Non-degree students are those who enroll in either the Faculty of Liberal Arts (FLA) or Center for Language Education and Research (CLER) to take undergraduate courses and obtain credits but do not intend to receive an academic degree. This status is applicable only to international students who will enroll as full-time students.

There are two tracks for Non-degree students. (1) English Track (FLA) and (2) Japanese Intensive Track (CLER). Applicants are required to choose one of the tracks at the time of application.

Students who intend to take classes from the following fields will enroll in the Faculty of Liberal Arts (FLA). All courses (except Japanese Language Regular Program) in this track are conducted in English.

• Comparative Culture (Art History/Visual Culture, Literature, Religion-Philosophy)
• International Business and Economics
• Social Studies (Anthropology-Sociology, History, Political Science)
• Japanese Language Regular Program for a) beginners of Japanese or b) intermediate-advanced level students who do not intend to take the below Japanese Language Intensive Program (JLIP). In this Japanese Language Regular Program, 100-minute classes meet four or five times a week. Students take placement test before course registration. English is occasionally used for instruction when necessary.

For the course’s listings, please refer to the FLA website.

Note: FLA core programs, Overview of Data Science (for degree-students) and language programs other than Japanese are not open to non-degree students.

This track is for students who would like to take Japanese Language Intensive Program (JLIP). JLIP is an intensive course for those who study Japanese as a foreign language. In the JLIP, 100-minute classes meet twice a day (9:00 to 12:35) from Monday through Friday. English is occasionally used for instruction when necessary.

There are three levels, and the lowest level is for students who have reached a level N5 in Japanese Language Proficiency Test（日本語能力試験） or equivalent. Those who have not reached this level cannot apply for this track.

All students who plan to take JLIP must take a language placement test before course registration and will be assigned to a level on the basis of the results of the placement test.

For Non-degree program course models, please refer to the CLER website.

Notes
– Students enrolled in the Japanese Intensive Track must take only the “Intensive Japanese” course (8 credits). It is not possible to take courses offered by other faculties.
– Intensive Japanese 4, the advanced-level course, will be discontinued at the end of the 2026 academic year. Beginning in the 2027 academic year, students at the advanced level will enroll in the regular-track Japanese course (4 credits) and take additional Japanese courses appropriate to their proficiency level. Please note that the maximum number of credits students may take per semester is 12. For details regarding course options for non-degree students, please refer to the CLER website.

The academic programs of the non-degree programs are chartered by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Credits earned are fully recognized by major universities in the United States of America and elsewhere.

There are two semesters, beginning in April and September. Each semester consists of 15 weeks of classes, including final examinations.
Spring Semester: Official enrollment date is April 1. Classes start in early April and end at the end of July.
Autumn Semester: Official enrollment date is September 21. Classes start in late September and end in late January.

The period of study is either one semester or two semesters.

Non-degree students are required to register for at least 10 hours of class time (equivalent to 6 classes) per week. Also, students can only take up to 20 credits per semester. If a student fails to register for courses in a given semester, or fails to meet the deadline for tuition payment, they will lose their student status at Sophia.

There is no scholarship available for non-degree students at Sophia University.