CEPEX

Graduate School Scholarship Opportunity for JET Program Alumni

Graduate School:       Showa Women’s University; located in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo.

Eligibility:                   JET Program alumni (as of October 2015); men and women may apply

Japanese Ability:        Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N1, or equivalent language  ability. If applicant has not passed JLPT N1, a separate entrance qualification examination is required; application due May 7-15, 2015.

JET Scholarship:       Qualified applicants can receive financial support for graduate school in exchange for work as an office and Teaching Assistant up to 28 hours per week. Scholarship covers enrollment fee, facilities and equipment fee, tuition, housing and training materials costs.

Awards Available:     (2) scholarships for JET Alumni are available for 2015.

Award Duration:       2 years for Master’s Programs; 3 years for PhD (Doctoral Programs)

How to Apply:            Applicants must submit all documents June 1-16, 2015 to the Showa Women’s University Admission Center. Applicants will be required to take the Graduate School of International Students Entrance Exam and have an in-person or Skype interview (duration of 15-20 minutes).

Required Documents:          

             Completed JET Scholarship Application form <Word>  or <PDF>

            Certificate of Eligibility application <PDF>

            Copy of Passport Photo Page <PDF>

            Curriculum Vitae Page 1 <PDF>

            Curriculum Vitae Page 2 <PDF>

            Graduation thesis summary <Word> or <PDF>

            Research Plan <Word> or <PDF>

            Graduate Studies Major <PDF>

            Financial Statement <PDF>

            University Transcripts

            Proof of Graduation

            Certificate of JET Program participation from contracting organization in Japan

            Recommendation Letter from office where applicant worked on JET          

            Copy of JLPT N1 certificate (or take separate qualification exam) 

Selection Criteria:      Evaluation of documents, essay and interview, which includes a presentation and question-answer session about candidate’s research plan. Interview may be conducted in person or via Skype. You will need to ensure good voice and video quality for Skype interviews.

Entrance Exam:         Applicants must take the Showa Women’s University Graduate School of International Students Entrance Exam on Friday, July 3, 2015. (Attention Date Correction)

Exam Schedule:         For Literature/Linguistics Majors: Arrive by 9:30 am; Essay 10:00-11:00 am; Oral Examination from 1:00 pm.

                                      For Life Sciences Majors: Arrive by 10:30 am; no essay; Oral Examination from 11:00 am.

                                     JET Special Scholarship applications will conduct an additional separate interview following the Oral Examination.

Exam Location:          Showa Women’s University, Taishido 1-7-57, Setagaya-ku

Announcement:         July 11, 2015 at 10 am at the announcement site, and acceptance letters will be mailed to successful candidates.

Enrollment:                Late enrollment to begin October 2015.

Questions/Contact:   Showa Women’s University Student Services Center Student Office; Tel: 03-3411-5118; Email: shougakukin@swu.ac.jp

For more information, please see:        

http://exam.swu.ac.jp/files/86cb1fd09628f203df95dc70c8256461.pdf 

http://exam.swu.ac.jp/graduate_school/gexam/g_istudent/#jet

Graduate School Scholarship Opportunity for JET Program Alumni

Graduate School:     Showa Women’s University; located in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo.

Eligibility:                  JET Program alumni (as of March 2015); men/women may apply.

Japanese Ability:     Must have passed Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N1.

Scholarship:              Qualified applicants can receive financial support for graduate school in exchange for work as an office and Teaching Assistant up to 28 hours per week. Scholarship covers enrollment fee, facilities and equipment fee, tuition, housing and training materials costs.

Awards Available:    (2) scholarships for JET Alumni are available for 2015.

Award Duration:      2 years for Master’s Programs; 3 years for PhD (Doctoral Programs)

How to Apply:           Applicants must submit all documents January 6-January 27, 2015; and take Graduate School of International Students Entrance Exam.

Required Documents:              

Completed JET Scholarship Application form <Word>  or <PDF>

Certificate of Eligibility application <PDF>

Copy of Passport Photo Page <PDF>

Curriculum Vitae Page 1 <PDF>

Curriculum Vitae Page 2 <PDF>

Graduation thesis summary <Word> or <PDF>

Research Plan <Word> or <PDF>

Graduate Studies Major <PDF>

Financial Statement <PDF>

University transcripts

Proof of graduation

Certificate of JET participation from local contracting organization

Letter of Recommendation from office participant worked at during JET Program

Copy of JLPT N1 certificate

Selection Criteria:      Evaluation of documents, essay and oral examination, which includes an oral presentation and question-answer session about research plan.

Entrance Exam:         Applicants must take the Showa Women’s University Graduate School of International Students Entrance Exam on February 14, 2015.

Selection:                    Announcement of test results and selection February 21, 2015.

Enrollment:                February 27-March 5, 2015.

Semester Starts:       April 2, 2015.

Questions/Contact:   Showa Women’s University Student Services Center Student Office;   Tel: 03-3411-5118; Email: shougakukin@swu.ac.jp

For more information please see:        

http://exam.swu.ac.jp/files/86cb1fd09628f203df95dc70c8256461.pdf

http://exam.swu.ac.jp/graduate_school/gexam/g_istudent/#jet

The JET Program

The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program began with 800 participants in 1987 with the lofty aim to increase grassroots internationalization. Young college graduates were selected to live and work in Japan as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) or Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The JET Program peaked in size in 2003 with 6,226 participants from 41 countries, and has decreased to around 4,400 participants.[1] A number of cities have stopped accepting JET Program ALTs and directly hire their own ALTs or use ALT dispatch companies such as Interac, BorderLink, and Altia Central.^[2] In 2014 there were 4,101 ALTs, 364 CIRs and 11 SEAs from the JET Program working in Japan. While there are representatives from 42 countries, over 54% are Americans. Combined with participants from United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, these five countries comprise over 87% of the JET Program.^[3] In addition to the JET Program, around 8,000 ALTs hired directly or through dispatch companies are working in Japanese schools.[4]

JET as a Public Diplomacy Tool

In the past 27 years over 60,000 people have lived and worked in Japan through the JET Program. While improvements in English ability in Japan have been mixed, the program has significant soft power attributes and helped cultivate a new generation of Japan hands. A 2011 study by Indiana University Associate Professor Emily Metzgar (Shimane 1993-1995) focused on how the JET Program is a “effective public diplomacy program yielding benefits to Japan well after alumni have moved on to new chapters in their lives.”  Former participants in the JET Program can be found in varying stages of their careers in academia, public service, nonprofits, and the corporate sector. Out of the estimated 20,000 American alumni of the JET Program, Metzgar’s study received 518 responses, 86% of whom were ALTs. Survey results clearly showed the impact of participation on the JET Program for the respondents. 85% strongly agreed that the JET Program gave them a deeper understanding of Japan, 77% strongly agreed that the experience on the JET Program had been valuable, 84% had a positive impression of Japan, 96% said their experience in Japan influenced the views of their family and friends of Japan, and 97% encouraged friends and family to visit Japan.[5]

The Future of the JET Program

In September 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced plans to increase the ranks of ALTs in Japan by 2,300 over five years. The government is targeting JET Program and privately hired ALTs to reach 20,000 by 2019.^[6] In 2014 over 12,000 ALTs are working in Japanese schools, including 4,101 from the JET Program and 8,000 hired directly by individual Board of Education offices or through dispatch companies. According to Harry Hill, CULCON (Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange) Chairman and JET Program CIR in Gifu 1987-1988, “JET is part of the solution to the diversity problem facing Japan.” “JET has been tremendously successful in developing Japan hands over the last 27 years, but Japan needs our expertise even more today.”[7]

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, the JET Program alumni collectively and individually responded to support Japan. JETAA USA, the national alumni organization for the JET Program in the U.S., raised over $88,000 for the relief fund which supported  Hope for Tomorrow, E-Pa+ch, Taylor Anderson Memorial Fund, Live Your Dream: The Taylor Anderson Story, volunteerAKITA, and Rikuzentakata City. Other JET alumni volunteered in Tohoku with the cleanup efforts, or created new projects to continue assisting with rebuilding.[8] JET alum Wesley Julian (Miyagi 2008-2010) created a documentary film, Tohoku Tomo, which highlighted the “story of true friendship and commitment to Japan’s recovery by the international community following the Great East Japan Earthquake.”[9] Former JET Program USA Coordinator Ayako Smethurst and Shanti Shoji (Kagawa 2002-2004) created the nonprofit Kizuna Across Cultures (KAC) in June 2011, to inspire youth in Japan and the United States to become active global citizens by fostering international friendship through exchange of culture and collaborative learning of foreign language.[10] 

Keizai Doyukai Raising Awareness of JET

With the numbers of foreigners working in Japanese schools set to increase in the short to medium-term, Keizai Doyukai (Doyukai), the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, has begun to investigate ways to harness this growing talent pool. While some former JET Program ALTs continue to live and work in Japan after completing their contracts, the majority return to their home countries to pursue graduate degrees or other employment opportunities. Only a small number of companies in Japan have former JET Program participants working for them such as Latham and Watkins LLP, Sojitz Corporation, and Mitsubishi Corporation. A 2013 survey of Doyukai members revealed only 16 percent of the 207 responding Japanese companies knew about the JET Program and only ten companies had hired a former JET Program participant. Doyukai is working with the business community and other organizations to highlight the JET Program and alumni as a talented pool of foreigners with both an understanding of Japan and Japanese language ability. In May 2014 Doyukai organized a special roundtable in Tokyo with business leaders, JET Program participants and alumni and special guests including First Lady of Japan Akie Abe and Minister Hakubun Shimomura. In November 2014 Doyukai held another special event in Nagasaki with members of Nagasaki University, Doyukai members, and current and former JET Program participants in Nagasaki.

(Tokyo Event with First Lady Akie Abe)

  (Nagasaki Event)

Additionally, scholarship opportunities for JET Program alumni are being encouraged and promoted by Keizai Doyukai members. In 2015 Showa Women’s University, located in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, offered two (2) graduate school scholarships for JET Program alumni who have passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) Level N1. Qualified applicants were eligible to receive financial support for graduate school in exchange for work as an office and Teaching Assistant up to 28 hours per week. The JET Scholarship would cover enrollment fee, facilities and equipment fee, tuition, housing and training materials costs.

CEPEX Support for JET

A key mission of CEPEX is to support the cultural and interpersonal exchange and study between the U.S. and Japan at the professional level. Throughout the years CEPEX has endeavored to assist Americans who return from Japan in maintaining and strengthening their ties to Japan. CEPEX has coordinated a number of events to connect members of the JET Program alumni association in Washington, DC with visiting Japanese professionals from Keizai Doyukai as well as a special dinner with then-former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2010. In 2006, CEPEX cooperated with Teikyo University Graduate School to provide an innovative teaching fellowship program available only for JET Program alumni. The fellowship provided full tuition and housing benefits, as well as an opportunity to conduct language teaching assistance or lecturer duties in Japan. Walter Tsushima (Ishikawa 2002-2005) became the first CEPEX fellow and graduated with a Master’s degree in Japanese Studies from Teikyo University in 2008. Mr. Tsushima is currently working as an Assistant Professor at Fukui University.

 (Walter Tsushima graduation 2008)

Management Trainee

Tokyo, Japan

Sojitz Corporation is a highly diversified Japanese business conglomerate operating in a wide variety of industries, with a group network which encompasses over 400 subsidiaries and affiliates in more than 50 countries across the globe.

We are now looking for highly motivated and talented students or graduates who wish to develop a career in international business. As a Tokyo Headquarters employee, successful applicants will initially work in Tokyo, with possible overseas assignments to affiliated companies or overseas branches. Management Trainees work with our global-minded business professionals and are offered unrivalled career and personal development opportunities including Japanese language training.

Position         : Management Trainee (Permanent)

Major             : Any

Language      : Business-Level English (Japanese fluency not required as training is provided)

Start Date     : October 2014 / April 2015 / October 2015

(Depending on your graduation date)

We will be attending and holding interviews at the Boston Career Forum on November 7th (Fri.) – 9th (Sun.), 2014 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, as well as visiting Universities in the Washington DC, New York and Boston area (schedule to be announced).

For further information please send your resume to: Sojitz HR

Note: The Boston Career Forum is the largest Japanese-English bilingual job fair held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center at 415 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210.  (http://www.careerforum.net/event/bos/?lang=E)