About SPCEA

After the independence of the former Soviet constituencies in Central Asia (CA) and with the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1991, interest in Central Asian Studies has grown. At the same time, interest in Japanese Studies has also increased, and an increasing number of students are enrolling in specialized departments. The Special Program for Central Asian Countries was therefore established with the goal of promoting research and educational activities in CA countries. The program aims to strengthen teaching capacities in various subjects broadly related to International Relations, Public Policy, Educational Administration, Japanese Studies, Asian Area Studies, and the role of Japan in Asian and international affairs at various universities and institutions in CA. The SPCEA program brings graduate students and junior staff members from CA universities to the University of Tsukuba and enhances their knowledge in the fields of the social and humanistic sciences. Because many of the faculty and students who join the SPCEA from CA have a limited knowledge of the Japanese language, our program offers the unique opportunity of studying in an English-language-based curriculum while benefitting from the Japanese language courses available to enrolled students. Therefore, previous experience or knowledge of the Japanese language is not s prerequisite for this program.