Helping
Japanese Students Cope with American Universities
 Today, approximately 10,000 Japanese students study in master’s and doctoral
programs in United States each year. The Japanese students arrive full of motivation
to excel but many experience difficulties. They are conducting advanced study
in a foreign language, living in a new environment and they lack familiarity
of what is expected of them. American Studies Associate Professor Mari
Yoshihara’s new Japanese book Amerika No Daigakuin
De Seiko Suru Hoho (How to Succeed in Graduate School in America), provides
practical, hands-on advice for Japanese students on how to survive—and
succeed—in graduate school in the U.S.
Yoshihara, who earned a BA from the University of Tokyo and her MA and PhD from
Brown University, gives Japanese students coming into graduate school information
about the overall course of study, the principles behind the structure of the
program and the differences between Japanese and American academic systems. With
this knowledge students can then focus their time and effort on mastering the
subject matter rather than learning basic American academic and social skills.
In addition, the book also gives an overview of the American university system
and the academic profession. Amerika No Daigakuin De Seiko Suru Hoho should
be of interest not only to prospective and current graduate students but also
to general Japanese readers interested in American society, culture and higher
education.
Amerika No Daigakuin De Seiko Suru Hoho contains nine
chapters, organized along the chronology of graduate study. Topics
include how to decide whether or not to go to graduate school
in the U.S., how to choose the right school, how to put together
an effective application package and how to make financial arrangements
for graduate study. The book goes on to discuss the type of work
a graduate student should expect and things students should do
beyond pursuing their own research. Yoshihara concludes with
chapters that discuss life after graduate school, whether or
not a student should stay in the U.S. or go back to Japan and
how to search for the right job.
Amerika No Daigakuin De Seiko Suru Hoho is written in
Japanese and available at Amazon’s
Japanese Web site.
UH
In Print
UH faculty and staff who had articles or other works published.
• UHH Assistant Professor Todd
Belt’s article on “Disability Identity and
Attitudes Toward Cure in a Sample of Disabled Activists” was accepted
for publication in The Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
• Hilo Assistant Professor Michael
Pretes presented his paper “Rethinking Development
in Pacific Microstates” at the Westerm Regional Science Association
Conference, 2004.
• Law Professor David
Callies co-wrote an article for the UH Law Review analyzing
the U.S. Supreme Court’s regulatory takings opinion in Tahoe Sierra
Preservation Council v. TRPA (2002).
E-mail news about UH faculty and staff who have appeared In Print to newsatuh@hawaii.edu.
|
