Earlham College and Friends School Tokyo establish direct admissions pathway for Japanese students  

Earlham College and Friends School Tokyo in Japan have established a new direct admissions pathway that will give high-achieving students an opportunity to continue their education at a nationally ranked liberal arts college with a shared commitment to community, global learning, and close relationships. 

The pathway offers direct admission for students who meet established academic criteria, and significant merit scholarships for eligible students. Eligible Friends School Tokyo students will also benefit from personalized admissions advising from Earlham to help students and their families navigate the college search and enrollment process.  

The agreement was signed in September on Earlham’s campus by Earlham President Paul Sniegowski and Friends School Tokyo Principal Naoto Aoki. 

The partnership builds on a relationship between Earlham and Japan that reaches back nearly 140 years. Friends School Tokyo was founded in 1887 by Earlham alumni Joseph and Sarah Ann Cosand and today is a junior and senior high school for about 750 girls in central Tokyo. Grounded in Quaker values including simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality and stewardship, the school recently announced plans for a new multipurpose educational facility scheduled to open in 2029. 

“Japan has been an important part of Earlham’s story for centuries, and our relationships there have shaped generations of Earlham students and graduates,” Sniegowski said. “This partnership with Friends School Tokyo continues that history while creating new opportunities for students to experience the kind of education Earlham does best — one grounded in Quaker values, close relationships, global engagement, and learning across cultures.” 

Earlham’s connection with Japan includes roots in the teaching of Japanese studies dating back to 1962, and formal student and faculty exchanges with Japan that began in 1963. Today, those connections continue through an academic major and minor in Japanese studies, semester- and year-long study abroad programs, including the Japan Study Program at Waseda University in Tokyo and the Studies in Cross-Cultural Education (SICE) Program at Iwate University in Morioka, as well as faculty-student exchanges and Earlham’s double-degree program with Waseda.  

Over the decades, hundreds of Earlham and other U.S. college students have participated in these programs, engaging deeply with Japanese language, culture and daily life. The Iwate partnership also has created a pathway for teaching in Japan, with Earlham graduates completing a two-year teaching assistantship in Morioka and going on to teach at Friends School Tokyo; five Earlham graduates have held teaching positions at the school to date. 

“You could buy an international experience, but it is much harder to create the kind of depth that can come from a relationship like this,” Aoki said. “At Earlham, we have seen a genuine willingness to create opportunities for our students to meet and learn from a variety of people. Those relationships give students the opportunity to listen, to be present with one another, and to understand perspectives beyond their own.” 

Aoki said his recent visit to Earlham also left an impression because of the beauty of the campus and the hospitality of its community, as well as the quality of its students and faculty. 

“One of the things that stood out to me was how Earlham students listen — the presence they bring to a conversation,” he said. “The world is a very large place, and exposure to different people and perspectives changes us. We believe this connection with Earlham gives our students an opportunity to experience that in a deeper and more lasting way.” 

The new admissions pathway builds on relationships that are already taking shape between the two institutions. In 2025, Dyron Dabney, professor of Japanese studies and director of the College’s Institute for Education on Japan, served as a scholar in residence at Friends School Tokyo. Earlham faculty have also engaged with the school, and the two institutions see opportunities to expand faculty exchanges and other forms of collaboration. 

“There are already relationships between our institutions, including faculty connections and opportunities for exchange,” Dabney said. “This agreement gives us a chance to build on those relationships in new ways — including welcoming Friends School Tokyo faculty to Earlham and creating more opportunities for students and faculty at both schools to learn from one another.” 

The connection between Earlham and Friends School Tokyo also continues through alumni such as Daniel Stifler ’02, who began working at the school after graduating from Earlham and remains an English teacher and administrator there today. Reflecting on his experience in Japan for Earlhamite magazine, Stifler said his Earlham education taught him lessons that extended well beyond language. 

“Being at Earlham helped me to learn not only how to speak Japanese, but also how to listen to people, to take people seriously, and to be curious about how they see the world. It is that ability to listen, I think, more than any ability that I have to speak Japanese, that has helped me to find a meaningful life and career in Japan.” 

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About Earlham College 

Earlham College and Earlham School of Religion foster a collaborative learning community that inspires and motivates students with opportunities and experiences so they can become catalysts for good in a changing world. Located in Richmond, Indiana, Earlham is one of U.S. News & World Report’s Top 100 national liberal arts colleges and offers one of the top 20 classroom experiences in the nation, according to the Princeton Review.