"The John Mung Program for Students" is a university-wide program that seeks to foster a future generation of international leaders by offering significant overseas experiences to Kyoto University students. The program provides funding that can be used to travel abroad, take language courses, and conduct research in a variety of top-level universities around the world. Its objective is to encourage students to immerse themselves in different academic cultures and foster a generation of highly motivated and globally oriented human resources.

There are two main programs available for students:

(1) Special Study Abroad Program

The president of Kyoto University appoints a small number of highly motivated full-time students (mostly graduate students) to give them an opportunity to study and carry out research in top-level universities around the world. This special program seeks to develop students into leading academics and experts, who can play a globally active role in their respective fields.

(2) Short-Term Study Abroad Program

This short-term program encourages students to acquire basic multicultural knowledge and linguistic ability with which they can function in different societies in this age of globalization. Students will enroll in summer/spring programs offered at partner universities in Europe and East Asia.