How to Write the Education Section of a Japanese Résumé: Where to Start, School Names and the Closing Line
The education section of a Japanese résumé (rirekisho) has fixed content, so small mistakes in how you write it stand out. With samples, this article covers the common questions: where to start, how formally to write school names, how to write faculties, departments and courses, how to separate education from work history, and where the closing word goes. It also covers less common cases such as transfers, correspondence courses and schools overseas.
A sample education section and the basic order
Many forms combine education and work history into one section. You write 学歴 (education) in the center of the first line, then list entries and graduations one per line, oldest first. Since the résumé itself is written in Japanese, the sample below keeps the Japanese wording with a gloss. This is a typical sample for someone who graduated from a 4-year university.
| Year | Month | Education and work history |
|---|---|---|
| 学歴 (education; written in the center) | ||
| Heisei 28 | 3 | ○○市立○○中学校 卒業 (municipal junior high school, graduated) |
| Heisei 28 | 4 | ○○県立○○高等学校 普通科 入学 (prefectural high school, general course, entered) |
| Heisei 31 | 3 | ○○県立○○高等学校 普通科 卒業 (same, graduated) |
| Heisei 31 | 4 | ○○大学 経済学部 経済学科 入学 (university, faculty and department of economics, entered) |
| Reiwa 5 | 3 | ○○大学 経済学部 経済学科 卒業 (same, graduated) |
| (leave 1 line blank) | ||
| 職歴 (work history; written in the center) | ||
| Reiwa 5 | 4 | 株式会社○○ 入社 (joined company) |
| 以上 (end of list; right-aligned) |
The example above shows the dates for someone born from April 2, 2000 to April 1, 2001. Write only the year in the year column and only the month in the month column. The characters for "year" and "month" are printed on the form, so don't write them again. Leaving about one full-width character between the school name and 入学 (entered) or 卒業 (graduated) makes it easier to read.
Where to start: usually from junior high graduation
There's no rule, but starting from junior high school graduation is the most common. Listing elementary and junior high entry, which are compulsory education, uses too many lines. Starting from high school entry still shows the path to your final education, but without a junior high graduation line it looks a little abrupt.
| Starting point | When it suits |
|---|---|
| Junior high school graduation | The default if unsure. Standard for both new graduates and career changers |
| High school entry | When you have a long work history and want to save lines in the section |
| Elementary school entry | Only when required, such as on some civil service forms |
| Final education only | When the employer instructs it. Avoid it otherwise |
For junior high, write only graduation, not entry. From high school on, write both entry and graduation. If your final education is graduate school, don't omit undergraduate entry and graduation either.
Write school names in full, without abbreviating
A résumé is treated as a formal document, so write school names using the official name at the time you attended. These points are easy to get wrong by writing what people say day to day.
- Use official names: 高等学校 rather than the everyday 高校 (high school), and 工業高等専門学校 rather than 高専 (technical college)
- For public schools, include ○○県立 (prefectural) or ○○市立 (municipal). For schools attached to national universities, write out ○○大学教育学部附属
- For private schools, the school name alone is fine, with no 私立 (private). You don't need to write the school corporation name (学校法人○○学園)
- For universities, write faculty and department, plus major or course if any (e.g. ○○大学 文学部 人文学科 心理学専攻)
- For high schools, write the course, such as 普通科 (general), 商業科 (commercial) or 理数科 (science and math). Add full-time, part-time or correspondence as needed
Don't use 同上 or 〃 ("ditto")
When the same school name appears for entry and graduation, it's tempting to shorten it with 同上 or 〃, but on a résumé it's considered good manners to write the school name on every line. Abbreviating tends to look careless, and it can stop making sense when a web application turns each line into data.
If you're short of lines, adjust by starting from high school entry or removing the blank line between education and work history. If it still doesn't fit, the sure fix is to switch to a résumé form with a larger work history section.
Transfers, correspondence courses, overseas schools and more
| Case | Example |
|---|---|
| You changed high schools | After ○○県立○○高等学校 普通科 入学, write ○○県立△△高等学校 普通科 転入学 (transferred in), and write graduation under the new school |
| You moved to a correspondence high school | ○○高等学校 通信制課程 普通科 転入学, or 編入学 if you withdrew from the previous school before entering |
| You passed the high school equivalency exam | 高等学校卒業程度認定試験 合格 (passed). Some forms put it under qualifications rather than education |
| You graduated from a university overseas | University of ○○ (United States), Faculty of ○○, 卒業. Add the country, and write the actual month, such as September entry |
| You studied abroad on exchange | Exchange study at ○○ University (Canada) (until month ○, year ○). Add 1 line between the entries for your home school |
How to write gap years, repeated years and leave, and expected graduation and withdrawal, is explained in detail in gap years, repeated years and leave on a résumé and expected graduation and withdrawal on a résumé.
Detailed rules for both handwritten and computer résumés
Even with correct school names and dates, inconsistent notation makes a résumé hard to read. Whether handwritten or on a computer, keeping these points consistent makes a careful impression.
- Use either full-width or half-width numerals throughout. If handwriting, use Arabic numerals rather than kanji numerals
- Don't abbreviate era years as H31 or R5. Write 平成31 or 令和5
- Write 入学 and 卒業 after the school name, with spacing so the line ends align
- Leave 1 line between education and work history, and write 以上, right-aligned, on the line after your last job
- If you have no work history, write nashi (none, written in Japanese) on the line after 職歴, then 以上 on the line after that
- Don't list anything that isn't a school under the School Education Act, such as cram schools, prep schools, driving schools or language schools
When creating it on a computer, enter dates to match the year and month columns of an Excel or Word résumé template. The tab-separated table copied from the Japanese Résumé Education Dates Calculator pastes directly into the 3 columns of year, month and education.
Checks to avoid getting dates wrong
The most common mistake in the education section is a wrong year rather than a wrong school name. People with early-year birthdays (January 1 to April 1), people who entered or graduated in 2019, and people who go back and forth between Western and era years need particular care.
- 1
Make the year format consistent
Use either Western or era years throughout education, work history, qualifications and the date field.
- 2
Check the gap between entry and graduation
Check that the difference between entry and graduation matches the program length, such as 3 years for high school and 4 for university. If you have gap or repeated years, check they're reflected correctly too.
- 3
Check your answer with the tool
Enter your date of birth and path in the Japanese Résumé Education Dates Calculator to get dates in the same order as the education section. Compare them with what you wrote to see at once whether anything is off by a year.
For a quick check of graduation years by birth year, the graduation year table by birth year is also handy.
FAQ
- Should the education section start from junior high school?
- There's no rule, but starting from junior high school graduation is the norm. For junior high, write only the graduation line. From high school on, write both entry and graduation. If you have a long work history and lack lines, you can start from high school entry.
- Can't I write the short form 高校?
- On a résumé, write the official name, 高等学校. For public schools, also add ○○県立 or ○○市立, and it's careful to include the course, such as 普通科 or 商業科.
- Can I use 同上 for the same school name at entry and graduation?
- It's standard to avoid 同上 and 〃 on a résumé and write the school name on every line. If you lack lines, adjust by starting from high school entry, for example.
- Where does the closing 以上 go?
- Write 以上, right-aligned, on the line after your last work history line. If you have no work history, write 職歴 after your education, nashi (none, written in Japanese) on the next line, and 以上 at the right end of the line after that.
- Can I omit my faculty and department?
- Don't omit them. For universities, write faculty and department, plus major or course if any. Employers may judge your specialization from them.
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