Global Course Compass

Your guide to navigating education abroad course options to stay on track with your academic goals

Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan

Your Host Institution Tools

Visit Aoyama Gakuin's (AGU) Courses page and scroll to the bottom for the most recent list of courses taught in English.
Then use AGU’s Syllabus Search to find course details. (PRO TIP: at the bottom, you can select to display results in English.)
AGU has two campuses, Aoyama Campus and Sagamihara Campus. When exploring courses, pay attention to the campus where the course is offered.
When applying, you must choose a School/College in which you will mainly study. However, you may choose to take courses from other Schools/Colleges as long as they are on the list of courses open to exchange students.
Updated course lists are often not available until a couple of weeks before the semester begins. You can refer to prior year information for planning purposes with the understanding that course offerings may change.

You'll be required to take at least 14 semester credits (21 OSU quarter credits) per semester at AGU to maintain student visa status. Most of the courses are 2 semester credits (3 OSU quarter credits). Each class period is 90 minutes long and 1 semester consists of 15 weeks of classes.

IMPORTANT: Course levels abroad do not necessarily correspond with course levels at OSU. If course level is important to your course selection, submit each course for pre-articulation using the transfer articulation reevaluation form as early as possible in your planning.
AGU does not use course levels, and students are welcome to choose courses based on content.

Teacher training courses and non-Japanese language courses (i.e., French, Chinese, German) are not available for exchange students.

You’ll need to submit a study plan as part of the initial application, but this is only for screening purposes and NOT for course registration.
You’ll register for specific courses upon arrival at AGU and will receive information on the registration process during on-site Orientation.
You are strongly encouraged to have a few second-choice courses ready in case any first-choice courses become unavailable since you won’t be able to meet with your OSU advisor during the registration process at AGU.

OSU Conversions

Overseas Semesters	OSU Terms
Fall (early Sept - early Feb)	Fall/Winter
Fall + Spring (early Sept - early Aug)	Fall/Winter/Spring
Spring (late March – early Aug)	Spring
Spring + Fall (late March - early Feb)	Spring/Fall/Winter

Overseas Credits	OSU Credits
1	1.5
2	3
14	21
16	24

COMING SOON!

Overseas Grade	OSU Grade

Overseas Grade	OSU Grade

Remember courses abroad count as OSU credits and grades count towards your OSU GPA.

To explore if Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grading could be an option for you, talk with your academic advisor. To request S/U grading for courses abroad, you'll need to secure approval from your academic advisor and submit the S/U request form in your OSU GO portal before 70% of the course is complete.

JAPANESE LANGUAGE CONVERSIONS

IMPORTANT: In 2024 AGU restructured their Japanese language levels. To enroll in credit-bearing Japanese language classes, you must take AGU’s placement exam before arrival and place into JLPT N4 level or above. All credit-bearing Japanese classes will be Upper Division at OSU. If you do not take the placement exam or do not test into JLPT N4, you can take a non-credited beginner course.

Aoyama Campus	Sagamihara Campus	OSU Course
Non-credit beginner course		Non-credit
Level I	Level I	JPN UDEA
Level II	Level II	JPN UDEA
Level III	Level III	JPN UDEA
Level IV		JPN UDEA
Level V	Level IV	JPN UDEA
Levels VI, VII		JPN UDEA

OSU Tools

For official determinations on how education abroad courses will be transcribed at OSU, submit each course using the transfer articulation reevaluation form
No need to wait! We recommend submitting courses as early as possible in your planning - even while exploring programs!
Since course articulation can affect your degree progress and planning, it's important to work closely with your academic advisor to understand how your courses abroad will fit into your academic plan.

Visit the OSU GO Education Abroad Course Articulation Database to view courses that previous OSU students have taken.
The database is not a comprehensive list of all courses available and may list courses that are not offered during your program cycle. Check out the host institution tools below fo up to date course offerings.
Previous articulations are a guide for how a course may appear on your OSU transcript. Given updates to course content, articulation standards, etc., how a course is articulated on your transcript may look different. If a course you plan to take abroad is essential for completion of degree requirements, submit the course information through the form above.