How to go to graduate school in Japan as a foreigner

In 2009, the Japanese government started a program to attract foreign students, this became known as the “Global 30”, now the “Top Global University Program.” The Japanese government selected the most elite schools and began offering English-only undergraduate and master’s programs.

The beauty of this program is that you do not need to take the GRE to gain admission. You simply apply as you would do with any other school.

How much is it?

Compared to the U.S (my home country) it’s amazingly cheap. One semester cost me around $3,000. I graduated in 3 semesters and got a scholarship for the last semester of tuition, which means I paid about $8,000 for my masters.

Visa?

No worries, a student visa is practically a given provided you’ve gained acceptance into the school and have proof of sufficient funds. This part may be a bit tricky though. I funded all of my graduate studies and only came to Japan with around $8,000, hardly enough to survive and pay for two years of school, but I used my mother as my guarantor on my school application.

How to survive?

This was the hardest part to be honest. I consider myself a very cheap person, and spent about $1267 (140,000 yen) a month in Japan. This covered my rent, utilities, food, transportation and hanging out from time to time.

Breakdown:

15,000 for transportation a month
52,000 for rent
12,000 for utilities, cell phone, and internet
40,000 for food
21,000 for hanging out/clothes

As I stated earlier, I came to Japan with $8000 and after paying my tuition, putting down money for my apartment and buying supplies, I quickly realized my money wouldn’t last long. I had to planned to get a job, but realistically there was no way I could earn 140,000 a month working part time. Around June I was down to a few thousand and was really worried if I would survive the duration of my program.

I applied for every scholarship known to mankind (Americans eligible for very few) and was fortunate to get one that granted me 100,000 a month. I had to go through an interview, which was conducted in Japanese. I received a letter in the mail almost 2 weeks later saying I got the scholarship! It was probably one of the happiest days in my life.

The scholarship covered me for the entire program, April 2015-March 2017 and I received it in July meaning my first check was 400,000!

The remaining 40,000, I was able to earn through teaching part time. If you are considering coming to Japan and are independent you need to come with the cash up front or find a way to make it work, there is just no way you can make 140,000 a month part time. I took a gamble and it paid off.

Coursework?

Most of your teachers, if not all, will be western educated. 50% of my professors were Japanese and the others American/Canadian. The teaching style is similar to that of the states, I didn’t notice much of a difference.

Japanese language?

You don’t need Japanese language skills to study in Japan. Most of my classmates spoke 0 Japanese and that is totally fine. You are free to enroll in Japanese language courses, but they are not mandatory. Japanese is needed for many scholarships; however, many of the interviews are conducted in Japan.

Overall thoughts?

I was satisfied with my program, I loved the diversity in the classroom. In one single class you could have Americans, Kazaks, Chinese, Koreans, South Africans, Filipinos, Colombians, Sri Lankans, etc. As the sole African-American male in the program, it was a humbling experience to be in the presence of so many bright individuals from around the world.

Here, I placed 2nd in the United Nations essay contest :)