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Regular postgraduate programs are master’s courses (two years) or doctor’s courses (five years). Doctor’s courses are generally divided into the first period of two years, equivalent to a master’s course, and the final period of three years. Some graduate schools offer doctor’s courses as progressive five-year programs, and some offer only the final three-year courses.
Medical, dentistry and veterinary medicine courses are available after completion of a six-year under-graduate program. Doctor’s courses in these disciplines are for four years.
Some graduate schools offer special enrollment to “research students,” auditors or credit-earning students.
Please refer to (3) “Research students” on this page for research students, and to Chapter 5. 5 for auditors or credit-earning students.
It is possible to study in Japanese graduate schools based on the short-term study program (Refer to Chapter 5. 7)
1. Qualifications
(1) Master’s course (one of the following requirements must be met)
1. Those who graduated from a four-year university or are recognized as having academic ability of this level or higher.
2. Those who have completed 16 years of school education outside Japan.
3. Those who have completed 15 years of school education outside Japan and who are recognized as having acquired designated graduate-level credits with outstanding results.
4. Those who are recognized as having academic ability of bachelor’s degree level or higher and pass admission qualification examinations for that particular graduate school, and are at least 22 years old.
(2) Doctor’s course (one of the following requirements must be met)
1. Those who have a master’s degree or are recognized as having academic ability of this level or higher.
2. Those who have been conferred degrees outside Japan that are equal to master’s degrees.
3. Those who are recognized as having academic ability of master’s degree level or higher and pass admission qualification examinations for that particular school, and are at least 24 years old.
Doctor’s courses in medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine:
1. Those who have received 6 years (under-graduate program) of medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine.
2. Those who studied at university for at least four years and are recognized as having acquired designated graduate-level credits with outstanding results.
3. Those who have completed 16 years of school education outside Japan and are recognized as having acquired designated master’s course credits with outstanding results.
(3) Research student (kenkyu-sei)
Under the research student (kenkyu-sei) system, which is unique to Japan, students other than regular degree-course students are given permission to engage in research in a special field for a period of approximately one semester or one academic year. Entry requirements for a research student vary from university to university; some universities may accept a student with a bachelor’s degree or higher, others may accept a student with a master’s degree or higher, and the name and status of the research student differs according to graduate schools.
To obtain the status of residence of “college student,” research students are required by law (the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act) to attend at least 10 hours (600 min.) of classes per week.
There are three types of research student:
1. Students who do not aim to obtain a degree but to carry out research for a short period;
2. Students who attend a graduate school as short-term international students on the basis of a student exchange agreement between universities; and
3. Students who use the system to prepare to enter a graduate school’s regular course.
Many of the students belonging to category 3 stay as research students for about a year until graduate school entrance examinations. However, not all the students can enter a graduate school and some of them fail the entrance examination and have to leave Japan.
Some graduate schools allow students to take examinations to enter their regular graduate courses directly while other schools and graduate courses consider that having an experience as a “research student” is desirable before entering the regular courses.
Therefore, make sure to inquire directly to the school you intend to apply to while referring to the “Gaikokujin Ryugakusei no tame no Daigakuin Nyugaku Annai (Japanese Universities Graduate Programs for Foreign Students)” (Edited by the Asian Students Cultural Association)
*Web site of Japan Study Support by Asian Students Cultural Association: https://www.jpss.jp
2. Application
| In general, graduate schools in Japan announce their application procedures from June to August every year. The necessary documents are as follows.
The Information Center maintains a list of graduate schools that accept applications from overseas. Inquire to the center for further information. |
3. Entrance examination
(1) Regular master’s or doctor’s course
A few graduate schools do accept students based on the documents they submit, but usually a student must sit for an entrance examinations in Japan. Graduate school entrance examinations usually consist of document screening, a short thesis and interview, mainly on their major, as well as written tests in Japanese, English, (or other languages) and special subjects.
Though the date of the examination differs, most schools hold their entrance examinations from August to October. Some graduate schools hold their examinations from February to March.
(2) Research student (kenkyu-sei)
Mostly they are selected based on the documents they submit.
* Academic adviser
For regular and research students, please contact the graduate schools to which you intend to apply to ascertain whether you need to find an academic adviser beforehand and to obtain informal consent for admission prior to application.
If this is the case, you should ask your instructor at home university to introduce you to a suitable academic adviser. You should look for an appropriate instructor from graduate school’s prospectus, academic journal or from former students or researchers in Japan, etc. Besides those sources, you can also look up web sites of each graduate school and ReaD (Directory Database of Research and Development Activities) (https://read.jst.go.jp) or the “Comprehensive list of researchers’ research themes” (published by Kinokuniya Co., Ltd.).
Some professors may have web sites of their graduate courses but may not be disclosing their e-mail addresses, so in that case contact them by letter or fax. Some universities introduce supervising instructors to you upon request.
When you write a letter, you are advised to specify your past research record, future research plan and reasons for selecting the supervising instructor and, if possible, enclose a letter of recommendation. As you are a stranger, the professor is only able to judge you from your writing. Therefore, it is unusual for an informal consent to be given immediately after only one written communication from you. You need to communicate with that professor several times to convey your enthusiasm about your studies.
4. Courses taught in English / Short-term study programs
Higher educational institutions in Japan conduct almost all their lessons in Japanese with a few exceptions. Some universities offer special courses aimed at obtaining degrees or short-term study programs in English.
A list of universities offering such courses is available from JASSO’s web site (https://www.jasso.go.jp) as well as its Chapter 18.
5. Conditions for graduating / Completing courses
Conditions for completing a graduate school differ for master’s and doctor’s courses. To complete a master’s course, a student must study for at least two years in principle, acquire the necessary credits (at least 30 credits) in his or her special subject, write a master’s thesis that is judged satisfactory, and pass an examination. Students who complete a master’s course receive a “master’s degree.”
In the case of a doctor’s course, a student must attend graduate school for at least five years (including the two years of a master’s course), acquire at least 30 credits (including master’s course credits), write a doctoral thesis that is judged satisfactory, and pass an examination. Students who complete a doctor’s course receive a “doctor’s degree.”
Please refer to Chapter 5. 9 for the international recognition of graduate school degrees and Fig. 6 in Chapter 17 for the numbers of master’s and doctor’s degrees conferred on international students.
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