International students in Japan will receive the benefits of some of the highest educational standards in the world. Students have five options from which to choose: graduate schools, universities, junior colleges, technical colleges, and vocational schools. These institutions of higher education are divided into national, public, and private institutions, depending on the organization by which they are managed. Some universities have both undergraduate and graduate school programs. The ordinary term of undergraduate study is four years (six years for those studying medicine, dentistry, pharmacology, and veterinary medicine), and students earn their bachelor's degree upon graduation.
Graduate schools are an option for university graduates who wish to continue their education in a specialized subject while studying in Japan. Universities are the most common form of higher education in Japan. An undergraduate degree at a university generally takes four years to complete, but degrees in medicine, dentistry, and occasionally pharmacy and veterinary science take six years. The standard term of study in junior college is two years, three in the case of nursing courses and some others. Technical colleges are meant for junior high graduates to acquire practical and specialized knowledge and skills required for a specific vocation. Vocational schools aim to teach the skills required for a specific vocation. A course is generally two years, but there are also three and four-year courses. Institutions of Japanese language education are not treated as institutions of higher education but as the school in the miscellaneous category or the equivalent educational institution.
Undergraduate course fees: JPY 800,000 – JPY 1,100,000 per year (including admission fees that cost 200,000 – 300,000).
Graduate course fees: JPY 8,000,000 – JPY 1,500,000 per year (including admission fees which cost around JPY 200,000 – JPY 400,000).
Living Expenses: JPY 500,000 – JPY 900,000 per year
Main Intake - April
Second Intake – October
Note: Japanese language schools enroll students mainly in April and October intake. Few Japanese language schools open admission for July and January intake too.
To take admission in undergraduate or graduate programs in the college or university in Japan, international students need to submit results of TOEFL, IELTS or other English language tests. Or, students have to submit results of Japanese tests (JLPT or other Japanese language examinations). Japanese language schools enroll international students on the basis of Japanese language ability of students that the requirement of JLPT, NAT or other examinations is not compulsory which depends on policy of the language school.
Many foreign students choose to do part-time work to help pay their tuition or living expenses. College Student or Pre-college Student can work up to 28 hours a week (up to 8 hours a day during summer break and other long vacation periods) but there are restrictions on the type of work. College Students’ family members are allowed to work part-time they can work up to 28 hours per week. Students must not engage in any work related to the adult entertainment industry including, but not limited to, night clubs, hostess clubs, pachinko parlors, adult-entertainment internet businesses, escort services, and telephone-based dating services. More specifically, you must not DJ, work as a doorman/bouncer, create video/films for nightclubs, or engage in ANY work activity, even dish-washing, at a bar or nightclub that are strictly prohibited.
