Konnichiwa from Japan: How to Get Higher Education in Japan

4/1/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Hello everybody!

 

I am Florentin Devina. I was enrolled as FTb’s student from 2006 until April 2010. I am currently a graduate student at University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba Science City, Japan.

 

My university is not probably as well-known as Tokyo University, Osaka University, Kyoto University, etc. However, University of Tsukuba is in the top 10 list and one of the Japanese universities which have the most affiliations, especially with Japanese National Institute. As in my case, my professor’s laboratory is not in the campus area, but at the National Institute of Advance Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). 

 

I just finished my 1 year-research student program and start my 1st year as a master student this April. Now, I would like to share a brief explanation about the Japanese education system for foreign graduate students, and how to get here! 

 

First, what is “Research Student” program? I think this is one of the uniqueness in Japanese education system. Before that, there a few important questions:

Do you have a bachelor degree from outside Japan? Yes (?). 

Do you feel that you can’t speak Japanese, or at least you don’t have that much confident with your proficiency? Yes (?). 

Are you not admitted in the university as a Master Student yet? Yes (?). 

 

Based on those questions, these are the functions of the “Research Student” program: 

 

1. It’s the time for foreign students to study more of the Japanese language. Usually universities provide Japanese classes for foreign students. Why do we actually need the Japanese language? Well, because we are studying in Japan! Aside for the daily conversation when we do some daily activities, the classes in the course are mostly in Japanese! Some lecturers might teach us in English and allowed us to submit the homework and tests in English; however, we can’t depend on solely that fact, can’t we? 
2. It gives us the time to apply to the Master Course. Generally speaking, the entrance examinations for the Master Course are held in August, October, or February the next year. Depends on the university and the faculty, the number of our chance to apply might vary from one until 3 times in a year. During the “Research Student” period, we could apply for the master course and do some preparations.
3. If we have less than 16 years total education. It’s common in Indonesia to have an acceleration program in high school or graduated for 3.5 years for the bachelor degree. However, in Japan it has to be 16 years total education to be eligible to apply as a master student. Therefore, this program might be added into our total education time to make it equal to 16 years total education.

 

The “Research Student” program has 3 lengths of time; 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year. The length of the program depends on our scholarship (or our financial ability – if we pay it by yourself) or on our professor’s decision. As a note, most of universities allow the students to prolong the program up to 2 years in total. 

 

Now, there are some necessary additional things we need to know. It’s important to note that Japan starts the new terms on April (for spring) and October (for autumn). Most of the scholarships open their application on March-May and send their students in April the next year. Unless we get the scholarship from Indonesian government or a U to U scholarship (which sometimes send us for autumn term), it usually needs a nearly one full year of preparation.

 

For the application, we need to prepare:

 

1. TOEFL score 550 paper-based or equal to 80 for IBT. We don’t necessarily have to have the international certificate for the beginning though. By using the ITP from UI is enough for the early screening. 
2. Research proposal. It’s beneficial if we already have the idea what we want to do for research, not only for applying the scholarship, but also when we would like to approach our prospective sensei. 
3. Start a communication with some professors. There is no ideal time to start emailing our targeted sensei, but it would be beneficial if we’ve already gotten some replies just before the CV application. Sometimes the scholarships ask about our communication status with the prospective sensei.
4. English translation of our academic records. We have to translate all of our academic records like graduation certificate, grades, etc. And don’t forget to legalize it with official stamp from the faculty or university. 
5. Check some old information about the previous requirements from the internet. Sometimes they ask for some additional papers. It would be better to prepare it rather than rushing by time they ask. 

 

Now, the rest of the flow is nearly the same as the scholarship from other countries; document screening, written test, and interview. All we need to do now is do our best and pray for a good luck.

 

The plus point of studying in non-English-speaker countries is the opportunity for us to learn at least one new language. We could always learn the language in Indonesia, but isn’t it always said that the best place to learn a language is at the origin? We could boost ourselves more for not only being a bilingual speaker, but tri-, quarto-, penta-lingual speaker.  

 

So, what are YOU waiting for?!

 

Cheers,

Florentiin Devina (FTb 2006)