FAQ

1. FUTI wants to remind the recipient that living in the U.S. is an important part of studying in the U.S.
2. Needless to say, authorities’ orders must be observed.
3. In any case, study must be continued to complete the original study plan.
4. FUTI expects the recipient to choose the option, if any such as whether to return to Japan or not, that is best for the recipient’s life plan. FUTI will honor the recipient’s choice because FUTI can by no means be responsible for the recipient’s health.
5. Should the recipient elect to return to Japan earlier, changing the original study abroad plan, it is required of the recipient to report such decisions to FUTI and receive confirmation from FUTI.
6. As the reasonable operator of the fund for Ito Foundation U.S.A.-FUTI and FUTI scholarships (hereafter “Scholarship”), FUTI reserves the right to adjust the Scholarship amount accordingly as outlined below. The recipient is required to report to FUTI which of the following situation applies to them.
   • The recipient has reported in the application material the total amount of expenditure for the original study abroad plan. This amount is taken as 100%. If the awarded total Scholarship amount, paid and to be paid, is less than 30%, no adjustment is necessary.
   • If a change of the original plan causes more expenditure, FUTI cannot increase the Scholarship amount.
   • If a change of the original plan results in less total expenditure and the difference is no more than 20%, no adjustment is necessary.
   • If the decrease in expenditure is more than 20% (e.g.30%), the total Scholarship amount, paid and to be paid, shall be decreased by the same ratio (e.g.30%). FUTI shall decrease the unpaid Scholarship amount or require the recipient to return a part of the already paid Scholarship to FUTI.
7. Cases not covered by the policy above shall be considered by FUTI on a case-by-case basis.

• A student attending a university in the US (does not include international satellite campuses) wishing to participate in a short-term summer program or internship at University of Tokyo.
• A student attending the University of Tokyo wishing to participate in a short-term summer program or internship at a university in the US.
• A current student or alumni of the University of Tokyo* wishing to study at a university in the US for 1 semester/2 quarters or longer.

FUTI Summer Scholarship

FUTI’s Summer Scholarship Award (a.k.a. the “FUTI Global Leadership Award”) Program has been established to encourage students of the University of Tokyo (abbreviated as UTokyo) and U.S. universities to acquire experiences that will help them grow into global leaders in their chosen fields.

In making an award decision, we evaluate an applicant’s intellectual capacity, his/her communication skills, and extracurricular achievements. FUTI regards strong leadership in the curricular or extracurricular activities as important as the academic performance.

An essay written in English is your opportunity to demonstrate your ability to express ideas in your own words. State clearly your career objectives and contributions you aspire to make. Explain how the proposed summer program would help you achieve your goals.

From a recommendation letter, we wish to assess your academic standing among your peers and infer your personality and character.

It is hoped that our awardees will contribute to the exchange of new ideas and the development of genuine understanding between Japan and the rest of the world. We seek to identify students who demonstrate leadership potential.

Ito Foundation U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship

What are described above regarding the FUTI Summer Scholarship also apply for the Ito Foundation U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship. But also refer to [Selection Criteria for the Scholarship] on the Ito Foundation U.S.A.-FUTI page.

FUTI Summer Scholarship

We are aware that UTokyo’s Exchange Program now allows a UTokyo student to apply for as many as three summer programs. FUTI will respond to such applications accordingly, but our application system is a web-based online system, so the procedure is different from UTokyo’s. An applicant must submit an application to each category and each program even within the same category. For instance, you may wish to apply for an IARU-GSP at Yale (Category A), an English Language Course at UC Berkeley (Category B), and another summer program in the U.S. that you have found by yourself (Category C). Indicate which program is your first choice, second choice, and third choice, by completing the relevant field in FUTI’s online application system. Needless to say, you must be selected by the summer program in order to receive a FUTI award.

Ito Foundation U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship

In case you apply for this scholarship before a decision is made on the host university and its department/course, you can indicate your top three candidates and select their priorities on the FUTI online application form. A typical response from FUTI may be: “The scholarship will be granted if you are admitted to any one of the three candidates” or “The scholarship will be granted only if you are admitted to the first choice candidate.”

A secondary or even tertiary recommendation letter (for example, from another professor, the supervisor or coach of your extracurricular activity) is welcome.

Most applicants submit one recommendation letter because quality matters more over quantity. However, please feel free to submit more than one recommendation letter. The online application form accepts up to two reference and recommendation letters, but please submit additional recommendation letter(s) as follows:

1. Notify FUTI by sending a message through this form that you have additional recommendation letter(s) with the information of your reference(s) equivalent to what is required in the online application form.
2. Request your reference(s) to send the additional recommendation letter(s) directly to FUTI through recommend [at] friendsofutokyo.org by the deadline.

Approximately 10 days after you have taken a TOEFLI iBT test, you will receive an email, letting you know when your scores will be available. You can log in to your TOEFL iBT account on theTOEFL® Registration website and click “View Scores” on your home page to see your scores. See for details: http://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/scores/get (or http://www.ets.org/jp/toefl/ibt/scores/get/ in Japanese)

If you have a TOEIC or IELTS score already, you may submit it in lieu of a TOEFL, but Yale or UC Berkeley may not accept TOEIC for their IARU-GSP programs.

1. Payment schedules will be presented to you and discussed as necessary. In general, scholarships for summer programs will be paid as soon as necessary data is provided to FUTI. Scholarships for one or more semesters will be usually paid in four installments, in July, October, January and at the end of the academic years or at the end of your study abroad after FUTI receives your wrap-up report.
2. If you would like the scholarship deposited to a bank account in the U.S., FUTI will deliver a check via postal mail after you provide us with your U.S. address, phone number and name as it appears on your bank account.
3. If you would like the scholarship deposited to a bank account in Japan or other non-U.S. countries, FUTI will wire transfer the scholarship to the bank account after you provide the account information
   • Your mailing address
   • Your phone number
   • Name as it appears on your bank account
   • Bank name
   • Swift code
   • Bank account number
   • Bank account type (checking, saving, etc)
   • Branch name/number
   • Branch address
   • Branch phone number
4. Most students from Japan studying for one or more semesters will usually receive their first installment in Japan and the rest in the U.S. after their U.S. bank account is opened.