How good is Japan for studying masters?

4 comments

1. Depends entirely what you are looking for. International rankings? Preparation for work? Research environment? Networking? Getting a job in Japan afterwards?

   What is your field? What country are you coming from? Is the degree taught in Japanese or English?

   Your question is so broad and your motives and goals are unclear. Help us understand so we can help you. Japan will be better than some countries and worse than others. Having context will help. If you’re looking at a specific university and/or a specific program, please consider posting it. Good luck to you.

2. You should ask yourself where you want to work and whether a master degree in Japan means anything in the place you want to work. If you intend to work in Norway, then a master degree from Japan is almost useless.

3. Honestly, it’s really going depend on your supervisor. If your supervisor is well connected, gives you collaborative field/lab experiences, allows you to present stuff at conferences, and is a specialist in what you wish to research, then it’s S tier. Some supervisors will be practically non-existant and your master’s course will more or less resemble a correspondence course with you just reading a lot of articles and youtubing academic research strategies, etc., which is like D or low-C tier. Generally, courses needed for credits are pretty bleh, and mostly just a rotation through the class roster of read this and present on it next week…even at top universities in Japan. Engaging lectures or discussions led by the professors seem pretty rare in my experience, although it’s not impossible to find a couple good ones during your studies. Undergrad lectures are usually actually more interesting (you can audit them, or even TA them), although don’t generally count towards your master’s program.

4. /r/movingtojapan