The Associated Kyoto Program is a two-semester study-abroad program at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, sponsored by a consortium of American colleges and universities. The Program maintains high academic standards and dedication to a sound liberal education for which its sponsoring institutions are known.The forty to fifty students accepted each year study the Japanese language intensively and take courses in English on Japan, mainly in the humanities and social sciences.

The sponsoring institutions are: Amherst College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Bucknell University, Carleton College, Colby College, Connecticut College, Middlebury College, Mount Holyoke College, Oberlin College, Pomona College, Smith College, Wellesley College, Wesleyan University, Williams College, and Whitman College. Occasionally students from other colleges are admitted. Almost one thousand students have participated in the Program since its inception in 1972.

The AKP is a full academic-year program, running from September through April. AKP students tend to realize the greatest benefits and make the most significant progress in the second semester, after they have begun to adjust to Japanese customs and achieved some fluency in the language. The Japanese language that a student learns in the fall takes root and grows in the spring. It is no exaggeration to say that the rewards of a two-semester program are many times greater than those of a one-semester program.

Flights arranged by the AKP carry the students from the U. S. to Japan at the end of August. During the first few days in Kyoto, the Resident Director, the AKP staff, and Doshisha student volunteers provide information about daily life in Kyoto, banking, transportation, cultural opportunities, and other matters. At the end of the orientation period, students move in with their homestay families. The program consists of two full academic semesters. Breaks during and between semesters provide students with opportunities to travel in Japan; many students also spend the following summer in Japan or travel elsewhere in Asia. The Program normally ends in late April.

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