Hi there!
I’m a current senior and I’m really considering studying at Waseda’s SILS. I’ve looked at the programme and I really like the premise of a liberal arts education in Japan with a diverse student body. Especially considering the school’s location in Shinjuku, and the fact that I can take courses from different fields that I like (social sciences and computer science in particular).
My only concern is the degree title. Unlike in most liberal arts colleges in the US and other countries, your degree title is what you majored in (BA or BS in PolySci/ComputerScience/Biology/Literature/etc. But in SILS (if I’m not mistaken) the title of the degree you earn is a BA in International Liberal Studies. I’d like to work in software or data science in (most likely in Japan) after graduation, but I’m just concerned that the degree title might hold me back. I know that SILS has a concentration programme in Mathematical Sciences which will give me a certificate upon graduation. But would this really be enough to land jobs in software / data science? And how would that work in terms of my degree title?
If anyone could answer me, that would be great! Thanks in advance!
2 comments
If you already know that what you want to work in is software / data science, then I’m not sure why you wouldn’t focus on that in your university education? SILS is an okay programme and you will have the option to do a bunch of courses closer to your eventual goal (far more so if your language skills are up to taking courses in Japanese), and sure, it’s possible to get hired into a field like coding or (at a stretch) data science regardless of your degree as long as you have actual skills, maybe some code up on GitHub, etc. But it seems like you’d smooth your path a fair bit just by studying that from the outset.
That said, you could also look at “splitting the difference” and doing the English language program Waseda offers at the School of Political Science and Economics – that’s Waseda’s prestige school so I guess the course is harder to get into, but they’re known for being pretty hardcore on maths / statistics / data science etc. compared to just about any other social science program in Japan. I don’t think it’s as flexible as SILS but it could be closer to a balance that makes sense for your career.
I think it’s hard to make the switch to software engineering with the SILS degree (I graduated from SILS). I wouldn’t say it’s impossible but as the programming courses in SILS aren’t that comprehensive and in-depth, you would need to find some other means to improve your skills and build your own portfolio.
However, in general, most firms in Japan don’t really look at your degree and what you studied in school, but rather where you graduated from. Waseda is a big name school and with some connections, it’s not too hard to get into a tech firm. But as for getting a tech role, it really depends on your skills as with other countries.