Fall 2026 Costs for KCJS: Consortium Students from Barnard College, Boston University, Brown University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, Cornell University, Emory University, Tufts University, and University of Pennsylvania

THE COSTS BILLED BY COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Deposit $500
Balance to be paid $5,750
TOTAL PROGRAM FEE $6,250

Deposit: A non-refundable deposit of $500 must be submitted along with your Confirmation of Participation form to reserve your place in the program. All students—except for those from Barnard, Cornell, Tufts, and UPenn --must pay the deposit. It is payable online through the UGE Application Portal and will be applied to your program costs.

Program Fee: The Program Fee covers housing, a lunch stipend, a transportation pass, and select semester activities.For the students who pay the program fee directly to Columbia University, the $500 non-refundable deposit will applied to this total.

Students from Barnard, Cornell, Tufts, and UPenn will be charged the above Deposit and Program Fee but do not pay the fees directly to Columbia.

Tuition: KCJS Consortium students from Barnard, BU, Brown, Columbia, Chicago, Cornell, Emory, Tufts and UPenn will be billed by your home school at your school’s regular tuition rate. Tuition covers academic instruction, excursions, most course materials, some local transportation, and cultural activities.

Tuition and fees are subject to approval by The Trustees of Columbia University and may change.

Estimated Out-of-Pocket Expenses are not billed by Columbia. The estimated amounts in this section provide a basis for students to determine their individual budgets for expenses related to their time overseas for the duration of the program. The below estimate is an average of what students say they actually spend. These expenses are NOT paid to the program.
OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSES NOT BILLED TO STUDENTS (ESTIMATED)
Meals (depends on housing option)$500 - $2,000
Housing$0
Local Transportation$300
Visa$0
Books and Course Materials$100
Cell Phone$180
Airfare$1,700
Personal Expenses$800
Total$3,580-$5,080

Meals: The cost for meals and food will vary depending on housing options and individual spending habits. All KCJS students receive a ¥1,000 daily lunch allowance.

1) Students living in apartments are responsible for breakfast and dinner, should budget approximately $500/month for meals not included in the program fee.
2) Students living with host families are provided with breakfast and dinner are provided daily, but are responsible for lunch.
3) Students living in residence halls are provided breakfast and dinner Monday – Saturday but are responsible for daily lunch and Sunday meals.

Housing: KCJS places students in apartments, host families or reisdence halls and the cost is included in the Program Fee.
Local Transportation: Students will be given a monthly transportation subsidy during the semester to cover transportation costs between their housing and KCJS. Students should budget approximately ¥20,000 per month for additional transportation. Students should also be prepared to take ground transportation and/or an additional flight depending on the arrival airport.
Visa: There are no Visa fees for US Citizens, and fees are waived for some nationalities. The list of visa exemption countries and regions can be found here.

Books and course supplies: Textbooks and other course materials will be distributed after the language placement exam in Kyoto.

Cellphone: All students are required to have a working cell phone capable of making and receiving both local and international calls throughout the duration of the program.

Airfare: Students are responsible for booking their own flights to any of the following airports: Kansai International Airport, Haneda or Narita.

Personal Expenses: Personal expenses are highly variable based on each person's spending habits. They may include entertainment and personal travel.

As part of the program, you will be covered for urgent and emergent care while you are abroad. Routine and preventive care is not included so you should maintain a health insurance policy that will provide coverage outside the U.S. or your home country. This cost is not included in the chart above.