initial interest lay in carrying out an internship within a Japanese company, the Asian business course helped foster my newfound interest in entering the finance sector in Japan. As a result, I am currently pursuing a full-time position at an international finance firm here in Tokyo.

Sebastian Quadrat, TUJ alumnus

TUJ Internship Program Participants
More than 40 organizations and institutions have participated in the TUJ internship program.They include:

AIG K.K.
American Express International, Inc.
Bloomberg L.P.
Cable News International
CBS News
East West Consulting K.K.
Fleishman Hillard Japan Inc.
Futaba Gakuin
Goldman Sachs (Japan) Ltd.
International Monetary Fund
International Videoworks, Inc.
Japan Today
Lehman Brothers Japan
Metropolis
MTVJapan
News Broadcasting Japan K.K.
Philip Morris Japan K.K.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Reuters Japan Ltd.
Sakae Institute of Study Abroad
Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource
Center
Yokohama Grand
Intercontinental Hotel
U.S. Embassy

Students may have an opportunity to intern at foreign embassies in Tokyo, depending on nationality and language skills.