FAQ
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■ About the Department
Q1. What exactly is the formal organization of the Department of Cultural Anthropology?
A1. The "Department of Cultural Anthropology" is the historical and de facto name of the school of cultural anthropology at the University of Tokyo. Founded in 1954, many of today's leading and promising Japanese anthropologists (as well as those from other countries) have been educated here. At the graduate level, it is situated inside the "Graduate School of Arts and Sciences", or more precisely, in the "Department of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies" of this Graduate School; at the undergraduate level, we are responsible for the education of "Cultural Anthropology Course" in the "Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies" division of the "Department of Liberal Arts", itself part of the "College of Arts and Sciences" at the University of Tokyo. The organization chart on our "Home" page will help you understand this structure more clearly. The main offices of the Department are physically located in the Building 14 inside the University of Tokyo Komaba Campus.
*To students from abroad：For more information about the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tokyo, please see Komaba International Office Homepage (if you are interested in other graduate schools at the University of Tokyo, please click here). You can also find some information on the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in English here (including the Cultural Anthropology course). As forthe Department of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies (of which the de facto Department of Cultural Anthropology is part), a basic English explanation is available here. The "Department of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies" at the graduate level is comprised of the "Cultural Anthropology Course", the "Culture and Representation Course" and "Comparative Literature and Culture Course". The organization chart on the "Home" page will help you understand this somewhat complex structure. ➡back
■ To Researchers from Abroad:
Q2. I would like to carry out research as a foreign researcher at the Department of Cultural Anthropology...
A2. (1) We suggest you, if you like, apply for funding from the Japanese public fellowship system such as JSPS (Japan Society for Promotion of Sciences), especially their International Collaborations and Postdoctoral Fellowships, as well as other funds or scholarships be it from Japan or from your own country. Additionally, Japan Foundation offers Japanese Studies and International Exchange fellowships and Japan Student Services Organization maintains a list of scholarships for study in Japan (English). We also recommend you contact the faculty member you wish to oversee your research (see Faculty; our email addresses are here) prior to your application for funding. (2) If you have a Ph.D. (or have acknowledged past research experiences equivalent to it) and have already your own economic means (a fellowship, for example) to stay in or around Tokyo, and in case we are interested in collaborating with you, we might propose you as a visiting research scholar to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (this process may take several months). This status will only afford you research facilities. If you are interested in this possibility, please get in touch with the faculty member you consider most relevant to your research. ➡back
■ About Advancing to the M.A. or PhD Degree Programs:
Q3. I would like to study at the graduate level (M.A. or PhD). Where can I get information about the entrance exam?
A3. Generally speaking, the applications for these programs are accepted in November (M.A. program) or December (Ph.D. program), and the entrance exams for them are held in January and February. An introduction meeting for both is held in November. You can find more up to date information at "Application to the Master's and Doctoral Programs" page on the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website. Unfortunately this page is only in Japanese (although the translation is not exact, Google roughly translates it like this). Please keep in mind that Cultural Anthropology belongs to the section called 文系４専攻 ("4 Liberal Arts Majors"). For details, you will have to go to the "Student Recruitment Information, Entrance Examination Guidance" section of the above page (the referred section is situated at roughly the middle), find the cell for "4 Liberal Arts Majors", and download three PDF documents linked there ["Student Application Guidelines", "Entrance Examination Guidance" and "Submissions"]. The use of Google Translate is also suggested to understand -albeit imprecisely- these PDF files written in formal Japanese.
*Additionally, we suggest you to see the page offered for foreign students by the University of Tokyo which contains useful information (or read the page translated by Google) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website "Study in Japan: Comprehensive Guide". ➡back
Q4. I am a foreigner, with less than adequate academic Japanese ability. Is it possible to study with English as the core language?
A4. No. Since the majority of the classes are conducted in Japanese for Japanese-speaking students, it is necessary that you have high-level academic Japanese if you would like to study with us as a fully enrolled M.A./PhD student (although dissertations, theses and some reports may be submitted in English). Indeed, at the M.A. level, high-level academic Japanese is one of the requisites needed to pass the entrance examination; while for the PhD this examination is not formally required, students are expected to have -or to strive to have- the same level of fluency in Japanese to participate fruitfully in our classes.
[If you study as Graduate Foreign Research Student (see below) and not as a fully enrolled graduate student, you will be permitted to take classes while still learning Japanese. Japanese language courses are offered by the University of Tokyo for foreign students (M.A., PhD and Graduate Foreign Research students included) to assist you in achieving the expected level of fluency.]
Note (March 2015) We have decided that, from 2015, applicants in the Graduate School (Master Course) Entrance Examination will be allowed to answer the questions in English in the "Subject Test (Cultural Anthropology)". In fact, this change was already valid in the past examination in January 2015 and this will continue. But please be completely clear about the following points: (1) The questions will be given in Japanese. This means that applicants are expected to understand them perfectly and, afterwards, may choose to use English to answer them. (2) This change does not affect our language tests in any way (therefore, a high command of academic Japanese is still required in them). (3) This change concerns solely the entrance examination for Cultural Anthroplogy Course (Master Course) and does not affect the examination process for other courses of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies Department. ➡back
■ About Graduate and Foreign Research Students:
Q5. I would like to be considered for a place as a foreign research student in the Department...
A5. First, we recommend reading the information found on the Graduate School website: (1) For Prospective Students also available in English (in particular, the "Admissions for Foreign Research Students" section); (2) then Information for Privately Funded Students (unfortunately this page is only in Japanese; if you like, you can let Google translate it knowing that the translation will be limited). For privately funded students, it is best to first contact the professor you would like to work with while at the University (Faculty). The criteria for accepting students varies according to each faculty member, and there is an upper limit to the number of students each faculty member can accept.
*Apart from the information offered by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, there is a page for international students offered on the overall University of Tokyo homepage that is worthwhile to look over. The corresponding page in English is here, but scholarship information is available only on Japanese page (if you like, you can read the Japanese page translated by Google). ➡back
Q6. Do you have any short-term study abroad programs? Do you offer classes in English?
A6. No. Since the majority of our classes are offered to Japanese-speaking students, we do NOT offer any organized program in English for short-term visiting students. ➡back
■ About Scholarships（For Students from Outside of Japan）:
Q7. Are there any scholarships that would support my studies at the Department of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Tokyo?
A7. For scholarships prior to matriculation, please see some pages offered by the University of Tokyo: For Foreign Students (this page is in Japanese but perhaps you can read it translated by Google) and the page on the Ministry of Education Scholarship. Or you can go directly to JASSO's (Japan Student Services Organization) Information on Scholarships (English) and The Ministry of Education Homepage (please click "Study in Japan" link on the top page) which offer important information on scholarships for study in Japan in general. [Additionally, the University of Tokyo offers scholarships to a limited number of privately funded students through a selection process, but this is only after passing the entrance exams and enrolling in the graduate program.] ➡back
■ Other:
Q8. I am a television producer, and would like help or information for a show I am producing.
A8. Please contact the Department or the faculty member whose work seems closely related. Please know that there are many cases where the faculty member's research interest is not a correct fit and the faculty member will not be able to assist you. ➡back