Japanese Administrators, LEAPers in front of Spirit, the Bobcat Statue   Long-term Education Administrators Program Participants, 2022-23

The Long-Term Education Administrators Program (LEAP) is a ten-month professional development program for mid-level Japanese Administrators from across Japan. The program is sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Sports, Science, and Culture (MEXT), managed by the Montana State University (MSU) Office of International Programs (OIP), and supported by INTERLINK International Institute and ACEJ, our partner in Japan. This program was created to support Japanese national universities in their efforts to internationalize their campuses.  MSU has been hosting the program for over 25 years.

LEAP participants travel to Bozeman, Montana in June, and spend their first two months focusing on English language study at the INTERLINK Language Institute at Montana State University Bozeman. Participants also engage in a series of colloquium sessions with various MSU faculty and staff, taking place in June and July, to learn more about the U.S. higher education system.

Upon completion of their program at MSU, participants move to another U.S. university to do an eight-month practicum with U.S. International Programs specialists from August.  The practicum portion takes place between early August through the middle of March.  Overall, the experience allows LEAP participants to exchange knowledge and skills with American specialists by observing, consulting, and/or demonstrating their knowledge of Japanese Higher Education.  

LEAP ends with a visit to Washington D.C. for a series of visits and presentations from professionals in various educational institutions, non-profits, governmental departments, and agencies working in international education.

LEAP Sponsor

Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology