How to join our lab
Thank you very much for your interest in Amezawa Laboratory and Department of Mechanical System and
Design, School of Engineering, Tohoku University. Our laboratory has just launch since April 2012.
As you may know, the education system in Japan is different from that in US or the other countries.
High school education ends at the end of March at the age of 18. The term starts from April (In recent years, regulation somewhat changed and some students start from winter semester, October).
Anyway, students of more than 50% of the generation try entrance examination of the faculty or
department of the University they want to go. Nearly 50% of the students desired to go to university
start the university life at the age of 18 and others are delayed to start for one year or several
years. In general, the university prepare 4 years course with 8 semesters. In most cases, at the end
of the 4th semester, a student selects a laboratory or seminar of a professor he or she wants to
nominate as a supervisor for his or her Bachelors thesis. If you would like to enter Bachelor course, please refer the web site of admission School of Engineering, Tohoku University
Graduate school consists of master course, basically 2 years, and doctor course, 3 years following the master course, in standard.
Those who want to go to graduate school try entrance exam for master course of graduate school. The exam is generally at the end of August or at the beginning of September. During the entrance exam, they submit the list of laboratories they want to go. They can nominate 3-5 laboratories with the order their desire. If you would like to enter Master course, please refer the web site of admission of Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University
By the end of September, they know whether they pass the exam or not and also the laboratory assigned for them. Students tend to rush to a few popular professors and these few laboratories are occupied only by the top group students in the entrance exam.
Anyway, when students want to go to doctor course, they must try doctor course exam in the second year of master course or after finishing master course. The entrance exam for doctor course is held also in August-September and also in February-March.
The entrance exams for mater course as well as for doctor course are open to the world. As to the doctor course, when they pass the exam, they are generally assigned to go to the laboratory they want, because, as you know, doctor course work is much more specialized than master course.
Important Points for doctor course:
(1) We can accept any doctor course students so far they pass the entrance examination.
(2) There is no particular funding system that the supervisor himself can take care for financial
support of his students. From FY2008, G-COE program is running. There is a chance to get a funding for Ph.D. students(candidates). Please check here. If you want to apply the G-COE fund, please let us know before your submission.
(3) There are several scholarships; the largest one would be "Monbukagakusho scholarships" and
JSPS.
(4) Most of the doctor course students works as research assistant (RA) at the laboratory of the
supervisor. However, the total of the RA payment would not exceed about JPY800,000 due to several
restrictions.
(5) In many cases, foreign students get exemption of tuition.
Please refer the pages of School of Engineering, Tohoku University to get further infromation.
When anything uncertain, please consult with the contact address in the home page of Graduate school of engineering (for Bachelor, for Master and Doctor) or to us.
If you are interested in joining us as an intenational exchange student, please let us know. You can also apply the G-COE fund for international exchange.