Make in Japan 2025
Students will explore Japanese culture and its cultural manifestations through the study of a variety of mediums including design, architecture, space, art, fashion, visual communication, interaction and game design. Participants will select a specific topic related to their research interests and will perform a thorough study and analysis of the Japanese traits and characteristics of the topic during their trip to Japan.
About the program
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Concordia International are pleased to offer a new short-term Design field school program in Japan. This exciting program offers students the opportunity to earn 3 Concordia credits while spending approximately 16 days in Japan. Dr. Martin Racine (Graduate Program Director and Associate Professor, Department of Design and Computation Arts) and Professor Guillaume Pelletier (Department of Design and Computation Arts) will co-lead the course. Professor Pelletier will accompany the group.
The target of the studio will be to visit and learn from the brand-new International World Expo that will occurs in Osaka in 2025. The Theme of the Expo is ‘Designing Future Society for our Lives’. The subthemes are ‘saving lives’, ‘empowering lives’ and ‘connecting lives.
The World Expo will be an event that brings together people and innovations from around the world to address issues facing humankind on a global scale. The Osaka World Exposition will be a place where new technologies and products are born, triggering greater convenience in our daily lives.
The objective of the “Make in Japan 2025” Field school is to bring students to discover Japanese culture and its manifestations through a variety of field including design, landscape, architecture, space, art, fashion, visual communication, technologies and game design.
Various academic activities, cultural visits and research will trigger the creation of a personal project influenced by the Japanese experience. The students will also have the occasion to encounter and perform creative work with Japanese students from Tama Art University.
There will be preparatory sessions prior to the trip.
Program dates
Dates: May 8th, 2025 (departure date) to May 24, 2025 (returning date).
Program course
This course is offered at the undergraduate and Masters level:
- DART 498/1 STU GA & CART 498/1 STU GA
- DART 635: Special Topics in Design Research (3 credits)
- The curriculum for DART 498/1 STU GA, CART 498/1 STU GA & DART 635: Special Topics in Design Research will be provided by Professor Guillaume Pelletier and Dr. Martin Racine.
Estimated cost
Program fee = 3,850 CAD
The program fee includes:
- Hotel Accommodation at all locations
- 1-week Japan Rail Pass
Concordia tuition = 3 credits Concordia tuition
- For an estimate of the tuition fee please use the tuition fee estimator.
- Master and Ph.D level students will pay the same tuition charged per semester in program.
Additional costs
- Selecting and paying their transportation to/from Tokyo, Japan.
- Mandatory health and travel insurance.
- Meals
- Some in-country transportaiton (metro & local buses)
- Spending money.
- Museum visits.
- Any required travel documents and other miscellaneous expenses associated with travel.
Available Funding
Peter N. Thomson Family Field School Award
The Faculty of Fine Arts invites applications for the Peter N. Thomson Family Field School Awards. The Award offers an amount of $1,300 for thirty (30) eligible Fine Arts undergraduate or graduate students accepted to a Field School hosted by the Faculty of Fine Arts. Please consult the Peter N. Thomson Field School Award webpage for application instructions.
Quebec Mobility Bursary
To help with the costs of going abroad, Concordia offers a $1,275 CAD Quebec Mobility Bursary to students.
To qualify, you must be a Concordia student enrolled in a Concordia Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral degree program and approved to participate in the field school.
Important to note:
Field school applicants do not need to submit a bursary application as it is part of the on-line field school application, and you will automatically be considered for the Quebec Mobility bursary.
The bursary will be applied to student accounts. Details on the payment of the bursary will be sent to successful field school applicants.
Contact Concordia International if you have any questions on your eligibility for funding.
Application Process
To be eligible to participate in the field school, you must meet one of the following criteria.
Undergraduate Students:
- Be enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree program, have a minimum 2.7 cumulative GPA and have completed at least 30 credits toward your current degree program by the end of the academic year.
Graduate students:
- Be enrolled in a Master’s degree program, have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA and have completed at least 9 credits toward your current degree program by the end of the academic year.
Please note that this program can accommodate a maximum of 16 participants.
All students interested in applying to this program must attend an information session given by Concordia International prior to submitting an application.
Date: January 29, 2025
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Zoom Meeting Link: https://concordia-ca.zoom.us/j/3654810697
- Submit the Concordia Field School Abroad Application through the Concordia International Outgoing Mobility portal by the application deadline of February 14 2025. The application can be accessed through the Concordia International CSEP Mobility Portal.
- Your application must also include:
- A copy of your most recent transcript (whether from Concordia or another institution). An unofficial Concordia transcript.
- A letter of intent of 500-750 words describing why you wish to participate in the Japan Field School and the kind of work you hope to accomplish while there. You should also make mention of what strengths or contributions you think you will bring to the group.
Final admissions decisions will be made by the program monitor, Guillaume Pelletier
By March 19 2025, admitted students must make a $500 deposit on their Concordia student account towards costs to hold their position in the program, the $500 deposit will be credited to their student account and applied against their future tuition.
Students admitted to the program will have to attend a mandatory pre-departure meeting held by Concordia International through the following Zoom link: https://concordia-ca.zoom.us/j/3654810697 on TBC.