Study with us
Do you want to study in our group? Great! I'm waiting for your message!
Before you e-mail me, though, read my entire homepage carefully. This is good for you too: You want to know your prospective advisor to make sure you do not enter in a weird laboratory. Anyway, my page may answer some of your questions, and will help you and me to communicate more efficiently. Even if I cannot receive you in my group, I'd be happy to provide advice to students thinking about doing their grad school in Japan.
The basics:
Please use a clear subject in your e-mail, and start your e-mail by saying in a few sentences who are you, and what is your goal. Do you want to do an internship? Do you want to be a MEXT student? Are you just asking for advice?
Please do not use template mails, as they assume a lot of things that I don't agree with about the nature of graduate school (and maybe you don't either!). There is a particularly common template e-mail that says "when I am not doing research, I spend my whole free time studying at the library" -- that is not what I'm looking for in a student!
I believe that a good graduate school depends on a good personal relationship between advisor and student. So write with your own voice!
What am I looking for in a student
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The most important thing is passion for an idea. What is/are the topic in CS that really sparks your curiosity, that makes you want to read about it, learn about it, make it come true? When sending me an e-mail, make sure to tell me what do you want to study. (Ideally it is something related to my own research areas)
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Also tell me a bit about what you are good at. Good programmers are always welcome, of course, but there is space for all kinds of talents: people who can draw, people who can speak in public, people who have work experience, people who did a lot of volunteering, etc. Let me know what you think you can bring to the team!
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Be clear about your situation: Do you want to join as a Master Student? PhD student? Exchange student? Are you planning to apply for a scholarship, or are a self-funded student? When are you graduating?
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Students who know Japanese, or who are making a serious effort to learn the language, are very appreciated.
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I am always happy to support students from countries in the Global South, and minorities in Computer Science;
Student Limitations
My advising style includes a lot of back and forth with students, and frequent meetings to discuss progress. Because of this, I cannot supervise too many students at once. In general, I try to limit myself to 4 or 5 new graduate students each year.
Even if you are a perfect student from my point of view, if I already accepted too many students, I would be a disservice to both of us to accept you to a crowded laboratory, where I don't have enough time to give you proper supervision.
Contact Timing
- MEXT Embassy
If you plan to apply to the MEXT Embassy scholarship, send me a heads up before the application (around April). I know that the embassy recommends contacting the professors after the provisional acceptance, but I appreciate the early head's up, so I can plan how many students to accept.
- Private Application
The application to the entrance examination is in June, but I need to choose which students to support for the application, and I need to prepare a reference number for you. So if you plan to take the regular entrance examination, please contact me by April.
- Research Students
The application for Research Students (October Intake) is in March. For the same reasons above, please contact me by January if you want to join the laboratory as a research student. Please note that I only accept research students that have good programming experience.
- Internship Students
Please do not contact me directly for an internship, unless you can fund yourself, and sponsor your own VISA. In general, I can not fund internship students or sponsor their visa personally.
Useful Links
Short Term Exchange Programs at Tsukuba University.
Application Guidelines For Graduate School
Frequently Asked questions
These answers are from my own experience, and may be outdated. I recommend that in addition to these answers, you also do a healthy dose of searching the internet for more information.
Q: What is the application process for the Master / PhD programs?process for application in Graduate School?
The admission process is detailed in page of the Master Program in Computer Science
Q: I want to study in the Undergraduate program
Then you should head to the webpage of the University of Tsukuba Global Programs. You do not need a supervising professor to enroll in an undergraduate program.
Q: How much is the tuition fee at the University of Tsukuba?
Tuition fees are listed in the university's main webpage.
You should also account for your living expenses. Of course, this changes from person to person, but you can think of 80.000 JPY per month as a minimum value for a person to live frugally.
Q: Does Tsukuba University offers Japanese classes for International Students?
Yes, the International Student Center offers a variety of Japanese Language classes for international students. After you arrive, you will take an entrance examination to determine what level of classes you should take.
Q: Do I need to Speak Japanese?
You do not need to speak Japanese to take graduate school classes, or to do research in our group.
However, as I always say to my students: "Your professors and some secretaries may speak English, but the Bus Driver, the Baker, the Barber will only speak Japanese, so you'd better learn some for your own quality of life".
I generally expect my students to make a serious effort at learning Japanese while they are in the group.
Q: Does the university have dormitories for International Students?
Yes, Tsukuba University has four dormitories for students (foreign and Japanese). The dormitories are assigned by lottery, and International students have priority in their first year. Usually you have to move out of the dorm at the end of your first year, but see below.
Q: Can I rent my own room? How much it costs
Yes, many students choose to rent rooms by themselves, or sharing it with other students. The rent of a small 1-room apartment around the university goes from 30.000 to 50.000 yens a month, depending on location, size, etc.
Q: Can I talk to some of your students?
Ah, so you want to know the dirty little secrets of the university I won't tell you about? Do you want to know how terrible of an advisor I am behind my nice facade?
To be honest, that is a great idea, and I recommend it even if you are considering other laboratories in Japan. I'd be happy to ask my students to see who would like to answer your questions. Just let me know in the e-mail.