The Smalley-Curl Institute partners with Keio University in an undergraduate exchange program of research internship and cultural exchange. Keio University students will visit Space Center Houston and other points of interest.
As with the University of Tokyo, the offset between the US and Japanese academic years provides the unusual opportunity for Rice and Keio University students to get to know each other in person: Rice students go to Tokyo June 1 through July 31, and Keio University students come to Rice August 1 through September 30. This gives the students from each university the opportunity to get to know each other in person, which would not otherwise be possible.
This program is underway currently for the summer of 2026. Applications for the 2027 program will open late in the Fall Semester of 2026.