Hello everyone, I previously posted here asking for advice related to university teaching positions, and thank everyone for their responses. Based on those responses, I have a new plan for a university career in Language Studies (yes, I know how difficult it is, but it honestly seems to be just about everywhere). I would appreciate any thoughts on whether or not this is a viable plan.
Quick background: I’m a 30 year old Canadian male currently teaching at a language school in Taiwan. I have a BA in French, a CELTA, and an MA in Sociolinguistics and Multilingualism from a German university. I’m a native English speaker and know seven languages.
For complicated reasons, I did not receive a good grade on my MA thesis despite performing well in the rest of the program, and I know this would not matter much to obtain a job, however I am looking into getting a PhD. I understand that a PhD is not a requirement to obtain a university job in Japan, however it certainly seems to help with obtaining some long term stability (I know that tenure is like finding a unicorn). My plan was to complete a one year MA in TESOL from the University of Portsmouth via distance while working here in Taiwan in order to reopen the door to a PhD programme.
My first question: has anybody done a language-related PhD in Japan while working at a university? I see plenty of info related to STEM fields but not in this area. I know about Temple University, however the cost is exorbitant and Japanese universities seem to be a bit more reasonably priced (i.e. around 250,000 per semester for full time). I would rather do my PhD in Japan as I wish to do my research there and know how difficult getting back into the country would be if I were to leave. I would be looking for part time so that I could continue working in order to finance it. Would I run into visa issues, or is this possible in Japan?
Second question: The two universities I keep looking at for PhD programs are Sophia University and Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. These seem very competitive and I am curious if anyone thinks it would be worthwhile to complete the second MA to make myself a better candidate or if a good research proposal and a couple publications may work better (if not for these schools specifically then perhaps another that I haven’t come across)?
Third question: I’ll be about 44,000 Canadian dollars in debt by the time I finish the second MA so I want to be sure before I hop into it. I wouldn’t be eligible for MEXT for PhD studies because they look at the last two years of study for a grade average, which would include my crummy first thesis grade, making me ineligible. I’ve tried searching, but does anybody perhaps know of other funding I may get in Japan that maybe I am missing?
I apologize for the novel, but I am trying to create a path forward in our crazy, changing world and would like to hear what others have to say. Thank you :).
4 comments
1. You can work up to 28 hours per week on a student visa. But, I don’t recommend working that much because it will probably delay your studies.Also, if you go to a public university, you can get some or all of your tuition waived as a foreign student. But, you still need to cover your living expenses.
2. I don’t know why people want to go to a private university here. The top public universities are not only more respected, they are cheaper.For PhD, it’s really easy to get accepted into a university in Japan. It’s different than Masters and Bachelor. At a lot of schools, the “entrance exam” is just a research proposal presentation. Basically, for doctor course, what you do is find a professor that is willing to supervise you. Once you find a professor to sponsor you, you basically are accepted. The rest is formality. To find a good school, just search for professors that research your interest and cold email them. Pick from the ones that respond.
3. There is the JSPS PD fellowship. It’s much more competitive than MEXT, but I don’t think they ask for your grade transcript. I could be wrong on that, though.
Something else to consider, at my school, a PhD takes a minimum of 3 years. But, humanities PhD students usually spend more than 3 years (unlike STEM majors who normally graduate on time).
Also, when it comes to applying to jobs in academia, no one cares about your grades. It’s all about the number of publications and the relevance of your research to the position.
EDIT: I forgot to address your topic. There are a few different university positions. Hijoukin (part time lecturers) Joukin (full time lecturers) Faculty positions (assistant, associate, and full prof) Researcher (researchers, post docs)
You can’t get a full time job on a student visa, so you are limited to part time lecturer. Even if you could, you wouldn’t have time for a PhD and a full time job (unless you want to stretch your PhD to 6 years or have no outside life).
Hijoukin get paid per class, I think it’s about 150,000-200,000 yen per class per semester. Most hijoukin teach 2-6 classes. Because that’s not enough to live, it’s normally either a temp job while you are looking for a full time job, side money for faculty members, or one of a few jobs.
The hijoukin spots are normally given to friends of the organizer or referrals. It’s all about connections and qualifications don’t matter. I can’t say that I know of any current students that get the classes. PhD students normally do TA or RA for pocket money.
On another note, I looked at your profile. If you want good work life balance, faculty positions is probably the worst when it comes to teaching, especially if you are young and only tenure track. You might not get a lot of classes, but teaching is only 1/10th of your job. The rest is research, meetings, applying for grants, writing papers, guiding student research, etc. There is always a deadline ahead and you need to be pumping out papers.
Also, age does matter in Japan and age discrimination is normal, especially in academia. By your 30s, you are expected to be an Associate Professor. So, unless you are extremely lucky, you will be fighting an uphill battle.
I can’t give much info here at the moment maybe I can comment later this week. But your GPA really doesn’t matter too much for a PhD. I graduated with a normal UK masters pass grade and still got into a decent UK PhD program.
Personally, I think a 2nd masters is unnecessary.
For Japanese programs, you need to ask the schools what to do individually. Some will have you contact a supervisor before applying and some after you pass the entrance exams.
A lot of Japanese universities have applied linguistic PhDs but they’re usually labeled as something else. So you have to look closely and most don’t have English websites or applications. And since it’s Japan they aren’t aimed at non-japanese speakers but that doesn’t mean they won’t accept you to the program.
You DO NOT choose a school for a PhD, you choose an advisor. This person will be your mentor for years and will give you connections and opportunities. Find someone who has standing in the field they work in that has a similar research interest as you and contact them.
A degree does not ensure a job anywhere, especially Japan. Don’t count on completely succeeding, have a plan B.
I would do your PhD in a different country than Japan. It would also look better for future employers in Japan. Why not do your PhD in Canada? Or Europe?
I started doing this in my mid-20’s and quit after about 6 months as I realised that I didn’t wanna spend 5+ years studying English teaching.
Your plan is not unviable, but in less time I re-trained as a lawyer. To me there’s only so much growth in ‘English teaching’ and you’ve already got enough linguistic prowess by the sound of it. Time to do a professional degree and start earning some $$$ with those skills IMO.