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Non-English masters program 2021/2/5 02:04
I am planning to do master's in computer science from a Japanese University. As I can not finance the cost of study and living myself I will try for the MEXT scholarship. However, the MEXT scholarship mainly eligible for the public and national universities, and not many public and national universities offer English programs for masters. There are some, but the chances will be very slim if I only rely on those limited programs as the scholarship is really competitive. So I was wondering about the prerequisites for the non-English/Japanese programs. Currently, I don't have any reading or writing knowledge in Japanese. I've only watched some animes so you can say I've somewhat familiar when it comes to listening. In my country, at the undergraduate level, even though the teachers take the classes and speak in the native language, all the exams, assignments, presentations, and vivas are conducted in English. So I was wondering if it is the same case in Japan. In that case, I think, if I only improve my listening then I will be able to get by. If it is not the same in Japan, I mean if the exams and everything is in Japanese then how much do I have to learn? I think there is a Japanese proficiency test called JLPT. Which level do I need to achieve to easily do my master's program in Japanese?
by Partha66  

Re: Non-English masters program 2021/2/5 07:22
I mean if the exams and everything is in Japanese then how much do I have to learn?
Of course it would be in Japanese in Japan - Japanese students would not understand a course in a different language. As for how much you have to learn - a lot - proficiency in the language, reading, writing and talking - listening helps too. You are competing against native language speakers.
JLPT does not assess talking or writing ability - do some reading on comparison between CEFR and JLPT and you will see JLPT does not translate into good understanding.
by JapanCustomTours rate this post as useful

Re: Non-English masters program 2021/2/5 11:48
「 In my country, at the undergraduate level, even though the teachers take the classes and speak in the native language, all the exams, assignments, presentations, and vivas are conducted in English. So I was wondering if it is the same case in Japan.」

No, not at all. In Japan, exams and presentations are done in the same language the class is taught in, which is going to be Japanese, unless it's specifically a program for foreign or international students.

「I've only watched some animes so you can say I've somewhat familiar when it comes to listening... I think, if I only improve my listening then I will be able to get by. 」

At the risk of sounding harsh, I think you may be seriously underestimating how much time and effort is required to become proficient in the language. If your current level of Japanese study is watching some anime, then you're nowhere near the level you'll need to take a class taught in Japanese, especially at a master's program level.

「I think there is a Japanese proficiency test called JLPT. Which level do I need to achieve to easily do my master's program in Japanese?」

Master's programs, by their very nature, involve talking about difficult concepts, which require difficult language. So if you want to "easily" complete a master's program in Japan, you'll probably want to be proficient enough to pass the most difficult level of the exam, the JLPT 1. However, bear in mind that the JLPT is designed to test overall knowledge of Japanese, and is not specifically focused on checking for skills related to discussing and understanding computer science. In other words, it's possible to pass the JLPT 1 and be able to communicate on general topics in Japanese, but still be completely unable to understand a Japanese textbook/lecture about computer science.

If you want to know if you'll be able to easily handle a master's program in computer science taught in Japanese, the easiest way to check would be to look at some Japanese-language textbooks for undergraduate-level computer science. Can you handle those? If so, then you shouldn't have any major problems with a master's program. On the other hand, if undergraduate Japanese textbooks are too difficult for you, you're probably not ready for a master's taught in Japanese. And by the way, if finding undergraduate Japanese textbooks in the first place is hard for you (i.e. you can't find them online because you can't handle using Japanese search engines/websites), it's probably another sign that you're not ready for a master's course taught in Japanese.

Again, I'm sorry if this sounds cold, but I think you're underestimating the difficulty of what you're trying to do, and the amount of prior study and preparation it actually requires. Honestly, I think your best option would be to focus on courses in Japan that are specifically for foreign/international students and thus taught in English, while also putting in some serious effort to improve your Japanese proficiency level, since right now it sounds like it's low enough that you'd face a lot of difficulties in daily life outside the classroom if you were living in Japan.
by . . . . (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Non-English masters program 2021/2/5 16:27
Thank you for your reply. Japanese programs will be no go then. I will look for universities with english programs :(
by Partha66 rate this post as useful

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