Guilford College offers an incredibly strong study abroad program, providing students with the chance to experience new locations and cultures across the globe. These programs can become lasting memories from your time at Guilford.
The Office of Global and Off-Campus Initiatives (GOCI) offers more than 800 study abroad opportunities. There are semester-long and short-term programs, some led by Guilford faculty and others designed for independent travel.
Guilford offers opportunities to study abroad in a wide variety of locations, including the United Kingdom, Germany, India and Japan.
From snow-capped Mt. Fuji to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Japan provides endless options for curious travelers. In Osaka, a 13-floor Round 1 arcade stays open 24/7, and in Kyoto, visitors can climb a mountain lined with thousands of torii gates at Fushimi Inari-Taisha. For students looking to study abroad, Japan is a popular and rewarding destination.
Joshua
In May 2024, I went on a three-week trip to Kyoto, Japan, led by the chair of the Religious Studies Department, Eric Mortensen.
I had wanted to go to Japan for most of my life, but I never had the chance until coming to Guilford. As soon as I found out about a three-week Kyoto study abroad class, I was determined to join it.
Before the short-term program began, we were required to take a mindfulness class during the spring semester. This class helped us get to know the people who would be traveling with us.
We spent 18 days in Kyoto, staying in a small shared house owned by a kind elderly woman on the grounds of Daitoku-ji Temple.
Daitoku-ji is located in the northern part of Kyoto, away from the larger tourist areas, which gave us the chance to experience everyday life in the city. Kyoto has an excellent transportation system, and the subway was a short walk from where we stayed.
Most days were spent visiting Buddhist temples, which became my favorite part of the trip. The temple gardens were blanketed in moss that had been tended for centuries. We usually spent the first part of the day learning about the site we were visiting, and afterward, we were free to explore Kyoto in groups. This gave us time to bond as we navigated the city together.
My favorite location was Fushimi Inari-Taisha. The climb up the mountain lined with thousands of torii gates was challenging, but the view of Kyoto at the top made it worth it.
The biggest downside to a short-term study abroad program is the limited time. Kyoto and Japan as a whole have so many incredible places that it’s impossible to see everything in just a few weeks.
After the study abroad trip ended, I couldn’t stop thinking about Kyoto. I eventually took a second job to help fund a longer visit, which allowed me to spend a month in Japan in June 2025. During that trip, I traveled to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Nara, Himeji and Hiroshima.
Without the initial study abroad experience, I doubt I would have had the confidence to do that trip on my own.
For students hoping to study abroad for an entire semester, Guilford also offers exchange programs with partner universities.
Nora
In January 2025, I studied as an exchange student at Kansai Gaidai University for the spring semester. Guilford covered all my expenses except the plane tickets, and I even received a meal stipend.
Kansai Gaidai University is located in Hirakata City, right outside Osaka. Its central position in Japan’s Kansai region makes it easy to take day trips to Kyoto or Nara.
At Kansai Gaidai, students take Japanese language classes alongside courses taught in English for exchange students. One of the most memorable classes I took was Creatures, Monsters, and Heroes of Japanese Pop Culture. It covered the history of yokai, Japanese horror and manga. We even had a yokai expert visit class one day, leading us in activities like mimicking strange noises or playing Simon Says to help us “think like a yokai,” the supernatural creatures central to Japanese folklore.
There was plenty of time outside of classes to explore Japan. One day, friends and I traveled to Kyoto, rented a kimono and explored Fushimi-ku while sampling street food. We climbed the steps of Fushimi Inari-Taisha and made wishes for academic success for the semester ahead. Other days after class, we wandered through Den-Den Town and Shinsaibashi in Osaka, searching for shops and good food.
During spring break, many students traveled to South Korea or Thailand. My friends and I decided to stay in Japan and took the bullet train to Tokyo. While there, we visited local amusement parks like Tokyo DisneySea and Moominpark and explored the fashion scene in Harajuku.
Living abroad for six months came with challenges. We had to adapt familiar recipes to the ingredients available in Japanese grocery stores. Since we were registered residents, we also had to pay national health insurance. It took an awkward Japanese-language conversation with a cashier to successfully pay off our insurance bill.
On the last day of the program, I had a tearful goodbye with the friends I’d made. My semester in Japan was a unique experience filled with memories I never would have had in the United States.
Studying abroad through Guilford offers an affordable way to experience the world, whether in Japan or another country. It’s an opportunity every student should consider during their time at Guilford.
AloJapan.com