University preparation in Japan for international students

The vast majority of Japanese continue their education at public and private universities. To date, there are about 730 educational institutions of this type in the country.

Studying at the university in Japan consists of three stages:

• Bachelor's degree (4 years);
• Master's degree (2 years);
• Postgraduate studies (3 years).

The studying at medical and veterinary faculties lasts at least 6 years.

During the first two years of the bachelor's degree, students take general scientific disciplines and attend lectures on special subjects. The next two years are completely devoted to professional preparation. During the course of study, the future bachelor must score from 124 to 150 credit points, which are assigned for attending lectures, passing seminars and passing exams.

During the two years of the master's degree, the student must score 30 points. In addition, to obtain a degree, he will have to complete a thesis and pass final exams. Future doctors of sciences should score 50 points. They will also have to defend a dissertation based on their own research and pass several exams.

The foreign students can enter Japan after 11 years of school, however, preparation for entry in universities in Japan will not be superfluous. Such courses will allow you to improve your knowledge of the language and prepare for study and life in the country.

The courses last from 1 to 2 years. The studying begins in April or October (if the course takes 1.5 years). According to Foundation program, the studying is conducted in Japanese, so everyone can acquire additional knowledge of the Japanese language at least at the N5 (A1) level.

The curriculum consists not only of Japanese classes, but also subjects in the chosen direction. In the humanities programs, students study English, mathematics, geography, history, political science and economics. On technical subjects — English, mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry are core disciplines. The program is formed in such a way as to prepare for the JLPT language test (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) and the EJU entrance exam (Japanese University Entrance Exam for foreign students) before entering the university.

Also, the Japanese government is extremely interested in popularizing the state language among foreign students. Nowadays, a large number of language schools based on university campuses have been created in the country, which offer a variety of educational programs for citizens of other states.

The main thing for admission to higher educational institutions in Japan is a document of secondary education (plus one or two years at the institute) and excellent knowledge of the Japanese language. The language preparation of foreign applicants is treated very strictly here. You must provide a certificate that you have studied at least two semesters at a language school, and confirm your knowledge on the exam.

To prepare well for admission, it is optimal to attend preparatory courses during the year, for example, at the International Students Institute or Kansai International Students Institute. All applicants pass the general entrance exam and a number of disciplines, depending on the chosen faculty. For humanities, it is necessary to pass mathematics, world history and English, and for natural sciences - mathematics, physics, biology and English.

One of the most important entrance tests is the Japanese language exam. It is passed by both foreign applicants and the Japanese themselves. The exam involves checking the knowledge of hieroglyphs and vocabulary, listening and grammar knowledge, as well as four levels of difficulty. To pass the first level, you need to know 2000 hieroglyphs, for the second — 1000 and then descending. If an applicant passes the first-level exam, then in fact the doors of any university are open for him, but for some the second or even the third is enough.

One-year Japanese language courses have been organized especially for the preparation of foreign applicants at the Osaka International Student Institute.