Program Outline
What is the Early Completion Program?
The “Early Completion Program” is aimed at working people who have certain research achievements and abilities. The three-year doctoral program, which normally takes three years to complete, can be completed in as little as one year in this program. The University of Tsukuba supports highly-driven working people. In this program, students complete a doctoral dissertation based on their previous research achievements. Students will receive guidance from their academic advisor for the preparation of the dissertation.
In addition, the University of Tsukuba has adopted an “Achievement Assessment” system. Under this system, students are periodically evaluated on the items they need to achieve by the end of the three-year doctoral program. This is to ensure that students are able to confirm their own level of achievement. Along with this, the program is evaluated in the program review conducted by the Office of Management for Teaching and Learning to ensure the quality of the degree awarded.
To Register for the Early Completion Program
The “Early Completion Program” is aimed at working people who have certain research achievements and abilities. After passing the entrance examination, students are required to submit the documents set by the degree program or doctoral program to be reviewed for applicability to the Early Completion Program.
The documents required for review for applicability to the Early Completion Program are:
- Outline of applicant (CV, specialized area at the school last attended, relationship between current job and desired research area, etc.)
- List of achievements (related to Early Completion Program Selection Requirements)
- Self-evaluation of achievement
- Plan of doctoral dissertation
among others
Based on these documents, we will judge whether or not the applicant has “certain research achievements”. An interview may be given if necessary. Details of the selection method and required documents will be sent with the notification of passing the entrance examination.
If students fail the selection, they will be admitted to the regular three-year doctoral program and will need three years of study to complete the program. However, even in the case of regular enrollment, if the student is recognized as having made outstanding research achievements while enrolled in the program, the Early Completion System can be applied. In this case, it is possible to complete the program in less than three years (from one year and a few months to two years and a few months).
In the event that a student enrolled in the Early Completion Program is unable to complete the program in one year due to work commitments or other reasons, the student will be required to continue enrolling in the program to complete it. In this case, it is still possible to complete the program in less than three years. It is also possible to take a leave of absence for reasons such as current employment.
Eligible Applicants
This program is aimed at working people who have certain research achievements and abilities. Specifically, those who meet the “Early Completion Program Selection Requirements” set by each doctoral program are eligible to take the Early Completion Program admission review, which is held after passing the Graduate Entrance Examination.
Please refer to this page for the Early Completion Program Selection Requirements set by each doctoral program.
What is Achievement Assessment?
The University of Tsukuba regularly assesses student achievement based on the achievement assessment method set by each doctoral program. The purpose of this is to ensure that students acquire Generic Competences and Degree Program’s Competences from the time they enter the university to the time they complete their program. In this way, we provide meticulous academic support.
In the Early Completion Program, students are judged to already have certain research achievements and abilities at the admission period, and the degree of achievement in each competence set by each doctoral program is confirmed. As a result, students can complete the program in a shorter period of time (minimum one year) than regular students.
In the case of one doctoral program, the student is assessed at various review stages, including admission, midterm review (within four months of admission), and preliminary review (within eight months of admission), to determine whether the student is at a level appropriate for the doctoral degree. This review will be conducted at least three times. This evaluation will be based on the student’s self-assessment and evaluation by faculty members for each competence set by the doctoral program.
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Brochure
View the brochure (PDF) for this program.
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