Considering pursuing a master’s degree in Japan

3 comments

1. >How can I improve my chances of being selected?

   It depends on the school and even department. Every school and department has their own system. For Masters, you take an entrance exam. The exam varies like I said. The exam is usually a research plan, or an interview, or a written test, or a combination. From my experience, the test is the only thing that matters (except for some special programs). It’s not like some other countries where they take a holistic view of a student. To find out what kind of entrance exam the graduate school has, check the admissions website of that department. In STEM, usually it’s a written exam, so to improve your chances, you need to study.

   However, scholarships like MEXT do take a holistic view of the student. So in the case of the MEXT scholarship, grades etc. do matter.

   >Which universities/Institutes are good options?

   For Masters, look up the top schools in Japan and go down the list. For example [Times Higher Education ](https://www.timeshighereducation.com/rankings/japan-university/2023) is pretty reliable. The exact order can be argued but any of the top 20 schools are good.

   From there, check their websites to find professors that you want to supervise you. The thing about Japan is you join a lab day 1. So, you need to find a professor that you want to research under. Narrow your list of places you want to apply based on professorp, not school or location.

2. User otsukarekun’s comment has all you need!! I’ll just add with personal experience that a lot of schools that boast “English” programs actually have horrible English support, so you have to choose carefully which university you enter. Separately, you have to ensure that you have multiple foreign students in the lab you are joining, because in the top schools, Japanese students have a different and secluded competition culture you do NOT want to be a part of. My suggestion is to specifically find a lab with a non-Japanese PI and ask to speak with one of his foreign students. Ask about the lab culture and the quality of the English speaking classes, because you will be stuck there for at least two years. If you are a Bio person like me, it might be a tough ride with very few weekends!

3. u/otsukarekun and u/batshit_icecream gave you the education part. I’ll give you the career opportunity part.

   As a foreigner myself working in a Pharma company related with biotech industry in Japan, this is my my small advice for work and career if you want to work in Japan. Make sure you brush up your Japanese and be as good as native level (more than JLPT N2). This is also crucial as the jobs listed are not in English and you have to use the job hunting websites which is also Japanese.

   I also find the work opportunities are there, but also competitive for foreigners who wanted to get into the biotech industry, such as why they should hire a foreigner for their local operations over the Japanese and you need to convince them with your research work and idea if you want to work in R&D/QC. Most of the foreigners who I met in R&D/QC are really maniac fellas and they can get the job with just Masters (they studied in Japan) with the right reason to convince the companies to hire them (some with works in uni and some with connections).

   Most of biotech related companies here now are team work focus and use only one language, Japanese in documentation (SOP, Reports, QC Datas, etc…), Meeting and mailing which you should take in mind in your career/job finding in Japan. Good luck.