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University of Tokyo to launch new 5-year program with 50% foreign students

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Awesome!

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Nobody is interested except for those who are looking for an easy degree.

-13 ( +14 / -27 )

1 year masters? Scratching my head on that.

11 ( +17 / -6 )

Nobody is interested except for those who are looking for an easy degree.

What makes you think the degrees are going to be easy (as in easier than other degrees already being offered by TU)?

14 ( +19 / -5 )

The interdisciplinary college of design program, a combination of a four-year Bachelor's degree and one-year Master's, aims to nurture talent to lead efforts to resolve global issues such as climate change, the source said.

To resolve global issues, there so many liberal arts college that said the same thing.

combined Bachelor's and Master's degree program in fall 2027, with half of the roughly 100-student capacity to comprise foreign students

Fall calendar? How those students supposed to do job hunting, if one decide to find job in Japan? Most of Japanese companies still only follow traditional Spring calendar.

-8 ( +7 / -15 )

Nobody is interested except for those who are looking for an easy degree.

Looks that combination of undergraduate and graduate level (master course) setup will make graduate students body bigger, even it's only one year.

The actual fact is Japanese students that really interested to go to graduate level is in decline. Why?

https://newspicks.com/news/8611874/

.

Because at the end, when they apply to companies it doesn't count that much. They need go again with Japanese standard seniority again.

-2 ( +9 / -11 )

@yubaru

1 year masters? Scratching my head on that.

It's becoming common in the past few years, either in UK

https://tcglobal.com/1-year-masters-programs-uk/

Or in Canada

https://www.canamgroup.com/blog/1-year-master-programs-in-canada

6 ( +8 / -2 )

1 year masters? Scratching my head on that.

The MSc course I did in the UK was one year.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Fall calendar? How those students supposed to do job hunting, if one decide to find job in Japan? Most of Japanese companies still only follow traditional Spring calendar.

This is just to keep up with the other Uni's in Japan that have a few courses that start in the fall. With the "name" Todai on the resume, they will find work.

No matter how much people have been claiming otherwise, Japanese businesses are still attracted to graduates from Todai!

4 ( +6 / -2 )

a combination of a four-year Bachelor's degree and one-year Master's

One year full time masters is acceptable. My MSc was 1 year FT or 3 yr PT / distance learning. It's the 4 year bachelors that sounds odd. Does it have a foundation course or a year-out-for-work-experience?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

the new joke!

Todai professors already recommend to their students to work abroad....

-5 ( +6 / -11 )

such as by taking part in company internships or studying abroad

They are already studying abroad. Do they mean go home?

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

That’s what I had in my country, back in the days 30 years ago

3 ( +4 / -1 )

sakurasukiToday  04:51 pm JST

The interdisciplinary college of design program, a combination of a four-year Bachelor's degree and one-year Master's, aims to nurture talent to lead efforts to resolve global issues such as climate change, the source said.

To resolve global issues, there so many liberal arts college that said the same thing.

combined Bachelor's and Master's degree program in fall 2027, with half of the roughly 100-student capacity to comprise foreign students

Fall calendar? How those students supposed to do job hunting, if one decide to find job in Japan? Most of Japanese companies still only follow traditional Spring calendar.

-5( +2 / -7 )

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

What really caught my eye about this article is that the classes will be in English. I really hope Japan starts teaching English earlier and longer in school it’s school’s. I’m thinking most non-English-speaking foreigners do not choose Japanese as their secondary language as English is more globally, accepted and chosen as a second language.

Anyway way, great news! Go Japan!

5 ( +5 / -0 )

sakurasukiToday  04:51 pm JST

> Fall calendar? How those students supposed to do job hunting, if one decide to find job in Japan? Most of Japanese companies still only follow traditional Spring calendar.

Most of them work for foreign companies which recruit round the year.

And it seems that some Japanese companies have also started to do it.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Following on from a previous article of a few days ago - Osaka Metropolitan University wanting to switch to English as the base language in the future - we have Todai's Headlined announcement of 50% of a new Under/Grad course to be offered to foreigners.

Then on reading we see this equates to 50 students. Hardly earth shattering for The Most Acclaimed University in Japan out of a student population of almost 30,000.

Yeah - I know their plan is to increase over the decades - good on them.

Maybe it's just the local media playing it all up, but not front page stuff.

NHK headlined it also on it's earlier news tonight.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

This is definitely a step in the right direction when Japan’s universities are already competing for students as the population drops. The only way to maintain status quo is to find a source of students from outside Japan and then recruit enough to keep the universities full.

Unfortunately the program goal is 25 years from now and the final outcome is really just a few dozen students a year. More needs to be done faster.

It would also have to nice to know how many other universities in Japan have implemented similar programs and what the numbers are.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Actually Many universities already offer these types of programs (September term, most of teaching in English). To name a few : Keio, Waseda, Sophia, ICU.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

What makes you think the degrees are going to be easy

Let us assume the quality of education is the same (doubt it!). Todai has been falling down the rankings. This announcement and the one from Osaka Public University is probably a response to the news coming from various Japanese newspapers that TUJ is opening a branch in Kyoto next year.

Temple University establishes new campus in Kyoto City, scheduled to open in January next year

https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASS2F7DZCS29PLZB00P.html

The Governor of Kyoto was there as well. It seems that other prefectures are hoping to do something similar with TUJ or Japanese universities are wanting to send their students to TUJ to take certain courses in English or English skills courses like writing as part of their Japanese degrees.

 (as in easier than other degrees already being offered by TU)?

Unlike the English only Todai degrees offered at Komaba, TUJ's website says that students can transfer their credits to main campus in the US to pursue other majors not offered at the Japan campus. Also, main campus students are doing study abroad in Japan as well. According to the report from other Japanese newspapers, TU students regardless of status can take classes in Kyoto and Tokyo which means students can 1-3 in Kyoto and their last year in Tokyo, vis versa, or any combination in between. That is a great experience for an international student to study in two poular internationally known cities.

Can Todai Komaba offer that? How many more new students will be attracted to TUJ for that kind of flexibility?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Like someone said earlier, they are trying to coerce more students to pursue graduate degrees for a accreditation, to earn more revenue, and to keep student numbers up.

If you look at the Komaba campus website and numbers, they have few graduate students. Probably because the degrees do not really specialize in anything marketable. They seem to be quite general. In Japan, many companies do not one entry-level employees to have advanced degrees because it make the senpais look inadequate and out of touch. International companies in Japan only make up a small percentage in a few sectors.

Also, it would be hard to get work on these global issues or initiatives without specific skills or knowledge to offer. Their current line of degrees are too broad and vague in scope which means these students would need lots of experience like volunteering, interning, or networking to make the most of it.

That is why Todai will try to push them abroad after finishing these degrees. They will no longer be their problem.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

What a great way to cheapen the meaning of a Master's degree even more. It's already the new bachelor's degree, pretty soon it'll be the new associate's degree.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

In Japan, many companies do not one entry-level employees to have advanced degrees because it make the senpais look inadequate and out of touch

Might be true, but in my company, 50 to 60% employed every year have a master, plus a few have a Phd.

Wages are lower for bachelors so for some companies, this is better. But all the companies who need engineer or researcher type workers will not employ with less than a master degree.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

That MAY BE difficult, because the school year for most countries but not all start in September and most young people the same in Japan start university right after graduation. How many students will put their academic year on hold for 9 or 10 months?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@justasking

That MAY BE difficult, because the school year for most countries but not all start in September and most young people the same in Japan start university right after graduation. How many students will put their academic year on hold for 9 or 10 months?

Exactly, many people think that wasting precious young people lives on hold for 9 or 10 months, as one of an option.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@Yubaru

With the "name" Todai on the resume, they will find work.

No matter how much people have been claiming otherwise, Japanese businesses are still attracted to graduates from Todai!

Unlike what many people believes, many businesses can run even without alumnae from Todai nor Ivy League in their staff, management and execs. Those business can run profitable just with universities that many people never heard at all.

.

For big companies that listed in stock exchange they already have recruitment process that being set. Every year they can recruit hundreds, of course it's nice to have Todai graduates in their new recruits but they recruitment process will go with or without Todai graduates.

Following those big companies recruitment process and schedule is more important than graduating from good universities. Those big companies, won't change their recruitment schedule only just to recruit Todai graduates that have graduation in fall calendar.

.

Whether business are still attracted, yes there are many business in Japan that only have employee less than hundreds, say 20-30 people. Those companies more flexible in recruitment since their CEO decide many things in companies, so they can recruit whenever they want. Not really sure if those Todai graduate want to join this kind of companies, unless next disruptive startup.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Students are usually encouraged to do their graduate studies at different universities from where they do their undergraduate studies. And what if these students' undergraduate performance falls below the standard required to enter graduate school?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Let us assume the quality of education is the same (doubt it!). Todai has been falling down the rankings. 

Rankings and difficulty to get a degree are not correlated, not doing enough research, not accepting international students, not having a wide net of support for example can make the rankings drop but the courses would still be as difficult, accepting a lot of international students would have the opposite effect (again without affecting how difficult is or not to graduate once you got in). None of the factors described point out to the courses being specially easy to get from now.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I attended this university and it was the most amazing and fulfilling time I've ever had in my life. I would love to see this program succeed so that more people can have this experience, and adding English-taught courses opens things up even further.

Tokyo U. has long wanted to change their academic year to begin in the autumn to align with most of the rest of the northern hemisphere, and while they couldn't get other schools or corporations to align with it, having this program do it is a good start.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Masters degrees in the UK are usually one year (mine was 30 years ago); sounds like that they are going for that scheme.

Todai wouldn't accept the MEXT reform/bonus plan last year that was awarded to Tohoku instead, so maybe this is their strategy.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This is a good idea and a step in the right direction that I hope many other universities emulate.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

That MAY BE difficult, because the school year for most countries but not all start in September and most young people the same in Japan start university right after graduation. How many students will put their academic year on hold for 9 or 10 months?

Exactly! Most college students in the West also take 4 months off from May-August to work. I'm not an expert on the Japanese University yearly calendar, but I assume its not as accomodating, especially to foreign students. Looks like two 2-month breaks (August/September & February/March) between semesters. That could work for some I guess. A 5 year degree with Masters sounds busy and expensive if you are not counting on a decent part-time job. With the Yen so weak right now, could be a bargain for some.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Rakuraku

Most of them work for foreign companies which recruit round the year.

And it seems that some Japanese companies have also started to do it

Not all foreign companies have that kind all year recruitment, in fact if you check foreign companies execs and management, many of them are having Japanese in those position.

Although they might have opening for mid career recruitment that not following regular schedule for fresh graduate.

.

All year recruitment, that means they need to have staffs to be stand by just waiting someone to apply in any day, only some companies can do that.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@browny1

Then on reading we see this equates to 50 students. Hardly earth shattering for The Most Acclaimed University in Japan out of a student population of almost 30,000.

Exactly, we also haven't comment English ability of Japanese university professor. That's also reason why they can't open English based program in many universities, who will teach those programs.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Rakuraku

Actually Many universities already offer these types of programs (September term, most of teaching in English). 

Coincidentally those are private ones, unlike public universities they don't heavily rely on JGovt fund so they need to come up with something.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@didou

Might be true, but in my company, 50 to 60% employed every year have a master, plus a few have a Phd.

Wages are lower for bachelors so for some companies, this is better. But all the companies who need engineer or researcher type workers will not employ with less than a master degree.

Not all company have R&D position that requires Master and above, in fact many of general companies can run without any issue with degree less than bachelor. Just check opening for new recruits in Japanese companies, how many really strict asked above Master degree, for them bachelor degree will be enough.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

What makes you think the degrees are going to be easy (as in easier than other degrees already being offered by TU)?

Who said that the degrees would be easier than TUJ? Why not compare it Lakeland University? That is another American university in Tokyo! That just seems quite bias considering other universities also offer degrees in English in Japan!

Most students coming to Japan to get a degree in English are from non-English speaking countries, military families., or Japanese families all planning to leave at some point. They are usually aware that internationally an American university degree carries more weight than a Todai degree. Only Japanese companies care about getting a Todai student.

Those people coming to Todai from English speaking countries have their eye on staying in Japan after graduation; however, unless they learn Japanese, their employment options are limited and will be teaching English in an Eikawa like the many before them. Not to mention, would they want to work in a traditional Japanese company with the long hours and low pay with the other employees who may or may not have a degree. I have met a few APU native-English speaking alum having the toughest time finding work.

Come to Japan and get broad degree from a university only respected in Japan in English?

Or get a degree from an American university in Japan where you can get a degree in actual majors that main campus offers if you are willing to do the last year or two in Philadelphia. Also, while you are in Japan you can attend school in Tokyo, Kyoto, or both!

Answer seems obvious!

Rankings and difficulty to get a degree are not correlated, not doing enough research, not accepting international students, not having a wide net of support for example can make the rankings drop but the courses would still be as difficult, accepting a lot of international students would have the opposite effect (again without affecting how difficult is or not to graduate once you got in). None of the factors described point out to the courses being specially easy to get from now.

My second post explains my comments. Rankings influence potential students perception of a university unless they have actually experience being at the university.

Lowered rankings does affects a university's ability to attract more students! Thus, Todai is coming up with a faulty plan to compete with an American university on basis of English. That does not really put much of a dent into the problem. This is all PR lip service because for their school's reputation.

Anytime, a foreign entity in Japan is making moves and doing something; their Japanese counterpart is put on the spot and is expected to step up.

Despite the very little impact it will make, this is Todai stepping up as the "best" university in Japan.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I just hope the new foreign students are paying their own way and not getting Monbukagakusho funding as part of some "look at us, we've got foreign students!" vanity exercise or attempt to rig global rankings of the university.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

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