A new graduate school life is about to begin. But how is a graduate school different from an undergraduate school?
On this page, I will explain from the administrative side such as credits and lectures while sharing my experiences.

Graduate lecture

number of credits required

The required number of credits is 30 for the master's degree and 20 for the doctoral degree (including master's thesis and doctoral dissertation). The details differ depending on the graduate school and course, so please check the handbook distributed at the guidance. First of all, it is important to hold compulsory subjects such as seminars and final theses. For the remaining credits, you may be allowed to take lectures outside the course you belong to. You may also be allowed to take lectures for undergraduate students.

Course plan during school

Graduate students are focused on research. Therefore, even though there is no credit limit, it is not a good idea to cram too many lectures. However, in the latter half of your enrollment period, you tend to become busier with your research, such as your final thesis. In the master's program, if you put in about 6-7 classes a week, most of the credits will be completed by the second year, so it shouldn't be too much of a burden. The great thing about graduate school is that there are no strict restrictions on credits.
In addition, those who proceed to the doctoral course may be able to carry over the extra credits earned during the master's course to the doctoral course.

Notes on course registration

To register for lectures,UTASusing an online system. Please note that the course registration period for the S semester (summer semester) is usually very limited, approximately two weeks in April.

Lecture content

There are various lectures in the graduate school, but compared to the undergraduate course, the ratio of seminar-style lectures is higher. In other words, we read a certain document in turns, the person in charge makes a presentation, and then we ask questions and discuss the contents to deepen our understanding. Many of the resumes are of high quality and require careful preparation and a considerable amount of prior knowledge. However, if you change your perspective, you can make use of your research theme in any presentation, so the more motivated you are, the more interesting seminars you can develop.
In addition, depending on the laboratory and major, students may be required to attend seminars once or twice a week (systemically, this is a compulsory subject). The content is centered on research presentations and paper introductions, and is often jointly held with other laboratories, providing an opportunity to broaden your research horizons.

About TAs

When you become a master's student, you may be asked to work as a TA (teaching assistant) to help with lectures and guide undergraduate students. There are many things that come naturally in the laboratory, and most of them are part-time jobs with an hourly wage of around 1,300 yen. Students are grateful for the fact that they can work part-time while taking classes and earn money easily on campus. In addition, work hours such as document preparation may also be reflected in the salary. However, the burden may increase at the end of the semester, such as compiling reports for undergraduate students and grading tests. Job hunting and research often coincide with busy periods, so it is a good idea to understand the nature of the work in advance.

life in the lab

Graduate student role

In many laboratories, first-year master's students are entrusted with the operation and management of independent seminars and meetings held in the laboratories. Graduate students are mainly responsible for the maintenance and management of student rooms and laboratories, as well as the planning of events inside and outside the laboratories, such as seminars and training camps. Depending on the laboratory, graduate students may be responsible for updating the website, ordering supplies, and managing slips. Another important task for graduate students is to teach juniors. Especially in laboratories where there are many fourth-year undergraduates, you may be asked to check slides and meeting materials, or to give advice on your research. Although the circumstances differ slightly depending on the student, there is no doubt that graduate students are the core of the laboratory. The laboratory is a place with deep connections with society, and graduate students are expected to behave as members of society. Graduate school is also a place to study society.

About part-time job

According to the 2019 Student Life Survey, 65.6% of graduate students at the University of Tokyo have part-time jobs, which is about the same as 67.1% of undergraduate students (same survey in 2020). By type, 33.3% are TAs, 17.6% are instructors at cram schools and prep schools, and 7.9% are private tutors. Some students work part-time in the restaurant industry or clerks, while others focus on research on weekdays and work full-time on weekends. Research is largely up to the discretion of the individual, and it is possible to find time by devising time management. However, there are many laboratories that have to come to the laboratories even on holidays, and there are many laboratories that have frequent research errands, making it difficult to work part-time. Please consult with your seniors and teachers before starting.

To enjoy laboratory life

A laboratory is not only a place for research and chores, but also a place for people with various backgrounds to gather and talk. There are many labs that are on good terms both inside and outside the school, such as holding drinking parties every weekend and playing sports together on holidays. At the same time, it is also true that there are people who are troubled by interpersonal relationships in laboratories and academic harassment by faculty members. If you have any concerns, please consult with the Harassment Counseling Center or Student Counseling Center.

Research and Development Center for Counseling and Support, The University of Tokyo

About international students and English

About international students

Compared to undergraduates, graduate students have much more opportunities to interact with international students. In total, there are 4,274 international students (as of November 1, 2021), including master's, doctoral, and research students, and 3,829 of them are from Asia. In general, science laboratories have more international students than Japanese students, and in some laboratories there are more international students than Japanese students. When an international student enrolls in a laboratory, a graduate student serves as a tutor to help with applications and daily life. Interacting with international students will also give you an opportunity to learn English, so please try to actively interact with them.

English in research

In graduate school, there are many opportunities to use English in both the sciences and humanities. In Japan, it is a field that has hardly been researched, and there are many cases where specialized books are only in English. Some meetings are all held in English, so if you can't speak English, you will have a hard time.
Some graduate schools offer special English lessons by inviting external English teachers.

Graduate school life of seniors

In the case of C.K.

About the lecture

　In order to make my research life easier later, I decided to take credits other than the master's thesis during the first year of the master's program. In fact, professors at the graduate school encourage students to take required credits, such as introductions, in one year. In my laboratory, the lectures that the students take are common to some extent, so I asked them to consider that the general meeting and the thesis lecture would be held during the time when the lectures were not held. Compared to the undergraduate course, there are fewer lectures and it seems easier, but if you include research activities (searching papers for research, working and studying, preparing for presentations at meetings, etc.), you will be busy, so plan lectures and research. Balancing activities is important.
　Also, if it is difficult to secure a fixed amount of time each week, you can also take an intensive course. At the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, students from various courses gather to hold production exhibitions, and these are also recognized as credits if they are properly completed.

C・K's timetable

Intensive Lecture: Fundamentals of AI Systems
Intensive Lecture: Practical Theory of AI Systems
Intensive Lecture: Comprehensive Analysis and Informatics ⅩⅢA

Year-round Intensive Lecture: Introduction to Interdisciplinary Information Studies Ⅲ

Research life

　My research focuses on programming and demonstration experiments for building smart building systems. In the past, many students used to go to the laboratory every day, but due to the influence of infectious diseases, almost all research activities, such as general meetings and team meetings, can now be done at home. However, it seems that some students go to the laboratory to work in order to concentrate.
　In the field I am involved in, machine learning is often used for research, so there are several high-performance computers in the lab. The management of access rights, etc. has been entrusted to the students for generations, but if there is anything you do not understand, you can check the handover document or ask your teacher or seniors each time, so there is no need to worry. In addition, there are teams divided by research field in the laboratory, and the progress of research activities can be reported and consulted with the faculty member in charge at weekly team meetings. When you are unsure about how to proceed with your research, it is important to refrain from worrying alone, and to consult with faculty members and seniors. You may be able to find a solution that you would not have thought of on your own.
　I am currently struggling with balancing research and job hunting, but I would like to do my best to find an interesting research theme through trial and error and connect it to my master's thesis.

In the case of Mr. T.K.

About the lecture

　It can be difficult to predict how long research will take. Therefore, it would be wise to complete the required credits as soon as possible.
It is also important for those who have entered the university from outside (although my major was different when I was an undergraduate) to attend lectures given by undergraduate students and learn the basics. Although there are some restrictions on undergraduate lectures, some of them can be included in the completion credits, so I actively took them. I also participated in seminars of other courses to broaden my knowledge.
　The hardest part was that I had to do a lot of chores, such as being the lab manager, managing seminars, and setting up dinner parties. I think it's the same in any laboratory that you can't devote all your time to study and research. As a graduate student, I am keenly aware of the importance of self-management of time and schedule.

T・K's timetable

Research life

　The amount of time spent researching depends on the research topic. If it is a research that is focused on materials, there are quite a few people who spend all their time in the library outside of lectures and seminars.
　Also, people who do full-scale fieldwork spend about a month in a certain local community, doing interviews and other gatherings, and doing the same research again after a while. The extra time is devoted to analysis, reference research, and checking research trends in the same field. By the way.
The finished paper is then contributed to an academic journal or presented at an academic conference, but the pace of this also varies from person to person. If you are a graduate student, it would be nice if you could contribute one or two articles a year. The academic conference itself seems to be held once or twice a year.
　Depending on the research field, it may be necessary to collaborate and exchange with laboratories at other universities, research groups outside the university, social education facilities, etc. In order to broaden your horizons as much as possible and secure access to resources, it is a good idea to actively visit external institutions rather than confining yourself to your own laboratory.