Kosen, Transfers and Graduate School on a Japanese Résumé: Advanced Courses, Master's and 6-Year Programs

First, confirm the years of study

To work out entry and graduation years, you need to know each school's standard length of enrollment. Here are the years for kosen, graduate school and 6-year university programs.

The most important point is that graduate school is 修了, not 卒業. A kosen advanced course also uses 修了, unlike the main course.

How to write kosen, and your graduation year

Kosen is a 5-year school you enter after junior high. It's a different type of school from high school, so you write no high school line and put your kosen entry right after junior high graduation. Write the official name, such as ○○工業高等専門学校, and include your department. Here's a sample for someone born between April 2, 2000 and April 1, 2001.

• For a national kosen, you don't need to write the parent body's name (独立行政法人国立高等専門学校機構). ○○工業高等専門学校 is enough
• If reorganization changed your department's name, write the name it had while you were enrolled
• Maritime departments take 5 years and 6 months, so you graduate in September, 5 years after entering
• Graduating from the kosen main course gives you the title of jungakushi (associate degree). If asked your highest education, say kosen graduate

Transferring to university or going on to the advanced course

After graduating from kosen, many people transfer into the third year of a university or go on to the kosen's 2-year advanced course. Both start in April of the year you finish the main course and end in March 2 years later.

Writing 3年次編入学 (third-year transfer) instead of 入学 (entered) shows at a glance that you transferred from kosen. After completing the advanced course, you can obtain a bachelor's degree through review by the National Institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education. If you have it, adding （学士（工学）取得） (bachelor of engineering obtained) to your completion line, or writing it in the qualifications section, makes clear that you're equivalent to a university graduate.

How to write graduate school (master's and doctoral)

For graduate school, write the graduate school, major and program, as in ○○大学大学院 ○○研究科 ○○専攻 修士課程. Some universities say 博士前期課程 or 博士課程（前期） (first half of a doctoral program) instead of 修士課程 (master's program), so match your student ID or completion certificate.

• Even at the same university as your undergraduate degree, write ○○大学大学院 in full on the graduate school line (don't use 同上, "ditto")
• Completing a master's program gives you a degree such as 修士（工学） (master of engineering). You may add it to the completion line
• If you left the second half of a doctoral program before submitting a dissertation, write 単位取得満期退学 (withdrew after completing credit requirements)
• If you attended graduate school while working, list it in the education section as it was, even if the dates overlap with your work history

Graduation years for 6-year medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary programs

Medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and the pharmacist track of pharmacy (6 years since fiscal 2006 entrants) take 6 years. With no gap or repeated years, you enter in April of the year you finish high school and graduate in March 6 years later. That's March of your birth year + 25, the same year someone completes a master's program after a 4-year university.

Pharmacy faculties also have 4-year departments, such as pharmaceutical sciences, so confirm how many years your department takes before calculating. A medical resident's clinical training goes in work history, not education.

Calculating kosen and graduate school dates together

In the Japanese Résumé Education Dates Calculator, choosing kosen as your path after junior high builds the lines for the 5-year main course graduation, and for the 2-year advanced course or a third-year university transfer. For graduate school, you can choose master's, master's plus second half of a doctoral program, or a 4-year doctoral program. It also handles repeated years and leaves, years between undergraduate graduation and graduate school entry, and September completion. Completion after the document date is shown as 修了見込.

For graduation years if you went from high school to university, see the education dates table, and for how to write expected completion and withdrawal, see expected graduation and withdrawal on a résumé.

FAQ

What year do you graduate from kosen?

You enter in April of the year you finish junior high and graduate in March 5 years later. That's March of your birth year + 21, the same year as a junior college graduate (if you were born January 1 to April 1, subtract 1 from your birth year first). Maritime departments take 5 years and 6 months, so you graduate in September 5 years later.

How do I write a transfer from kosen to university on my résumé?

After your kosen graduation line, write ○○大学 ○○学部 ○○学科 3年次編入学, dated April of the same year. The standard is 2 years after transferring, so you graduate in March 2 years later.

Can I write 卒業 for graduate school?

Write 修了 for graduate school. While job hunting before completion, write 修了見込. A kosen advanced course also uses 修了.

Should I write 博士前期課程 or 修士課程?

Use the official program name of the graduate school you attended. Universities variously say 修士課程, 博士前期課程 or 博士課程（前期）, so match your student ID or completion certificate.

Does pharmacy take 6 years?

The pharmacist track is 6 years, for those entering from fiscal 2006 on. With no gap or repeated years, you graduate in March of your birth year + 25. Some departments, such as pharmaceutical sciences, take 4 years, so check for yours.