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Ichikawa
Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 6
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 Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 1:53 am Post subject: The Masters Degree and Education |
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Hello All,
Recently a very specific idea crossed my mind that I couldn't find much on utilizing the search function.
For an International School or University would it be bad for me to have my Masters Degree (In English Language Education or TESOL) from a Japanese University? Would I be better of getting a Masters back state side?
It seems, logically, that an English speaking University may yield a better result. Is this true or is there really no true difference?
Thanks all,
Ichi |
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mitsui
Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki
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| Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 2:20 am Post subject: |
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If you want to stay in Japan, you could go to Temple.
If you don`t plan on staying here, get your MA in the US. |
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Ichikawa
Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 2:31 am Post subject: |
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A Japanese degree is accepted just fine though (at International Schools too) in Japan?
Schools like Fukuoka University etc. (Of course they don't have Temple's MS.Ed Tesol program but I noticed a lot of these schools have English Language master's programs taught entirely in English, etc. and it's a whole lot cheaper.) |
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mitsui
Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki
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| Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 9:39 am Post subject: |
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Don`t know but if you are serious about staying here long term,
getting a degree in Japan helps.
Did not know about Fukuoka. If the program is totally in English, sounds good. |
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GambateBingBangBOOM
Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 2021
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 10:03 am Post subject: Re: The Masters Degree and Education |
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| Ichikawa wrote: |
Hello All,
Recently a very specific idea crossed my mind that I couldn't find much on utilizing the search function.
For an International School or University would it be bad for me to have my Masters Degree (In English Language Education or TESOL) from a Japanese University? Would I be better of getting a Masters back state side?
It seems, logically, that an English speaking University may yield a better result. Is this true or is there really no true difference?
Thanks all,
Ichi |
Real international schools usually require a B.Ed (or PGCE) and a few years teaching in your home country / province / state.
A masters degree in language teaching is a requirement of a job at a university- but so are publications and usually Japanese language ability.
The best is if you can afford to go back to the states to get an on-campus masters in language teaching (if you want a masters degree in language teaching). After that then it's either an off-campus degree in language teaching from an Inner Circle English speaking country (The UK, Australia, the US etc) or going to an American university that has a campus in Japan (like Temple).
Many, many people do an off-campus degree in language teaching from the US, Australia or the UK while working in Japan. If you want to work in the US, then a degree from there would probably be the best choice (so that means either going back and doing it, going to a campus of an American university in Japan, or going with an off-campus degree from an American university- I know one guy who went through Anaheim and enjoyed it).
For teaching jobs outside of Japan, a degree from a Japanese university (a degree from Temple in Japan is not a degree from a Japanese university. It's a degree from an American university based in Japan) would in all likelihood lose out to a degree from an Inner-circle English speaking country. Honestly, it probably would inside of Japan as well- unless you are Japanese, of course. |
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Ichikawa
Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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I also noticed Sophia has a M.A. in TESOL.
IIRC Sophia is a pretty high-ranking school. At my Undergrad college one of our Japanese professors was a Sophia grad for all three of is degrees. Does that mean anything or would even a second-rate US uni still be better?
(I'm just kind of unsure on how factors truly impact the inner circle prestige.) |
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Solar Strength
Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 557
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
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| Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 8:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Ichikawa wrote: |
I also noticed Sophia has a M.A. in TESOL.
IIRC Sophia is a pretty high-ranking school. At my Undergrad college one of our Japanese professors was a Sophia grad for all three of is degrees. Does that mean anything or would even a second-rate US uni still be better?
(I'm just kind of unsure on how factors truly impact the inner circle prestige.) |
When I was living in Tokyo in the mid 2000s, it seemed everyone and their dog had a master's degree from Temple University and were either teaching a string of part-time classes at various universities around Tokyo or were contract instructors.
I don't know about now, but I thought that the Temple master's was about US $20,000 and a 1.5 - 2 year program part-time.
Didn't Columbia University also have a master's program in Tokyo?
Sophia University? Seriously, Japanese universities are unknown outside of Japan. I would never do a master's degree at a Japanese university for the sole purpose of becoming an English teacher. Besides, you're hired based on your "foreign-ness" and that includes the U.S. university you graduated from and the resulting degree.
I see these questions posted sometimes on the Thailand forum, "Should I get my master's in TESOL at (insert name of Thai university here) university?" |
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Ichikawa
Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 5:36 am Post subject: |
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Yeah, it about 25k but you have to be capable of getting to Osaka or Tokyo.
From Fukuoka doing that on a regular basis could be a tad bit expensive T.T |
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rtm
Joined: 13 Apr 2007
Posts: 1003
Location: US
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| Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:18 am Post subject: |
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| Ichikawa wrote: |
Yeah, it about 25k but you have to be capable of getting to Osaka or Tokyo.
From Fukuoka doing that on a regular basis could be a tad bit expensive T.T |
Then how were you going to take the Sophia U. one? It's not a distance degree, is it? If it is, and you are set on a distance degree, you really should do one from the US or UK. I've heard of a lot of people in Japan doing the distance degree in TESOL/AppLing from Birmingham.
As others have said, I'd recommend not doing a masters at a Japanese university. It might be of some value in Japan (but probably not more than a degree from the US/UK), and will have very little value outside of Japan. From what I understand, most Japanese people feel that grad school is what people do when they couldn't or didn't want to get a job after undergrad. The concept of people going back to school isn't common. |
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Ichikawa
Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 7:11 am Post subject: |
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| rtm wrote: |
| Ichikawa wrote: |
Yeah, it about 25k but you have to be capable of getting to Osaka or Tokyo.
From Fukuoka doing that on a regular basis could be a tad bit expensive T.T |
Then how were you going to take the Sophia U. one? It's not a distance degree, is it? If it is, and you are set on a distance degree, you really should do one from the US or UK. I've heard of a lot of people in Japan doing the distance degree in TESOL/AppLing from Birmingham.
As others have said, I'd recommend not doing a masters at a Japanese university. It might be of some value in Japan (but probably not more than a degree from the US/UK), and will have very little value outside of Japan. From what I understand, most Japanese people feel that grad school is what people do when they couldn't or didn't want to get a job after undergrad. The concept of people going back to school isn't common. |
Sophia U was just an example. No interest, just couldn't think of anything else.
I don't plan on leaving Japan unless I literally have too.
Temple, if I can find a cheaper/reliable/faster way than night bus to Osaka sounds good.
The distance learning for Birmingham sound very good too, though I prefer to be in-person for school. |
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Ichikawa
Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2013 2:46 am Post subject: |
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| EDIT: Disregard. Made a fail and posted in the wrong tab. |
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Jagariko
Joined: 14 Oct 2013
Posts: 40
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| Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2013 3:55 am Post subject: |
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| Ichikawa wrote: |
I don't plan on leaving Japan unless I literally have too.
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I know of a few fluent non-native English speakers who came to Japan to study Japanese and then stayed on at their instutuition and took a masters in Applied Linguistics or in Japanese and have been offered full-time work at those places or others. Their English and Japanese fluency and insider connections are what got them the jobs.
If you are planning on being a lifer, Sophia has a good reputation in Japan. It might be more impressive to a Japanese recruiter than Birmingham etc. |
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