Information for Course Registration

1. Exchange students will receive their personal login ID at the Orientation, and register for courses on-line during the course registration period (Detailed explanations will be provided at orientation).
   • All students including exchange students must abide by the registration regulation by Sophia. Late course registration is not accepted under any circumstance. Details of course registration will be explained at the orientation held after arriving at Sophia.
     Please refer to our Academic Calendar.
     https://piloti.sophia.ac.jp/eng/academic/AcademicCalendar/
2. Latest Bulletin of Information can be downloaded from the link below. It is students’ own responsibility to check if their desired courses will be offered during the next semester or not. Please note that the course list is updated each year in March.
   https://piloti.sophia.ac.jp/eng/studyabroad/exchangeprograms/course_info/

Restriction of Course Registration

1. Exchange Students must register for more than 10 hours of class work per week (600 minutes, 1 hour being 60 minutes). This is namely 6 periods as 100 minutes constitute one period.
   This restriction is to fulfill the requirements of “College Student” visa status, but this is also valid for the students who have Japanese Citizen or other visa status.
2. In principle, exchange students should mainly take courses offered by their own faculties and programs. Please consult at our faculty advisor in “Individual Guidance Advising Session” held during the pre-class period following the orientation.
   • LAP students are strongly recommended to choose the Comparative Studies courses of Japan and Latin America: “Comparative Literature of Japan and Latin America” (Spanish, Spring only) or “Seminar (Brazilians in Japan: Education and Social Conditions) ” (Portuguese, Spring and Autumn).
   • SAIMS students must choose at least one of the following courses: “Conservation”, “Sustainable Development”, or “Environmental Science”.
3. Exchange Students may register for some courses taught in English offered by other faculties. Please refer to the “Course List of English-Taught Non-FLA Courses” which lists available non-FLA courses open to other department students.
   • For example, if you will be enrolled in the Faculty of Liberal Arts (FLA), you must take courses mainly from FLA, but it is also possible to take a few courses from the “Course List of English-Taught Non-FLA Courses”.
   • The updated course list for the coming semester will be published on the day of Orientation. Please be advised that we cannot guarantee that all of the courses will be available for exchange students in the future as well, but refer to the last year’s course list, which is the most current course list at this time.
4. The following courses are NOT open to Exchange Students.
   • FLA core programs
   • FST laboratory classes
   • GPGS compulsory courses
   • the foreign language courses (except Japanese language)
   • Seminars
   • Compulsory courses in General Studies, “Studies in Christian Humanism: For Others, with Others”, “Liberal Arts of the Body”, “Critical Thinking & Writing”, “Overview of Data Science”, “Thinking about Issues, Perspectives and Positionality”.
5. Credit Restriction (per semester)
   • Faculty of Liberal Arts: No more than 20 credits
   • Faculty of Science and Technology: No more than 26 credits
   • Graduate Program in Global Studies: No more than 12 credits

Notes for Japanese Language Program and Its Placement Test

Japanese Language Program

Japanese Language Program (Center for Language Education and Research)

Japanese Placement Test

• Those who would like to take Japanese language course must take a Japanese Placement Test. .
  • For the schedule of the JPT, please refer to this page.
  • Beginner students who have never studied Japanese and wish to register for “Japanese 1”, will not be required to take the test, but must submit a survey.

• You will be placed to the appropriate level following based on the results of the placement test and you are not allowed to change your class.
• Therefore, please note that it is not always possible to take classes designated by your home institution.

• If you missed to take the test / submit a format, you will not be able to register Japanese language courses.
• Students can register for Japanese Language course after the Japanese Placement Test result was released.
• Further details will be provided in the Orientation.

Credit Explanation & Grading System

Credits

Grading Scale

Transcript of Records, Certificates

Date of Issue

• Spring semester transcript: mid-September
  Autumn semester transcript: late-March
  • Please refer to Loyola for the precise date of the academic year.
• One official transcript for Exchange Students will be sent directly to the Office of International Programs or Registrar’s Office at students’ home institution.
• We will NEVER issue the ToR earlier than the date above. If you need Sophia transcript to transfer credits for your graduation, please be aware of this issuance date.
• Online Grades View on Loyola can also be displayed from the same date.
  Please keep in mind that exchange students will NOT be able to log in to Loyola website after the end of the enrollment period (September 20 for Spring Semester / March 31 for Autumn Semester).
• For additional copies of ToR, please follow the instruction: https://piloti.sophia.ac.jp/eng/academicrecords/certificates_transcripts/alumni/

Other Certificates

• We can issue “Certificate of Exchange Program”, which attests to the duration of the Exchange Program. Please consult Center for Global Education and Discovery.