University higher education

Programs and Degrees

Stage I: The Gakushi Shogo ( Bachelor’s Degree) requires four years of full-time study in all fields that it is offered, including the humanities, social sciences, sciences and more professionally oriented disciplines such as engineering and agriculture. First degrees in medicine (Igakushi-go), dentistry (Shigakushi-go) and veterinary science (Juigakushi-go) require six years of full-time study. Holders of these qualifications are often referred to, in English, as Master of Medicine and Master of Dentistry, and the holder may be admitted directly to a doctoral program.

All bachelor’s degree programs require the completion of a general education component comprising approximately 60 credits taken in the first two years of the program. Courses in humanities, social sciences, natural sciences generally count for 36 credits. The remaining general education credits are usually earned in subjects more closely associated with the subject of specialization, and a minimum of eight credits in foreign languages and four in physical education. Courses in the student’s major comprise a minimum of 76 credits, the majority of which are taken in the third and fourth years of the program. Most undergraduate courses are worth four credits. Students are required to earn a minimum of 124 credits to graduate, although some faculties require as much as 160.

Stage II: The Shushi-go (Master’s Degree) requires two years of full-time study and a maximum of four years part-time study. It is offered in a majority of subject areas and is conducted by coursework, thesis and oral examination. A minimum of 30 units of coursework must usually be completed. Admission is based on the bachelor’s degree or sixteen years of school and higher education in another country, plus a competitive written and oral examination administered by individual universities. Sixty percent of graduate programs are offered at Japan’s 87 national universities.

Legal education and the judicial system as a whole is currently undergoing comprehensive reform. Based on the 2001 recommendations of the Justice System Reform Council, 68 graduate-level professional law schools were inaugurated in April 2004 to educate and train future lawyers. Central to the reform is the desire to increase the number of lawyers and increase the level of their general and specific education. In 2006, these new law schools will award J.D. degrees to the first graduating class. Standard programs require three years of instruction, although those with prior professional experience are able to complete the program in two years. The J.D. degree will be the basic requirement for taking the new National Law Examination.

Stage III: The Hakushi-go (Doctorate) normally requires three years of study following the master’s degree, or five years following a bachelor’s degree. The program generally includes a coursework component, the submission of a doctoral dissertation and an oral defense. This structured doctoral program is known as katei hatase. Less common is the dissertation doctorate, known as ronbun hakase, which requires the submission and defense of a research dissertation.

WES GRADE CONVERSION GUIDE Scale U.S. Grade Equivalency

80-100 A

70-79 B

60-69 C

0-59 F

NON-UNIVERSITY HIGHER EDUCATION

The technical and vocational sector is serviced mainly by junior colleges (tanki daigaku). Tertiary-level training is also available through colleges of technology (koto senmon gakko), specialized training colleges (senshu gakko), vocational training centers and colleges and skill development centers.

Junior College (Tanki Daigaku)

Junior colleges offer two-year specialized training programs in a wide range of areas. Nursing programs are three years in duration. The most common fields of study are education (child care, preschool and primary school teaching), home economics, humanities, social sciences and nursing. There are also a wide range of less-popular programs in the arts, agriculture and engineering.

Over 90 percent of junior college students are female, as the sector has traditionally catered to their traditional role in society. However, times have changed and the number of women entering four-year degree programs has risen from 775,000 to 1,100,000 in the last ten years, even as the overall number of college-age children continues to shrink.

Many colleges provide specialized certification in fields such as dental health, nursing, and child care. Employers in these areas are, however, increasingly seeking employees with university degrees.

As enrollments plunge at junior colleges, so the sector seems to have descended into a relative state of crisis. Enrollments are 55 percent lower than they were 10 years ago, and institutions have begun to close as a result with the overall number of junior colleges dropping from 595 to 508 since 1994.

The minimum credit requirement is 62 and, for three-year programs, 93. Students who successfully complete a two- or three-year program are awarded the Tanki Daigaku Shuryo Shosho (Junior College Certificate of Graduation, or Associate Degree), which is generally considered a terminal qualification, although junior college graduates are eligible to sit for the national university entrance examination.

Admission to junior college is open to those who have completed upper secondary education and is generally based on competitive examinations.

Colleges of Technology (Koto Senmon Gakko)

At colleges of technology over 80 percent of enrollments are male. Most colleges are operated directly by the ministry as national institutions and generally teach engineering subjects. Engineering programs at this level are five years in length and are open to students who have completed nine years of school education and passed competitive examinations. Students who have completed upper secondary school join the program in the fourth year.

Programs offer both theoretical and practical training in skills of immediate use to employers. Graduates of the five-year program are awarded the Koto Senmon Gakko Sotsugyo Shosho (Technical College Graduation Diploma) and are considered to be trained technicians Students who leave the program after three years are awarded a Shuryo Shomei (Certification of Completion) and can sit for the university entrance examination. Graduates of the five-year program are eligible to transfer to relevant university programs at the third-year level.

Entrance is based on competitive examinations and the completion of lower secondary school. In 2003, there were 58,000 students enrolled at 63 colleges of technology.

Specialized Training Colleges (Senshu Gakko)

Specialized training colleges offer one- to three-year employment-related programs to students who have completed either lower or upper secondary education; most are at the postsecondary level, although approximately a quarter are offered at the upper secondary level. There are approximately 3,500 such institutions, the vast majority of which are private. In 2003, there were 786,000 students enrolled at specialized colleges. The ratio of male to female students is approximately 50-50.

Graduates from three-year programs at upper secondary level are awarded the Senshu Gakko Koto-ka Sotsugyo Manjo (Special Training School Advanced Course Certificate of Completion). Those graduating from postsecondary-level programs are awarded the Senshu Gakko Senmon-ka Shuryo Shosho (Special Training School Advanced Course Certificate of Completion).