Student Life
St. Thomas University is a small, friendly college that takes pride in its international flavor. The students, faculty and staff are a diverse group of people who share the common quest of building a more peaceful world. Walking through campus you are almost certain to hear a variety of languages being spoken. You will meet students and teachers from all around Japan, from Peru, China, Vietnam and other parts of the world. Most of our students make use of the excellent transportation system to commute from their homes or student apartments located mostly in the Osaka / Kobe area. Classes begin at 9 a.m. and finish late in the afternoon. After class, you will see students enjoying everything from karate to American football, tea ceremony to street dancing. Our Catholic Study Circle is also active. Many of our students also enjoy taking extracurricular foreign language lessons with our young native-speaking assistant teachers, using the computer and CALL labs, and hanging out in the Student Support Center. Most STU students also work part-time a few days a week, so their days are busy. Even so, many choose to participate in volunteer activities sponsored by St. Thomas. They find it a good way to build connections with the local community and with the world. Only a small number of our students are Catholic, but while they are here, all of our students have many chances to learn about Catholicism. For those who are Catholic, the chapel is the center of campus life.
Everyone who visits our campus notices what a special place it is. Come and see for yourself!
STU KYOTO TRIP 2008(.PDF File)
Clubs and Circles
Students at STU may join any number of Clubs and Circles. Here is a list of those currently operating on campus:
- Sports Clubs:
- Soccer Club
- American Football Club
- Baseball Club
- Tennis Club
- Soft Tennis Club
- Toyo Kempo Club
- Men’s Basketball Circle
- Men’s Volleyball Club
- Women’s Volleyball Club
- Karate Club
- Cheerleading Club
- Handball Club
- Touring Club
- Culture Clubs:
- Catholic Study Circle
- Practical English Circle
- CEPODI French Circle
- Spanish Study Circle
- Beatland Music Club
- Tea Ceremony Circle
- International Students’ Circle
- Street Dance Circle
- Okoto Music Club
Student Support
St. Thomas University has a long tradition of providing support, advice and counseling for students. Drawing on the resources and traditions of the Catholic church as well as the wider community, we offer a comprehensive range of services and opportunities to students:
Student Support for All Students
Academic Support
- For advice about specific problems connected with their studies, students can turn to their advisor, a member of the teaching staff assigned to look after a small number of students. Usually the advisor will have a chance to see the student at least once a week in class, and also keeps regular office hours for consultations with students. Advisors are expected to know their advisees well and to watch out for any signs of problems.
- For help with writing assignments, students can consult the Student Support Center (SSC). Just next to the chapel, at the heart of the campus, the SSC offers a welcoming atmosphere and a team of experienced writers who offer advice on how to approach a writing project, how to organize the writing and how to find just the right phrase.
- For help with a research project, or thesis writing students should visit the library. Our highly trained and friendly librarians are skilled in helping students to formulate their research question and guiding them to the information that will help them to answer it.
Life Support
- For help with personal or social worries, students can turn to the Student Support Center. The SSC has a team of advisors, trained counselors, a visiting psychologist and the university chaplain, who stand ready to advise students with problems large and small, in confidence. Referrals are available to other support services outside the university.
- However, social and psychological support is not limited to the SSC. Students with worries will find all members of staff, teaching and non-teaching, ready to listen and advise.
Spiritual Support
- For students with an interest in Catholicism or with other spiritual needs, the Chaplain’s Office provides counseling and spiritual guidance.
- St. Thomas University also provides a number of courses, both inside and outside the curriculum, and for the wider community in Amagasaki, about Christian beliefs.
Free-time Support
- Students searching for profitable ways to spend their spare time, will find useful resources in the Student Support Center. Advice on searching for part-time jobs and listings of positions available can be found here. In addition, the SSC encourages students to work actively as volunteers in the school, the community and beyond. Students, with the help of the SSC, have worked on projects as diverse as showing prospective new students around the campus and guiding foreign athletes who came to an international athletics meet in Osaka.
- Even for those with only a little free time, the SSC is a welcoming place to hang out, meet other students and make new friends.
Career Support
- Students looking for a job or wondering how to look for a job will find a lot of information and help at the Career Support Center. The CSC offers advice and training sessions on job-hunting, resumé-writing and interviewing, as well as introductions to companies in the local area and chances to hear about the experiences of St. Thomas University graduates.
Student Support of Particular Interest to Foreign Students
Foreign students participate in student support activities along with Japanese students in all four areas:
- Academic Support
- Life Support
- Free-time Support and
- Career Support
In addition:
- The Student Support Center provides Japanese language support for non-native speakers of the language. As well as help with report writing, weekly lessons in Business Japanese are available free of charge.
- The Student Support Center also organizes two annual events for foreign students:
- a. a cherry blossom-viewing party in April and
- b. a mixer party in December for foreign students and their teachers to get to know each other better.
- The Career Support Center provides seminars on employment prospects for foreign students.
- The Center for Cross-cultural Exchange runs an annual Japanese Language Speech Contest to help foreign students to hone their speaking skills.
