In Japan, 696 degrees of confusion: Diplomas embrace ‘uniqueness’
TOKYO— Japanese universities are trying to lure students by offering “unique” bachelor’s degrees. The only problem? No one knows what’s being studied. “One of our students lamented that ‘I couldn’t immediately answer’ when asked during a job interview for details about what they study,” said a professor at one private university.
“We can’t sufficiently explain to universities overseas (in which its students want to enrol) about the nature of their studies,” added a university official.
The variety of bachelor’s degrees in Japan has dramatically widened to about 700 in the last two decades, according to a nationwide survey conducted by Yomiuri Shimbun.
An Education Ministry ordinance regulated the names of degrees — such as bachelor of law and bachelor of economics — after World War II, limiting their number to between 25 and 29. Since the regulation was relaxed in 1991, however, the number has increased year by year as universities were allowed to freely name their degrees.
At the 648 universities that responded to the Yomiuri Shimbun survey, there were 696 degrees on offer. Of those, about 60 per cent (426 degrees) existed only at their respective schools.
Many of the new names use such words as “information,” “culture,” “welfare” and “international,” reflecting trends at the time of their creation. These include Keio University’s Faculty of Environment and Information Studies and Meiji University’s School of Global Japanese Studies.
Even among universities with a long history, some have created new bachelor’s degrees this year. Doshisha University, for example, created a bachelor’s degree for “global and regional studies.”
However, some of the new names make it hard to guess what students in the undergraduate courses study. They include Rikkyo University’s Body Expres- sion and Cinematic Arts, Kinki University’s Department of Career Management, and Fukuoka University of Education’s Intercultural Studies Course.
Education experts have voiced concern that such unique names may work against the universities’ globalization.
“Officials at foreign universities in which Japanese students want to enrol may be concerned about what the students have majored in, if it’s hard to tell from the names of their bachelor’s degrees,” said Yoshitaka Hamanaka, senior researcher of the National Institute for Educational Policy Research. “It goes against the trend of globalization.”
Prof. Manabu Sato of Gakushuin University said: “Universities have competed so hard to demonstrate uniqueness, the names may have become too diversified. We should consider making rules in this area.”