This semester was a bit strange for everyone, myself included. The third level class was too large, consisting of half of the program's students. Many people were unhappy and were bombarded with a large amount of busywork. There were also very few organized events for the duration of the entire program, so many students rarely got to interact with the other students, and even the Japanese roommates.
For those other art students, specifically printmakers and animators, this is not the ideal program for creating art. Only plate lithography for printmaking and glassblowing were available this semester. Being an international student, they limit the classes you're allowed to take, especially if you have no prior Japanese language experience. The art teachers were very nice though. But the classes you want to take may not be available.
The Japanese language portion of this program is the main focus, not the art. That said, most of the time will be dedicated to learning Japanese. The Japanese language teachers I had were very lovely, patient, and knowledgable. The best part of the program was the language portion, even if the assignments were tedious at times.
The program itself was not organized well, communication was very last-minute for a majority of the time, leaving both students and faculty confused. Peoples' personal problems were also not handled properly, if not, taken care of too late. Unhelpful, nosy, and somewhat deceitful head staff became bothersome, leaving everyone on edge in the learning environment.
CET's Japan programs also focus heavily on the roommates, but many of the roommates were too busy to dedicate the necessary amount of time to the program.
That said, this was only my experience, and the program will change each semester. Take from this as you would like.
What would you improve about this program?
Sept 2020: I cannot edit my initial review, but I've wanted to write my takeaways and other notes five years later.
The AICAD in Japan program is meant to be experienced during the spring semester, it is nearly double the length and the schedule is much more manageable, especially for those with little-to-no Japanese skills. The only reason you should go in the fall is if you can’t go in spring, can’t afford to, or do not wish to spend that long abroad. This review is for the fall semester that I experienced.
Japanese language was the morning-afternoon M-F, and at the beginning of the semester, you made the decision of how many times you went to Osaka University of Arts(OUA). I chose three days each week, so Tue-Thur directly after Japanese language, I would commute to OUA. This was one of the key differences between fall and spring, with the spring providing the classes at different parts of the year so they would not coincide as much, allowing for more free time. For the last month and a half or so of language learning, the lessons were so fast it made it very difficult to retain the information we were learning. However, the professors were extremely kind and understanding.
One of the biggest parts of the program was its roommate pairing. I unfortunately got a horrible roommate who paid as little attention to me as possible, laughed at my small mistakes when helping with homework, and would hang out with other American students but never me. I was a chore to her. I complained about her in the latter part of the semester and she apologized, but this didn’t change anything. I should have known she didn’t like me when all the other Japanese students would say hi to me and talk with me, but my roommate would barely engage. So if you have any issue with roommates, don't be afraid to speak up. Remember that you're paying for this experience, so anything you let slide only hurts yourself. Thankfully there was another Japanese roommate in my house, she was very kind and always took a little extra time out of her busy life to help me. This is probably the part of my experience that makes me the saddest, even to this day it makes me feel bitter.
I took this study abroad as the time to try my absolute hardest to be as social as possible and learn as much as possible. And I know I did as best as I could, but the program fell short on keeping some Japanese students active with the program, helping American students with issues, and creating a healthy work/life balance. There was little trust between the resident director and the students, which in turn caused a lot of friction. If I had gone during the spring semester, I may have had a completely different experience. I know all of the faculty are different now, so remember that his is a review of the past.
I will end this on a positive note, CET’s programming were the best moments in the program. Excursions, weekend trips, activities they planned, those were fun because you got to interact with all of the American and Japanese students that you might not see as often, go different places, and experience Japan. I’d definitely recommend eating out as often as you’d like. It can end up far cheaper, easier, and more enjoyable than cooking in. My friendships made from this program are limited, but because I knew that this was happening and not likely to change, I took many solo trips, and I’d recommend getting out as much as possible. Remember that you shape your experience with your own hands.
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My initial review was filled with fresh wounds and I cannot edit it. Please take from it with a grain of salt.
Response from CET Academic Programs
Hi Ellen, Thanks for recommending the CET Prague program. We are glad you enjoyed your time in Prague and were able to explore the surrounding region in your free time. We agree that having a positive attitude and being able to cope with ambiguity and changing plans greatly enhances your study abroad experience and hope that the skills you learned, in and out of the classroom, continue to have an impact now that you are back at Vanderbilt. -Shelley Jessee, Director of Marketing