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Department of Advanced Social and International Studies / Division of Social and International Relations

  • GRADUATE
    • INTRODUCTION
      • GREETING
      • IR COURSE
      • ISS COURSE
    • FACULTY
    • ENTRANCE EXAMS
      • FAQ
    • RESEARCH
      • ISS ASSOSIATION
      • JAPAN’S LOCAL COMMUNITIES
    • Interview
    • GRADUATE BBS
  • UNDERGRADUATE
    • INTRODUCTION
      • IR COURSE
      • ISS COURSE
    • FACULTY
    • UNDERGRADUATE BBS
  • LIBRARY
    • ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT LIBRARY
    • USER’S GUIDE
  • PUBLICATIONS
    • DEPARTMENT’S JOURNAL
    • KOMABA STUDIES IN SOCIETY
    • JOURNAL
    • OTHER PUBLICATIONS
  • IR ASSOCIATION
    • THE ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS STUDIES
    • STUDIES ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
    • REGULAR STUDY SESSIONS
  • SNS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

  1. HOME
  2. GRADUATE
  3. ENTRANCE EXAM
  4. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

REGARDING APPLICATIONS TO ENROLL AS A REGULAR STUDENT

A. Please refer to the homepage of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences,「"information on admissions"」

We do not distribute application forms or guidelines in hard copies. Please download them from "Master's and Doctoral Courses" (in Japanese) on the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website.

A. Yes, it is.

A. The thesis (master's thesis or its replacement, etc.) will be reviewed and an oral examination will be conducted only for those applicants who meet certain standards required by the department.

A. In previous years, all the other Arts courses offered by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences have had their entrance exams scheduled on the same day as that of the Department of Advanced Social and International Sciences. Therefore, it is not feasible to take the entrance exams of more than one Arts course at the same sitting. Detailed information on the entrance exams of the other Arts courses offered by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences can also be found in the administration guidelines booklet.

A. The number of applicants differs substantially from year to year, so it is not possible to provide a numerical answer to the above question. Also, our department does not have a numerical target for the rate of successful applications.

A. For details on applying to the Masters Course, please see "information related to course applications" (in Japanese), point number 4 on page 2.

For details on the briefing session, please check out "Master's and Doctoral Courses" (in Japanese) on the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website.

A. The professors of our department do not meet up with applicants on a one-to-one basis, regarding their individual preferences or prerequisites for potential students. Details on the field of specialization of each professor can be found on our homepage, under about the faculty.

A. For details on the requirements, please check out "Information on Admissions" on the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website.

A. Research students (including students of Japanese nationality), are students who conduct their individual research on a specific theme, under an academic advisor. Please click herefor more details.

A. In general ,there are 3 categories of "qualifications for applying". They are as follows: (1) general applicant; (2) specially selected applicant who is a member of the working society; and (3) applicant of a foreign nationality. A "specially selected applicant who is a member of the working society" is someone with formal working experience, and who would like to enroll in our graduate school as a degree-seeking student. (Please refer to the column on the "special screening for members of the working society" below for more details). On the other hand, an "applicant of a foreign nationality" is an applicant who has received his or her formal educational training abroad. During the first round of screening, an applicant who falls into this category will be tested for his or her proficiency in a foreign language, differently from that of Japanese students. (Please refer to the column on "applicant of a foreign nationality" below, for more details). All applicants other than those who fall into the 2 above-mentioned categories are "general applicants". Please take note too, of the fact that applicants who passed the first stage of screening will be required to submit several reports on specific themes such as their research proposal. The reports which are to be submitted differ according to the category of "qualifications for applying", which the applicant falls into. Therefore, it is important to ensure that you submit your reports based on the requirements of the particular category which you belong to.

A. The department has no fixed TOEIC or IELTS score requirement for admission, as the score is just one of several factors considered in the admissions process, including other submitted documents, written examinations, and interview.

REGARDING THE SUBMISSION OF AN ACADEMIC PAPER / THESIS AS PART OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLYING

A. Specific details on the reports which are to be submitted have been furnished on「"reports to be submitted by all applicants who successfully passed the first round of screening (i.e. the written examinations)"」(in Japanese). Please look up the details on your own.

A. It is a requirement for application that you submit your Masters thesis, or a paper that is at least equivalent in terms of technical standard, to that of a Masters thesis.

A. Please check out "Information on Admissions" (in Japanese) on the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website.

INFORMATION REGARDING CANDIDATES WHO BELONG TO THE CATEGORY "APPLICANT OF A FOREIGN NATIONALITY"

A. Applicants who received part of, or all of their formal education in Japan will not be regarded as "applicants of a foreign nationality". However, this is with the exception of foreign nationals whose time spent in Japan was very short. To make sure that you apply under the appropriate category, please make an enquiry to the office of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences(E-mail: daigakuin.c **at** gs.mail.u-tokyo.ac.jp), as soon as possible (and prior to your application for the course).

A. Please check out the guidelines.

A. There are no formal tests that take place within a specifically designated period of time. However, if proficiency in a particular foreign language is deemed to be necessary for conducting research, it is possible that the candidate's proficiency in that particular language be verified during the oral examinations.

A. Please direct your query directly to the office of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (E-mail: daigakuin.c **at** gs.mail.u-tokyo.ac.jp).

A. A "foreign research student" is a student who holds a foreign nationality, and who conducts research on a specific theme under the supervision of an academic advisor at our graduate school. The period of research is usually 6 months. However, if deemed necessary for the purpose of his / her research, the student may request to extend the period of study at our graduate school on a half-yearly basis. The maximum period of time that a "foreign research student" can be enrolled at our school is 2 years. Please see here, for details on how to apply to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences as a "foreign research student".

A. Please refer to the guidelines on Global Komaba website.

A. If you would like to be admitted in April, then you will have to submit your application by the end of September of the previous year. If on the other hand, you would like to be admitted in October, then you will have to submit your application by the end of February.

A. Whether or not an applicant can be admitted as a "foreign research student" is not based on the judgment of an individual professor, but is the result of screening conducted on the basis of standard procedures that have been specified by the department. Therefore, it is not possible for an applicant to make arrangements to be accepted in advance, based on informal discussions with an academic supervisor at the graduate school.

A. Since 2006, only candidates who passed the first round of screening by the Japanese embassy in each of their respective countries will be eligible to apply for a letter of acceptance from the Japanese university of their choice. Please see here, for the specific details on the types of documents which you will have to prepare, and the venue to which you should submit your application to.

INFORMATION REGARDING CANDIDATES WHO BELONG TO THE CATEGORY "APPLICANT WHO HAS WORKING EXPERIENCE"

A. In order for someone to be eligible to apply as a "applicant who has working experience", he / she has to be either currently employed at a company, educational institution, or bureaucratic institution; or posses formal previous working experience. Preferably speaking, there should be a close and direct connection between the contents of his or her work, and that of his or her research, after having been admitted as a graduate student to our department.

A. No. As long as you posses some form of formal working experience (even if in the past), you are eligible to apply under this category.

A. If you wish to continue being employed during the course of your study at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, then you will be required to submit a formal document that indicates your intention to be focused on your studies as long as you are a student of our school. This document will have to be endorsed by a person of authority at your workplace (such as your boss, or the person to whom you report directly to).

A. Currently, there are graduate students at our school who are formally employed. However, since the answer to your question differs on a case-by-case basis, it is not possible for us to provide a definite answer without first looking into your situation.

A. Not particularly.

INFORMATION REGARDING RESEARCH AND ACADEMIC SUPERVISORS / MENTORS

A. Please refer to faculty information, which is available on the department's homepage.

A. No. You may choose your academic supervisor after having been admitted to our graduate school.

A. Students at our department are given the freedom of choice with regards to their academic supervisors. After having been accepted to our graduate school, students are encouraged to meet up with one or more professors, and to choose the professor whose field of specialization most closely matches his or her area of interest. Please click here for more information on the professors at the Department of Advanced Social and International Studies, and their respective fields of specialization.

A. Yes, it is.

A. No, we do not allow for the transfer of credits from other universities.

A. Yes, a copy of the time-table is available at the homepage of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

A. There is no specific rule regarding the number of days in a week that you will have to come to school, so long as you manage to accumulate the sufficient amount of credits required for you to obtain your degree.

A. The minimum amount of credits required for graduation are 30 credits within the course of 2 years for the Masters course, and 20 credits within the course of 3 years, for PHD students. Of course, it is possible for you to obtain more credits than are required for graduation.

A. There is no need for you to select a specific theme in which to specialize in. The entrance exams differ, only with regards to whether you are applying to the Department of International Relations or the Department of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences.

A. Titles of all masters theses previously submitted to our department can be viewed at the department's homepage. In addition, you may also read the contents of the theses, by making a prior application to the Department of Advanced Social and International Studies' library, which is located at the 5th floor of building number 2 of Komaba campus.

INFORMATION REGARDING JAPANESE LANGUAGE CLASSES

A. Although there are a few classes that are conducted in English at the Department of Advanced Social and International Studies, almost all of the compulsory classes are held only in Japanese. For this reason, it is absolutely necessary that you attain a level of proficiency in Japanese which would enable you to participate in class discussions, and to understand the readings assigned by your lecturers.

A. The University of Tokyo's Japanese language education center does offer a variety of Japanese language courses to foreign students. All foreign students who are officially enrolled at the University of Tokyo may apply to sit for these classes. Please refer to the Center for Global Education's homepage , for more details on this.

A. Yes, it is.

Q&A in English

A. To obtain a letter of acceptance from the University of Tokyo, please visit here.

A. Yes, and some students do so.

A. It varies from one year to another. Please refer to the course schedule, and contact our faculty after matriculation.

A. No, because most of our required courses are offered in Japanese only.

A. Please refer to this page.

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