Graduation Requirements/ Instruction System
Graduate School Policy
Our graduate school governs the postgraduate programs based on the admission policy, diploma policy, and carriculum policy to achieve our educatonal goals. Please refer to the TSUKUBA STANDARDs for Graduate Schools and Programs "Gradudate School " for more detail.
Multiple Research Supervision System
Graduate students select their research supervisors for the first stage upon successful enrollment into the program. And for the second stage of the graduate program, students will choose the supervisors before taking the entrance examination. There are four research groups and graduate students in the second stage are affiliated with the same research group as their research supervisors. In addition to this, graduate students have an assistant research supervisor in the first stage, and two assistant research supervisors in the second stage (at least one from a different group). The multiple research supervisor system is designed to give students research instructions from integrated and multiphase perspectives.
Master's Program (for master's degree)
Our graduate school offers four programs for Master's degrees: MSc program for Informatics, MSc program for Library and Information Studies, MSc English program for Library and Information Studies, and MSc Career-up program for Library and Information Studies.
Students need to earn a total number of 30 credits consisting of 20 credits for lecture courses (10 courses) and 10 credits for Information Media Seminars (5 courses). Students can select from a wide variety of lecture courses in the four research groups. The credits which students obtained in other graduate schools prior to the admission, may be approved and transferred up to 8 credits, these credits are recognized if they ar proven relevant to the study at the Graduate School of Library, Information and Media Studies.
To obtain a master's degree, it is necessary to the pass thesis review and the final examination. Prior to this, students must undergo the required supervision, make a midterm presentation and submit a master's thesis. The thesis review committee consists of three domain experts including a primary supervisor and a secondary supervisor. The review is multiphase, and so in addition to the contents of the thesis itself, the presentation style and contents are also vital in the midterm and final presentations. The thesis will be made available for public access one year after the graduation.
MSc program for Informatics
This program is designed for those who would like to pursue a career in information system administrators, media creators, and system designers, based on the training of information technologies, etc.
MSc program for Library and Information Studies
This program is designed for those who would like to pursue academic career, but also librarians and archivists who are familiar with the issues such as copyright, privacy, security, information distribution, and related social systems.
| Courses | Credits | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 20 | First and second years: must take 12 or more credits from the enrolled degree program |
| Information Media Seminar A | 2 | First year: from the enrolled degree program |
| Information Media Seminar B | 2 | First year |
| Information Media Seminar C | 2 | First year |
| Special Seminar a | 2 | Second year: from the enrolled degree program |
| Special Seminar b | 2 |
MSc English program for Library and Information Studies
This program is designed for international students who would like to pursue a career in information professionals in the global context. In particular, this program aims to provides students with an opportunity to learn Japanese advanced information technologies and advanced knowledge and skills for the management and delivery of knolwedge and information resources. This is a two-year program starting in August, and the entire rogram can be completed with English.
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MSc Career-up program for Library and Information Studies
This program is designed for those who already have a career in the areas of Library and Information Science. This program provides the professionals with an opportunity of develop their knolwedge and skills to the next level.
Please note that the students in other programs are not allowed to convert to this program due to significant difference in the educational system.
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Doctoral Program (for doctorate)
Students need to earn a total number of 10 credits consisting of four credits for lecture courses (2 courses) and six credits for experiment courses (6 courses). They must also take the Special Experiments in Information Media courses offered by the two secondary supervisors in addition to Advanced Experiments in Information and Media courses offered by the primary supervisor. In addition, they can take the courses of the Library Management Course if the primary supervisor considers it beneficial and relevant, although the credit earned cannot be included in the credits required to complete the program.
| Courses | Credits | Earning credits |
|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 4 | More than two courses |
| Advanced Seminar in Information Media Studies Ia | 1 | 1st Year/Academic Advisor (Main) |
| Advanced Seminar in Information Media Studies Ib | 1 | |
| Advanced Seminar in Information Media Studies IIa | 1 | 2nd Year/Academic Advisor (Secondary) a |
|
Advanced Seminar in Information Media Studies IIb |
1 | 2nd Year/Academic Advisor (Secondary) b |
|
Advanced Seminar in Information Media Studies IIIa |
1 | 3rd Year/Academic Advisor (Main) |
| Advanced Seminar in Information Media Studies IIIb | 1 |
To obtain doctorate (Doctor of Philosophy in Library and Information Science; Doctor of Philosophy in Information Science; or Doctor of Philosophy), students must pass thesis review and the final examination, after the final submitting a doctoral thesis disseertation. The thesis review committee comprises five members including the primary supervisor, more than one of the two secondary supervisors and more than one academic person from another graduate school or from outside the university, conducting a multiphase review. The presentations of doctoral dissertations will be held in public, and people from outside the campus will also be present.
Class and Credit
The University of Tsukuba adopts a two-semester system. The spring semester is from April to September and the fall semester is from October to March. One class is 75 minutes long. One credit is equivalent to ten class hours of lecture or exercise. The first class begins at 8:40 am and the eighth class ends at 9:00 pm.
School Hours
| 1st class: | 8:40-9:55 |
|---|---|
| 2nd class: | 10:10-11:25 |
| 3rd class: | 12:15-13:30 |
| 4th class: | 13:45-15:00 |
| 5th class: | 15:15-16:30 |
| 6th class: | 16:45-18:00 |
| 7th class: | 18:20-19:35 (Tokyo Campus) |
| 8th class: | 19:45-21:00 (Tokyo Campus) |
Tokyo Campus
Our Tokyo satellite campus (Bunkyo School Building) delivers night lectures for the 7th and 8th classes (from 18:20 to 21:00), from the 3rd to 6th class on Saturdays (from 12:15 to 18:00), and also intensive lectures during the summer recess. Students on the Tokyo satellite campus have the same network access as those on Kasuga area, and they can access the online journals of all university libraries.
Midterm Presentations
The midterm presentations are held at the beginning of the second year of the master's program (Some have additional midterm presentations for the master's program), and in the middle of the second year of the doctoral program. For the midterm presentation, students collect opinions from their audience and confirm the directions of their researches in addition to presenting research objectives and describing their individual progress. In this way, students can conduct research smoothly and obtain a degree without delay.
Preliminary Review of Doctoral Dissertation
Before the final dissertaton is submitted, it must be accepted by the preliminary review committee. The preliminary review committee consists of five domain experts who subject the submitted thesis to a broad examination including its organization. This preliminary review is helpful in that it reviews the thesis from a comprehensive view points and facilitates a smooth review thereafter for doctoral degree. Before accepting for preliminary review, students must publish at least two refereed research papers accepted.
Early Completion
We have a system that allows students with excellent academic results to complete the second stage program within a minimal period of three years. In academic year 2005, a student in the second stage of the doctoral course completed the course by using this system.
Graduate Students' Room
Air-conditioned rooms are designated for the graduate students. They are equipped with personal desks, PCs. The IC card that graduate students use for entering and leaving their rooms is also used for entering the buildings,i.e., including the Llibrary of Library and Information Studies even late at night and on holidays. The integrated circuit cards are used for operating the copiers. Students can apply for a computer account to use an e-mail address, web page space, and extensive computer and other electronic resources.
TA, TF and RA
Students at our Graduate School are also eligible to work as Teaching Assistants (TA) and Research Assistants (RA). A total number of 64 master’s students worked as TA, in academic year 2018. In order to work in Japan, you generally must first apply for a work permit from the Immigration Office in your region. However, only when you are working as a teaching assistant, research assistant, or international student tutor within the University, the work permission is not required. (For further detailed information, please contact to the International Student Center or refer to their website.
Supporting presentations in academic meetings
We have a system whereby the research courses can support graduate students with respect to travel expenses incurred when a student gives a presentation at an academic meeting. In academic year 2018, no less than 60 students made presentations at academic meetings via using this system.
Tuitions and scholarships
The tuitions and fees required at the time of admission (2019) are as follows:
| Admission Fee: | 282,000 yen |
|---|---|
| Tuition: | 535,800 yen |
●Scholarships
Privately-financed international students who wish to receive scholarships through university recommendation have to apply for call held in every July. The university will post the information of those scholarships on the web bulletin board system TIPS. Please check it regularly. For further details, please refer here.
●Tuition Exemption
The university calls for applications for tuition exemption for every period. The first period is from April to September and the second period is from October to March. If accepted, you may be exempted from full or partial amount of the tuition. The information and application form will be posted both on the web bulletin board system TIPS and the university official website. For further details, please refer here.
Honorable recognition
In the commencements of the graduate-level courses, students may receive honorable recognitions for achieving excellent results of their academic studies during master's and/or doctoral periods.
(Note: The English information on this website is based on the original Japanese version. Please note that if there are any discrepancies found, the Japanese version will prevail.)