College is college, right? Actually in Japan, it looks a little different
When the cherry blossoms bloom and the world comes back to life in spring, Japanese students enroll in school. Maybe you’re considering studying at a Japanese university, or simply want to know more about higher education in Japan. The information below will give you a clear idea of how Japanese universities function.
Japanese colleges and universities’ annual schedule
Most of the schools in the world start their semesters in the fall, however, Japanese schools start in April. If you want to study abroad in Japan, you need to plan ahead in order to not miss the opportunity! In Japan, the 1st semester starts in April and ends in July. Then there’s a summer holiday for about 2 months and the 2nd semester starts in September and goes to the end of January. There’s a 2 week New Year’s break. Then there’s a spring holiday for 2-3 months. Some universities and colleges such as Waseda University have an exception to this rule and share the same timeline as schools throughout the world.
How Japanese colleges and universities work
Admissions
First thing to note is that acceptance is based on entrance exam scores not on GPA like in most western countries. Each university and college has its own entrance exam and much of the last year of students’ high school careers are devoted to passing these exams.
General Education & specialization
I currently go to one of the biggest universities in Tokyo and am studying Engineering. In my university’s curriculum, from freshman to junior year, I studied many subjects such as economics, mathematics, computer science, physics, American history, Spanish, English and so on at a basic level. Then in my senior year, I finally started studying my specialized subject in depth and doing research at a lab. Even though my major is engineering, I studied a variety of subjects to increase my general knowledge. General education is expected for those graduating with degree in arts or sciences. This is the educational philosophy in Japanese colleges and universities.
After undergrad
You have to go to graduate school if you want to have specialized skills. For this reason, Japanese companies don’t have high expectations that new graduate students will have specialized skills. As a result, many students end up working in an industry, which isn’t related to their major. Companies usually provide education and training to them after they get hired. (Not every university in Japan is like this though.)
I know some of you might think it’s kind of stupid because college tuition is expensive and studying a subject to never work in that field might seem like a waste of time. But this is how most universities or colleges work in Japan. Japanese young people go to university despite the fact they will probably not work in the field they study. Regardless of what they study, having a university degree in general is often a requirement for the job market. It opens up more opportunities in lots of industries no matter what their major was. And even more important than having a degree or your major is the university where you studied. There are better opportunities for people who graduate from more well-known schools
Where do students live?
Here is a pie chart comparing Japanese and American college students’ living situations:
Most Japanese university students live with their families unlike in the US where it’s more common to live in a dormitory or off campus. There’s a lot of benefits to this, the biggest being it’s a huge money saver! Also it’s pretty easy to commute to university or college since the public transportation system is so easily accessible. For students who do choose the dorm the rules are generally strictly enforced, and can include unreasonable demands such as no visitors. This definitely contributes to dorm life’s lack of appeal. So while most students would love to have their own place, apartments in urban areas especially are quite expensive for the average student. Having a roommate might seem like an obvious solution to this dilemma. But in Japanese culture sharing living space with those outside one’s family is not a common practice.
Thank you so much for reading this post. Please let us know if you have any questions about university student’s life in Japan. Yuki used to work as an international student advisor at his university and helped a bunch of exchange students in Tokyo.
Please also check out this article about the life of freshman year students in Tokyo.