Long story short, yes even Ph.D. students in Japan pay for the tuition and no, they do not receieve stipend from the graduate school. (Well, most of the time.) But there's plenty more to this story. Here is Japanese version of this blog: 日本語版の記事はこちらになります。
- Japanese and American Graduate School differs in Many Aspects
- Financial Situation of Japanese Ph.D. student
- Funding exisits, but not for everyone, but it's not too much anyway
Japanese and American Graduate School differs in Many Aspects
Japanese Ph.D. programs do not offer stipend
While most top~middle tier Ph.D. programs in United States offer stipend as well as full tuition exempiton for everyone, Japanese Ph.D. program provide neither of these support. This is a fact and you need to be ready to pay for your education should you decide to do your Ph.D. in Japan. However, this is not the end of the story, so keep reading.
Ph.D. is a continuation of Masters in Japan
We first need to understand that education system in Japan is not the same. Ph.D. program in U.S. mostly requires Bachelors degree for admission, and thus there's no need for Masters degree. Whereas in Japan, Ph.D. Program requires Masters degree for admission. And since Ph.D. is typically a continuation of Masters, it is uncommoun to pursue these two degrees at two different universities in Japan. This is refleted in program duration; typical U.S. system goes: Bachelor (4 years) → Ph.D. (5~7 years), whereas typical Japanese system goes: Bachelor (4 years) → Masters (2 years) → Ph.D. (3 years). So Japanese system is quite similar to European system in terms of degree pathway.
Graduate Schools in Japan are fairly easy to get in
Because people trying to get Masters and out and people trying to pusue Ph.D. are gogin through the same admission process for graduate schools, admission is less competitive. Top Ph.D. programs in U.S. often have less than 5~10% acceptance rate but even top universities in Japan like University of Tokyo have around 30~40% acceptance rate into their programs. I should also note that as far as you do the masters at the same institution, transition into Ph.D. program is basically an automatic process. *1
Financial Situation of Japanese Ph.D. student
Competitive Government Funding (stipend) is available
"Gakushin DC" program, which is almost entirely funded by Japanese government, gives out stipends to limited number of Ph.D. students in Japan based on merit (research proposal). The program has about 20% acceptance rate so combined with 30~40% acceptance rate of graduate schools, you'll have about 5~10% acceptance rate for graduate school life with stipend (familiar numbers right?). There's also governmental program that relieve top 30% of graduates of their student loan. *2 Top Japanese institutions have government funded RA programs that supports students throughout graduate school (from Masters to Ph.D.) with very limited space.
Still, Ph.D. is generally something you pay for in Japan
Most of the governemnt funding goes to the very top institution such as University of Tokyo and Kyoto University. While students at those institution receieve certain level of funding, Ph.D. students at mid-tier institutions suffer from lack of funding. Even if you are at the top institution, most of the students still have to pay for Masters portion of the graduate school. So the reality is, for many of the students graduate school is something you pay for.
Some notable but small exceptions
I have to admit, the earlier diagram is actually a lie. Institutions such as "Soken-dai" and "OIST" have U.S.-like five year straight Ph.D. program. They also offer stipend for every student admitted. However, most of those institution are research institutions without undergrad and only admit very small number of students. And they are vitually unknown to the public, and even to the undergrads in Japan.
Education and Living Cost in Japan is cheaper
Now with the information above, you might think "How do all the students in Japan pay 50k tuition every year?". Well, if you go to public university such as University of Tokyo, the entire 4 year undergrad cost about 20,000 dollars. And tuition rate is roughly double for private universities. *3 Same tuition rate applies to graduate schools, and therefor if you could afford to attend college for two years in U.S., you can easily pay for all 9 years of higher education in Japan. The living cost is also quite bit cheaper than U.S. cities with high-profile colleges. *4
Funding exisits, but not for everyone, but it's not too much anyway
In summary, because of the difference in education system, the fundings only exist for those exceptional students with competitive profile. However, compared to U.S. schools, Japanese education is considerably chaeper and thus it's fairly easy for students to work their way out of Ph.D. without large financial support. Plus, if you are an international student, there are numerous government funding programs to support foreign students in order to attract international student and those provide stipends with tuition exemption. So, should you go to grad school in Japan? This is an entirely different question that involves many more aspects. I'll try to address them here in near future so stay tuned.
*1:No quals/generals!
*2:Top 30% at each institution so its technically easier to achieve at lower tier universities.
*3:Most of top tier universities in Japan are public universities.
*4:Even in Tokyo, minimwage is less than $10. So compared to $15 in Seattle or $17 in San Francisco, it’s a lot cheaper to live.
