The new graduate school life is about to begin. But how does graduate school differ from undergraduate school?
This page will explain the differences from an administrative perspective, including credits and lectures, while also sharing personal experiences.

Graduate school lectures

Required credits

The number of credits required is about 30 for a master's degree and 20 for a doctoral degree (including master's and doctoral theses). The details differ depending on the graduate school and course, so please check the handbook distributed at the orientation. First, it is important to understand the required courses such as seminars and graduation theses. For the remaining credits, you may be allowed to take lectures outside of your course. You may also be allowed to take lectures for undergraduate students

Course plan during enrollment

Graduate students focus primarily on research. Therefore, even though there's no credit limit, it's not advisable to cram too many lectures into your schedule. However, research tends to become busier towards the end of your studies, especially with your thesis, so try to complete your credits as early as possible. In a master's program, taking around 6-7 classes per week should be enough to complete most of your credits by your second year, so it shouldn't be too much of a burden. The lack of strict credit requirements is one of the great advantages of graduate school.
Also, those who proceed to a doctoral program may be able to carry over any extra credits earned during their master's program to their doctoral program.

Notes on course registration

Course registration isUTASdone using an online system called

Lecture content

Graduate school lectures come in various forms, but compared to undergraduate courses, seminar-style lectures are more prevalent. This involves reading a particular text together, with each person presenting, followed by questions and discussions to deepen understanding. The quality of the handouts is often high, requiring thorough preparation and a considerable amount of prior knowledge. However, from a different perspective, your research topic can be utilized in various presentation settings, so the more motivated you are, the more interesting the seminar will be.
Additionally, depending on the research lab or major, attendance at seminars once or twice a week may be required (these are technically mandatory subjects). These seminars primarily consist of research presentations and paper reviews, often held jointly with other research labs, providing opportunities to broaden your research perspective.

About TA

At the master's level, you may be asked to work as a teaching assistant (TA), helping with lectures and mentoring undergraduate students. Often, the position naturally comes up within the lab, and it's usually a part-time job with an hourly wage of around 1,300 yen. Students appreciate this position because it allows them to attend classes while also working part-time, making it an easy way to earn money on campus. In addition, the time spent on tasks such as preparing materials may also be reflected in your salary. However, the workload may increase at the end of the semester, as you may have to compile reports for undergraduate students and grade tests. Since this position often overlaps with busy periods for job hunting and research, it's a good idea to understand the job content beforehand

Life in the lab

The role of graduate students

In many laboratories, first-year master's students are tasked with running and managing the independent seminars and meetings held within the lab. Graduate students also primarily maintain student rooms and laboratories, and plan events both inside and outside the lab, such as research meetings and training camps. Depending on the lab, graduate students may also be responsible for updating the website, ordering supplies, and managing invoices. Another important role for graduate students is mentoring junior students. In laboratories with a particularly large number of fourth-year undergraduate students, graduate students may be asked to check slides and meeting materials and offer advice on research. While circumstances vary somewhat from student to student, there is no doubt that graduate students are the core of the lab. Laboratories are places with deep ties to society, and graduate students are expected to behave as members of society. Graduate school is also a place to learn about society

About part-time jobs

According to the 2019 Student Life Survey, 65.6% of graduate students at the University of Tokyo have part-time jobs, comparable to the 67.1% of undergraduate students (according to the same survey in 2020). By type, 33.3% are TAs, 17.6% are cram school/preparatory school instructors, and 7.9% are private tutors. Some students work part-time in the food service industry or as office staff, while others focus on research during the week and work part-time jobs on weekends. Research is largely at the discretion of the individual, and it is possible to find time through careful time management. However, time commitments vary greatly depending on the lab. Some labs require students to come to the lab on weekends, and many labs have frequent research commitments, making part-time work difficult. It's a good idea to consult with your seniors and professors before starting

Enjoying life in the lab

While laboratories are places where research and chores are carried out, they are also places where people with various backgrounds gather and talk. There are many laboratories where members get along well both inside and outside of school, and they often meet up for drinks every weekend or play sports together on the days off. At the same time, it is also true that some people struggle with interpersonal relationships in the lab or suffer from academic harassment from faculty. If you have any concerns, please seek help from a harassment counseling center or student counseling center

University of Tokyo Counseling Support Research and Development Center

About international students and English

About international students

Graduate school offers significantly more opportunities to interact with international students than undergraduate school. There are 4,274 international students (as of November 1, 2021) in master's, doctoral, and research programs across the graduate school, with 3,829 coming from Asia. Generally, there are more international students in science laboratories, and in some laboratories there are even more international students than Japanese students. When an international student is enrolled in a laboratory, graduate students act as tutors, helping with government applications and daily life. Interacting with international students also provides an opportunity to learn English, so be sure to actively engage with them

English in research settings

In graduate school, whether you're in the sciences or humanities, there are many opportunities to use English. In many fields, research is rarely conducted in Japan, and specialized books are only available in English. Some departments conduct all meetings in English, so you'll struggle considerably if you can't speak English.
Some graduate schools even offer special English lessons with guest English instructors.

Graduate school life of seniors

C.K. (1st year master's student, Comprehensive Analytical Informatics course, Department of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies)

About the lecture

　I decided to complete all my credits except for my master's thesis during my first year of graduate school so that my research life would be easier later on. In fact, professors in the graduate school also recommend that students complete required courses such as introductory courses during their first year. In my research lab, the lectures students take are somewhat similar, so general meetings and thesis reading sessions were scheduled to coincide with times when there were no lectures. It may seem easier than undergraduate studies because there are fewer lectures, but it is busy when you include research activities (searching for papers for research, working and studying, preparing for presentations at meetings, etc.), so it is important to balance lectures and research activities in a planned manner.
　Also, if it is difficult to set aside a fixed time each week, you can take intensive courses. The Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies holds exhibitions where students from various courses come together, and these are also recognized as credits if properly taken.

C.K.'s timetable

Intensive Course: Fundamentals of AI Systems
Intensive Course: Practical Applications of AI Systems
Intensive Course: Advanced Topics in Integrated Analytical Informatics XIIIA

Year-long intensive course: Introduction to Interdisciplinary Information Studies III

Research Life

　My research mainly involves programming and conducting field tests for smart building systems. Previously, many students came to the lab every day, but due to the pandemic, almost all research activities, including general meetings and team meetings, can now be conducted remotely. However, some students still come to the lab to concentrate. In my field, we often
　use machine learning in our research, so the lab has several high-performance computers. Access rights and other management have traditionally been entrusted to the students, but I think there's no need to worry if you check the handover documents or ask the professor or senior students whenever you have questions. Also, there are teams within the lab divided by research area, and we can report and consult with the supervising professor about the progress of our research activities at weekly team meetings. When you're unsure how to proceed with your research, it's important not to worry too much on your own, but to consult with the professor or senior students. They might teach you solutions you wouldn't have thought of on your own. Balancing
　research activities and job hunting is my current concern, but I want to try my best to find an interesting research topic through trial and error and connect it to my master's thesis.

T.K. (1st year master's student, Graduate School of Education, Department of Educational Sciences)

About the lecture

　It can be difficult to predict how long research will take. Therefore, it's wise to complete your required credits as early as possible.
For those who entered from outside the university (my undergraduate major was different), it's important to attend undergraduate lectures and learn the fundamentals. While there are limitations, some undergraduate lectures can be included in your graduation credits, so I actively took them. I also broadened my knowledge by attending seminars in other courses. What
　was challenging was the increase in miscellaneous tasks, such as becoming the lab administrator, managing seminars, and setting up dinner parties. I think it's the same in any research lab; you can't dedicate all your time to studying and research. As a graduate student, I've keenly felt that self-management of time and schedule is paramount.

T.K.'s timetable

Research Life

　The amount of time spent on research varies depending on the research topic. For research that involves extensively examining documents, many people spend all their time outside of lectures and seminars in the library.
　Those conducting intensive fieldwork may spend a month or so immersed in a local community, conducting interviews and other research, and then repeating the same research after a period of time. Any remaining time is dedicated to analysis, bibliography, and checking research trends in the same field. However, the field of education is broad, and researchers often find that no matter how much time they have, it's never enough.
Finished papers are then contributed to academic journals or presented at conferences, but the pace varies greatly from person to person. For graduate students, contributing one or two papers a year is considered good, but since a single research project is not easily completed, many cases involve only presenting an interim report on the research process at conferences. Conferences themselves are typically held only once or twice a year.
　Depending on the research field, collaboration and exchange with other university research laboratories, external research organizations, and social education facilities may also be necessary. To broaden your perspective as much as possible and to ensure access to resources, it's a good idea to actively visit external institutions rather than confine yourself to your own research lab.