32 reviews
3.98 / 5 based on 32 reviews
Useful |
0
“Quite good, but not always for foreign students”
Keita O
Germany, Graduate
, 2019
OverallI think it would be helpful to make some points for foreign students who want to study in the university, or Japanese universities in general. Tsukuba is supposed to be one of the best universities in Japan, but it doesn't seem to really show for foreign students unless they are actually capable of communicating in japanese. Most of foreign students who can't speak japanese fluently tend to attend only courses made for english speakers, which doesn't quite effectively give them special academic experiences(because of the less number of courses itself, and there's not so many professors who can actually speak and teach in english in proper ways). Altough the university itself provides quite good intellectual environment, in my opinion, I don't recommend this university to every students who just want to study in Japan.
Read more >
Pros
large variety of study fields
Cons
necessity of fine japanese language ability
Useful |
9
pfaso
Overall
I wish I had known...
I wish I had known more of the language. I feel I would have had an easier time of it if I had started to study the language earlier in my studies
Read more >
In my opinion:
Most people loved it.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
Mainly to revamp the living quarters for the students. I was happy with the school and its layout. The living quarters were unexcusable though.
Read more >
During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
Met people from other countries
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies & career
Final comments
Tsukuba University is a very well known school throughout Japan. No matter where you go, if you say you attend Tsukuba the normal reaction is, "You must be very smart." It is definately a college town though. The entire surrounding city revolves around the school. If you can be in a constant university atmosphere and can handle poor living conditions, you can have a rewarding academic experienc at Tsukuba
Read more >
Useful |
1
pfaso
Academic
Course recommendations
The only reason I studied abroad, academically speaking, was to polish up my language. Therefore Japanese language is the only coursed I took. The setup is pretty straight foreward. You take a placement exam and are put into your corresponding level class. If you are uncomfortable with the class you are in you can request to be put up or down a level.
Read more >
My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
I liked the books we used for the first level class. The final two trimesters though we went to a different book. I can honestly say they were the worst text book ive ever used. Myself and every student in the class agree. They were extremely difficult to follow. The layout required constant flipping back and forth of pages. Uses of different fonts, bolds or italics were not used, making it difficult to distinguish one thing from another
Read more >
My opinion of the university assessment
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
Useful |
1
pfaso
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Government assistance
Other sources of funding:
A private grant
Work opportunities:
I worked during my study abroad experience
Personal spending habits
As far as food was concerned, the dorms did not have adequate facilites to cook yourself. Therefore I was forced to eat out all the time. The phone system in Japan is just more expensive than in my country. I spent less in accomodation because I was living in a small one room dorm as compared to a full apartment or house at home. I didnt go out very much in Tsukuba because there were really no places of interest to me. Most of my time was spent with friends. I had some time off to travel while I was there and spent quite a bit of money backpacking across south east asia.
Read more >
Telephone, Travel, Food:
was more expensive than at home.
Overall:
was the same price as at home.
Nightlife, Housing:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Useful |
0
ma22
Overall
I wish I had known...
Cost of living, culture, a little bit of host language such as greetings, etc.
Read more >
In my opinion:
Most people loved it.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
Take your time to have a look at the university. You will love it.
Read more >
During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
Met people from other countries
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies & career
Final comments
Learn a bit of the language, food, and don't hesitate to ask for information. People are very helpful there.
Read more >
Useful |
1
pfaso
Languages
Language of instruction: Japanese
Was learning Japanese a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Japanese
How much did you improve your Japanese?
My level before: Basic phrases
My level after: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
I had difficulty with the Japanese language, but I wanted to learn it more than anything else at the time. This is why I postponed my graduation for a year to come and study. I had some difficulty in the country mainly because I was affraid to use it and make mistakes. Being an English speaker I was able to get away using it all the time so I didnt use Japanese as much as I probably should have. Overall though my abilities has skyrocketed since I went there.
Read more >
en 
English
Español
Français