Professional Career in Japan with an EdD

7 comments

1. You want to work in administration? Hope your Japanese is real good, like…. native.

2. The EdD can be useful for admin – but you do need to be able to speak Japanese fluently to be in administration.

3. Don’t listen to the guy who said you need native-Japanese ability to work in admin. He’s a notorious gatekeeper in this sub and more often than not is talking out of his ass.

   That said, depending on the position, proficient business-level Japanese will likely be necessary to work in admin, as a lot of the job is about thoroughly reading and understanding university policy documents and communicating with other offices in Japanese. Curriculum-related policy changes are generally driven by the faculty (not admin), but in a supportive administrative role you would need to be proficient enough to be able to understand whatever MEXT guidelines are related to a given policy.

   Not sure if it’s helpful, but I’ll share my personal experience as a point of reference for you. I worked in university admin here for almost a decade with an MA in applied linguistics and N2 (eventually N1) on the JLPT. About half of those years I worked in an international programs office in a mid-sized private university. My roles included managing incoming and outgoing student exchanges, expanding international partnerships, and grant-seeking to find financial support for our students. Following that job I was hired at a major public research university to help create and support new international dual-degree programs.

   I eventually transitioned into university teaching, as I find working with students much more fulfilling and I started to get tired of the grind of admin work. (Both jobs I worked at were stereotypical “salaryman” jobs where 10-12 hour days were the norm, often exceeding 14 hours during busier times of the year.) Ironically, much of my time is still consumed by administrative and committee work.

   Admin positions for non-native speakers are not common, but they certainly exist. An EdD has a lot of potential to open doors for you and will certainly get the attention of hiring departments, but your Japanese ability and previous experience will be the key to actually landing educational admin work.

4. [deleted]

5. 1. EdD is practically unheard of in Japan. It’s a professional doctorate rather than a research doctorate. A few are / have been started in the least decade or so.
   2. Unlike the US/UK, most administration jobs at universities are done by non-faculty at Japanese universities. (exceptions being at the top).
   3. For 1-12 schools, administration is usually teachers who promote from within. The situation has changed a bit but a graduate degree from a 教職大学院 is increasingly expected.

   So combining one and two, there’s not much of a market for it in universities. For 1-12, I don’t know.

6. If you speak Japanese half-way decent and have a terminal degree, you can get really far. I know people who have a master’s and know barely any Japanese get really far as well.
   A lot of times it is who you know and timing.
   Definitely having an EdD will help you.

   Hopefully you give an update on the situation.

7. If you have ED, I suggest talking to a doctor about your problem.