Graduate schools became a part of the formal higher education system only
after World War II and are still not stressed in the 1990s. Even though 60 %
of all universities have graduate schools, only 7 % of university graduates
advance to master's programs, and total graduate school enrollment is about 4 %
of the entire university student population.
The pattern of graduate enrollment is almost the opposite of that of
undergraduates: the majority (63 %) of all graduate students are enrolled
in the national universities, and it appears that the disparity between public
and private graduate enrollments is widening. Graduate education is largely a
male preserve, and women, particularly at the master's level, are most heavily
represented in the humanities, social sciences, and education. Men are
frequently found in engineering programs where, at the master's level, women
comprise only 2 % of the students. At the doctoral level, the two highest
levels of female enrollment are found in medical programs and the humanities,
where in both fields 30 % of doctoral students are women. Women account for
about 13 % of all doctoral enrollments.
The generally small numbers of graduate students and the graduate enrollment
profile results from a number of factors, especially the traditional employment
pattern of industry. The private sector frequently prefer to hire and train new
university graduates, allowing them to develop their research skills within the
corporate structure. Thus, the demand for students with advanced degrees is low.
Qualifications for admission :
Graduate Schools:
A student who has completed prescribed courses at an institute of higher education outside of Japan will qualify for admission to a Japanese graduate school if the student has completed 16 years of school education (18 years for those enrolling in doctor's programs in medicine, dentistry or veterinary science). Those who are recognized as having academic ability equal to or above that of a college graduate and are at least 22 years in age (24 years in the case of doctor's programs in medicine, dentistry or veterinary science) also qualify for admission to a graduate school.
Research Degrees
Research degrees offered within the Japanese Studies programs are:
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Master of Arts by Research in Applied Japanese Linguistics and
Master of Arts in Applied Japanese Linguistics by Coursework and Research
Master of Arts by Research in Japanese Studies and
Master of Arts in Japanese Studies by Coursework and Research
Research degrees offered within the Asian Studies program:
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Master of Arts by Research in Asian Studies
Master of Arts in Asian Studies by Coursework and Research
The entry requirements for a research degree are:
A four year bachelor degree with honours H1 or H2A or the equivalent, or
A research component in your coursework program (i.e. a research
methodology unit (12 points) and Research Project (12 points or 24 points).
Note: Although the research paper is classified as a coursework unit, it is
in fact a research component and requires the appointment of a supervisor.
If you achieve a distinction or above in the two core units and an average
of distinction overall during the first full time year [48 points] which
includes the research methodology and research project) you may apply to be
admitted into a research program.
Entry to research can also be gained by the completion of a Masters
Qualifying (link to Jap. Stud and App. Jap. Ling. Mqual entries further
below), which is a one year qualifying program and also includes the
research methodology unit and the research paper. The Masters Qualifying
program overlaps with the first 48 points of the Master of Applied Japanese
Linguistics.
